The Lady Bears fell to 8-6 overall and 0-2 in league play, while UNI is 7-8 and 2-1 in Valley contests. MSU also lost at Wichita State and UNI early in the league schedule last season before rebounding to win the regular season title.
The game's first 12 minutes could not have gone much worse for the Lady Bears as UNI built a 29-12 lead with seven made 3-pointers by the 7:58 mark, while Missouri State was 4-for-14 from the floor with 11 turnovers at that point and had senior Christiana Shorter on the bench saddled with three personal fouls.
Missouri State used a 7-0 run to pull to 29-19 with 4:58 to play, and briefly cut the UNI lead to single digits at 32-23 when NiJay Gaines put back a missed free with 3:42 left in the half.
The Panthers responded with their ninth, 10th and 11th 3-pointers to go into halftime with a 41-23 advantage, shooting 11-for-20 from the beyond the arc to match an MSU opponent high for the season by intermission.
The second half began much better for MSU as the Lady Bears shaved five points off the UNI lead while drawing three fouls in the first 43 seconds for a 41-28 score. Missouri State's success was short-lived, however, as the Panthers ripped off a 14-2 run over the next five-plus minutes while the Lady Bears suffered through an 0-for-7 field goal drought to go ahead 55-30 with 13:54 to play.
The Lady Bears got no closer than 21 points after that as the Panthers finished the contest 15-for-26 from 3-point land to tie a Missouri State opponent single-game record. UNI shot 44.9 percent overall (22-49), while MSU finished 17-of-61 for 27.9 percent.
Whitney Edie led MSU with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting while Kenzie Williams and Hannah Wilkerson scored nine apiece. Shorter was held scoreless for the first time in her 112 game career.
UNI's Jacqui Kalin, the 2011 MVC Player of the Year, totaled 25 points and hit six treys for the Panthers.
MSU continues its road trip Saturday at 2 p.m. against Bradley. The Braves are 6-8 overall and 0-3 in MVC play after a 62-58 home loss to Wichita State Thursday.
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