VALPARAISO, Ind. – Missouri State women’s basketball improved to 23-5 (14-3 MVC) on the season with a 66-46 at Valparaiso here Thursday night to extend its win streak to eight games.
The opening quarter was a game of runs to get things started in Valparaiso. Missouri State jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead via an Abi Jackson layup and Mya Bhinhar three-pointer. The Beacons then answered immediately with a 10-0 run to take a five-point lead on the Lady Bears.
The Lady Bears responded with back-to-back layups by Brice Calip and Jackson as MSU retook the lead, 10-9, at the first media timeout. Those two layups were the start of an 8-0 run by the Lady Bears that put the visitors up by three points.
Valparaiso’s Shay Frederick made two free throws to pull the Beacons back within a point, but Calip knocked down a three-ball on the other end to give Missouri State a 16-12 advantage after one quarter.
In a slow second quarter offensively for both teams, Valparaiso came out with five early points to take a one-point, 17-16, lead over the Lady Bears.
Calip once again hit a jumper to swing the lead back in MSU’s favor, while sparking a 6-0 Lady Bear run. Valparaiso would score a layup with 1:37 remaining in the first half to cut Missouri State’s lead to three points. However, that is the last time either team would score in a quarter that saw Valparaiso outscore the Lady Bears, 7-6.
With both teams knocking down seven field goals and two three-point field goals each in the first half, free throws were the difference-maker as MSU went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to carry the 22-19 lead into halftime.
Calip led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, while Bhinhar had a game-high five first-half rebounds.
Coming out of the half, Missouri State made a statement, scoring the first eight points of the second half, six coming courtesy of two Bhinhar three-pointers to extend MSU’s lead to 11 points. Valparaiso then knocked down a three-ball of their own, but Calip and Bhinhar answered with back-to-back buckets from long range, followed by a Mariah White free throw to put the Lady Bears in front by 15.
Every time the Beacons broke through for a bucket, MSU responded quickly. Three layups via White and Ifunanya Nwachukwu pushed the Missouri State lead to 19 points in the third quarter, as part of a 6-0 run. From there, the rest of the quarter saw the teams swap baskets, with Calip converting an and-1 with under a minute remaining to give the Lady Bears a 49-30 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Much like the third quarter, both teams were hot from behind the arc in the final period. Calip kicked things off with a three-pointer before Valparaiso responded with two long-range shots to cut their deficit to 16 points.
Following a Jackson layup, the Beacons drained back-to-back three-pointers once again to make it a 12-point game, but that is as close as Valparaiso would get to the Lady Bears.
White and Calip provided six straight points for MSU to pull back ahead by 18. The teams swapped buckets and possessions before White knocked down her only three-ball of the night. Jackson then secured the 20-point victory for the Lady Bears with a layup with 0:52 remaining in the game.
Calip matched her season high with a game-high 22 points to pair with four assists and two steals, while shooting 50 percent from the field and behind the arc. White was the game’s second-leading scorer with 16 points along with three steals, while Bhinhar turned in 12 points and came up just short of a double-double with a career high-tying nine rebounds on the night.
As a squad, Missouri State outrebounded Valparaiso 42-26 and forced 21 Beacon turnovers, while collecting 10 steals.
Missouri State will conclude the regular season on Saturday, March 5 at Loyola. First tip is set for 1 p.m.
