Missouri State women’s basketball surged in the final minute to complete the fourth quarter comeback and defeat Saint Louis, 70-66, here Monday night in Great Southern Bank Arena.
The Lady Bears kicked off the 2025-26 season in dramatic fashion, turning a three-point deficit into a four-point win in the game’s final minute. Trailing 66-63, Missouri State needed a big bucket and junior Kaemyn Bekemeier delivered it. Driving near the basket, she let a scoop shot fly and was fouled in the process as everyone watched the ball sail through the basket for an and-1 opportunity. Bekemeier made her shot at the charity stripe to tie the game at 66-66 with 50 seconds remaining.
On SLU’s next possession, transfer Maycee James came up with a vital steal and was fouled as she took the ball down the sideline. From there, the Lady Bears would win the game at the free throw line with James making three of four from the charity stripe as the seconds ticked down. Cady Pauley also added the dagger, hitting her first of two free throws with 10 seconds left to put the game on ice with the important four-point advantage.
The comeback attempt was set up after the Lady Bears took their largest lead of the game at eight points, 60-52, as the final period began. SLU made quick work out of the quarter break, going on a 12-1 run that spanned the first 6:36 of the fourth quarter to stretch the advantage to three points for the visitors.
Missouri State and Saint Louis were evenly matched in the first half with the biggest advantage coming at the charity stripe for the Lady Bears, who were 6-for-10 compared to 1-of-7 for the Billikens. The first quarter saw the lead change hands eight times with neither team extending a lead past four points. It was the same story in the second period as both teams reeled off a small run to offset one another, with MoState owning the narrow one-point, 35-34, lead at the half.
The third quarter was the best of the night for the Lady Bears, shooting .529 from the field, .667 from three and .714 from the line. Bekemeier kickstarted the scoring in the third, scoring the first four points of the second half via a free throw and a wide open three-pointer. Pauley got in on the action too, knocking down her lone triple of the night to give the home team a five-point advantage halfway through the third, then that’s when the freshmen took over.
Maiesha Washington scored eight of her 13 points in the third quarter, and the freshman trio of Washington, Kendal Brueggen and Audrey Hopkins accounted for the final eight points of the period to give MSU its largest lead of the night at 60-52 as the game entered the fourth quarter.
Bekemeier led the way with a career-high 23 points (8-12 FG, 2-3 3FG, 5-8 FT) and nine rebounds in her first career start. Washington and Lainie Douglas were also in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. As a unit, the Lady Bears were plus-13 on the boards and forced 15 turnovers in the victory.
Missouri State will hit the road for the first time this season with a matchup at UT Arlington on Friday, Nov. 7. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.
