No. 17 Lady Bears Win 15th Straight, 87-54 at Evansville

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 17th-ranked Missouri State Lady Bears shot 53 percent over the final three quarters Friday evening to run their winning streak to 15 games with an 87-54 victory against Evansville at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

The win also served as the 11th straight on the road and 18th in a row in Missouri Valley Conference play for the Lady Bears (19-2, 15-0), who posted a season best plus-28 rebound margin with a dominant 48-20 showing on the glass.

Missouri State shot just 33 percent in the first quarter for a 16-14 lead, but outscored the Purple Aces (6-16, 2-15) 24-6 in the second period, shooting 10-for-17 and getting a trio of 3-pointers from Elle Ruffridge, who finished the night with 14 points on 4-of-8 from long range.

Freshman Paige Rocca buried a pair of treys in the final 45 seconds of the third quarter for her career high of six points and a 64-42 advantage, and Missouri State led by as many as 35 in the fourth, with 10 different players scoring and eight tallying at least six points.

Sydney Wilson added 16 points of her own with a career-high four triples, and the Lady Bears shot 11-of-37 from beyond the arc to set a school record for 3-point attempts.

Jasmine Franklin shot 7-for-8 with 16 points and nine rebounds, Abby Hipp tied a season high with 10 board, while Abi Jackson and Emily Gartner joined those two for a combined 37 points on 17-for-24 shooting from MSU’s top four post players.

The Lady Bears totaled 23 assists against 13 turnovers, with Brice Calip handing out five helpers for her 18th career game with at least five assists and one or zero miscues.

The MSU defense forced 16 turnovers and held UE to two offensive rebounds while holding its 19th opponent in 21 games to below its season scoring average.

Missouri State wraps up the regular season with a rematch at Evansville at 6 p.m. Saturday, when it will attempt to complete the first unbeaten conference season in school history.

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