SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball picked up its third-straight Missouri Valley Conference win with a 64-54 victory over Drake here Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Bears (12-7, 7-3 MVC) never surrendered the lead to the Bulldogs (12-6, 7-3 MVC) as they were dominant on the defensive end of the floor and knocked down crucial three-pointers throughout the course of the game on the offensive side of the ball.
Both teams started this one out on fire from the behind the arc with the first four baskets of the game coming from deep. From there, MSU took the lead on an Indya Green layup at the 4:32 of the first quarter and never gave it back Drake. After the Bulldogs made it a one-point game following a couple of free throws, Kennedy Taylor connected on a layup with 0:21 to make it 22-19 in favor of the Lady Bears after a quarter.
After extending their lead to six to start the second, the Lady Bears allowed the Bulldogs to get back within two before Taylor Woodhouse grabbed the momentum right back with back-to-back deep triples to push MSU back out in front by eight. Jade Masogayo and Sydney Wilson later drained jumpers on consecutive possessions to give the Lady Bears their largest lead of the first half at 10 points. After a short 4-0 run by the Bulldogs, Aniya Thomas capped the first half with a steal and fastbreak layup with 0:01 remaining to put MSU ahead 39-31 heading to the break.
Masogayo had a game-high 10 first-half points on 100 percent (5-for-5) shooting from the field, marking 11 straight made field goals that extended back to Thursday night’s game against UNI in which she went 6-for-6 from the field.
Coming out of the break, the third quarter took a drastic turn for both teams as they each connected on just three field goals in the period. The Bulldogs came out on top in the third, 9-6, after Drake went on a 6-0 run over the last 4:23 of the third to make it a five-point contest with 10 minutes left to play in Springfield.
Once again, the three-ball was crucial for MSU as Wilson sank a triple to start the final period and put and end to the Bulldog run. That sparked an 8-0 surge from the Lady Bears that Thomas bookended with a three-pointer of her own, to give MSU a 13-point cushion. Thomas connected on her third triple of the afternoon a few minutes later to push MSU’s lead back to double figures, as Drake was forced to foul down the stretch, and MSU eventually cruised to a 10-point, 64-54, victory at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Thomas led the way for Missouri State with 15 points, marking her 11th consecutive double-digit scoring performance. Wilson followed with 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals in an all-around performance against the Bulldogs. Masogayo was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field.
Missouri State is now 8-0 on the season when holding opponents below 60 points, as the Lady Bears forced 23 Drake turnovers. MSU tied a season high with seven triples on the day, while also outrebounding a Drake team that came into the game with a plus-10.9 rebounding margin, 38-33.
MSU will return to the road next week for a matchup with Southern Illinois on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m., before returning home to face new Valley member UIC on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m.
Women’s basketball tickets are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the box office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during box office hours.
