SPRINGFIELD – The No. 18/23 Missouri State Lady Bears led for all but seven seconds Sunday afternoon and owned a double-digit lead for the final 35 minutes of an 82-58 win over visiting Indiana State for their ninth consecutive victory overall and 13th in a row at JQH Arena.
The Lady Bears (23-3, 13-1 Missouri Valley Conference) scored immediately after the opening tip and shot 10-for-15 in the first quarter to lead 25-9 after 10 minutes, kept the 16-point lead at halftime, and grew the margin to a game-high 28 points at 66-38 at the end of the third period.
Jasmine Franklin scored 17 points and went a career-best 7-for-7 at the foul line to lead the MVC-leading Lady Bears to a 28-for-31 showing at the stripe. Alexa Willard added 15 points to pass Christiana Shorter for the No. 14 spot on MSU’s career scoring list, and Abby Hipp tallied 12 on 5-for-5 shooting.
Sophomore Sydney Manning grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds as the Lady Bears owned a 42-24 lead on the glass, while Sydney Wilson had three steals and two blocks.
Eleven Lady Bears scored in the game and they shot 43.9 percent overall while holding ISU (4-23, 2-13) to 40.4 percent and 1-for-11 from 3-point range.
Missouri State scored 25 second chance points off 17 offensive rebounds on the way to its second consecutive 13-1 MVC start and 47th win in the last 53 games.
The Lady Bears embark on their final road trip of the regular season with games at Illinois State on Thursday and Bradley on Sunday.
