SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State had three separate scoring runs of 10-2 or better and held visiting Arkansas State to 34.9 percent shooting in a 83-60 victory Saturday afternoon at JQH Arena.
The Lady Bears improved to 6-3 on the season while becoming the 28th NCAA Division I women’s program to reach 750 all-time victories with the win. The Red Wolves fell to 2-7.
Big runs on either end of the first half gave the Lady Bears a 41-31 lead at intermission. Missouri State hit its first four shots for a 10-2 advantage just 1:38 into the contest, and used a 10-0 run from 4:39-1:22 on the clock to run the lead to 11 points at 40-29.
In the interim, the Red Wolves had the lead on two occasions, at 23-22 and 25-24, before the Lady Bears closed strong behind 15 first-half points from Kenzie Williams and 5-for-9 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
Arkansas State began the second half with an 8-0 run in just 85 seconds and made it a two-point game again with a bucket at the 17:29 mark to pull to 43-41.
Nearly three minutes elapsed without a score for either team before Karly Buer’s 3-pointer sparked a 9-0 run that included four points from Tyonna Snow and two more from Mikala McGhee
while MSU held the Red Wolves off the board for nearly six minutes until a basket with 11:39 to play made it a 52-43 game with 11:39 to play.
Whitney Edie responded with a 3-pointer 11 seconds later and Snow followed with another, banking it in at the shot clock buzzer with 9:20 left to push the run to 15-2 and lead to 58-43.
Buer’s fourth trey of the game gave the Lady Bears a 63-44 lead with 7:55 to play as the MSU defense completed a 10-minute stretch of allowing only one field goal and three points. Arkansas State got no closer than 15 points the rest of the game as the MSU lead grew to as many as 24 points at 82-58.
Williams finished with 15 points and was joined by Hannah Wilkerson, Buer and Snow in double figures as all three players scored 14 points. Edie grabbed 10 rebounds as MSU led 44-36 in that category.
Missouri State’s nine 3-pointers (on 17 attempts) went for a season high, while ASU’s 2-for-20 showing accounted for an opponent season low. Buer went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Lady Bears shot 45.2 percent overall and 18-for-23 from the foul line, highlighted by Wilkerson’s 8-for-8 showing.
Missouri State begins a two-game road trip Dec. 19 when it plays at Iowa (7-3) at 5:30 p.m.
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