SPRINGFIELD – On the strength of double-doubles from Jasmine Franklin and Emily Gartner, the 18th-ranked Missouri State Lady Bears held off in-state rival Missouri by a 79-72 final Sunday afternoon in front of 5,091 fans at JQH Arena, MSU’s sixth-largest home crowd at the venue and largest since 2011.
Franklin scored 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added 13 rebounds, finishing her three-game home stand 22-for-24 from the floor, including a streak of 17 consecutive makes. Gartner’s first career double-double included 13 points and 11 boards, with several key baskets in the second half.
The Lady Bears (9-1) led 6-0 after two minutes before the Tigers (3-8) pulled even at 15-all thanks to a 7-for-10 shooting start. MSU’s Elle Ruffridge countered with a pair of 3-pointers as part of a personal 7-0 run, and the Lady Bears led 33-23 on a Gartner basket with 3:32 left until halftime before Missouri charged back.
The Tigers wrapped a 15-2 run around intermission to lead 38-35 early in the third quarter, Missouri State countered with a 9-0 run, then rattled off 10 straight points after MU closed within a point, beginning with a Gartner score followed by three straight Sydney Wilson buckets and another from Alexa Willard for 54-43 with 1:48 left in the third period.
Ruffridge’s third 3-pointer of her 13-point game kick-started an 11-1 run early in the fourth quarter, the last five points coming from Franklin for a 65-50 lead with 6:09 to play.
The Tigers clawed back to a 72-65 deficit with just under a minute to go, and each team went 7-for-8 at the foul line in the last 58 seconds for the final margin.
Brice Calip scored 14 to give MSU four in double figures, and Mya Bhinhar grabbed a career-high four steals with six assists. Willard added five assists without a turnover, and the Lady Bears and Tigers both shot 43 percent from the floor, with MSU limiting Missouri to 34 percent in the second half. Missouri State finished with a 44-34 advantage on the boards.
The win improved Missouri State to 33-4 since Dec. 20, 2018, which trails only Baylor in total victories in Division I women’s basketball since that date.
Missouri State returns to the Northwest on Dec. 20 for a high-profile showdown with 17th-ranked Gonzaga at 8 p.m. Central.
