Missouri State women’s basketball (10-5, 2-0) earned a 67-61 victory over Kennesaw State (8-6, 1-2) with a gritty fourth-quarter performance here on Thursday night at Great Southern Bank Arena.
The Lady Bears were led by the dynamic duo of Kaemyn Bekemeier and Lainie Douglas. Bekemeier set a new career high in points for the second time in three games, posting 26 points (6-15 FG, 1-8 3FG, 13-16 FT) and grabbing 11 boards for her third double-double of the season. Meanwhile, Douglas matched her career best with 21 points (6-15 FG, 9-9 FT) and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds for the first double-double of her career.
Tied 50-50 heading into the final quarter, the Lady Bears threw the first punch in the fourth by scoring the first seven points to grab the lead. Bekemeier connected on a layup to get the scoring started and then after a couple of Douglas free throws and a hounding defensive effort, a Maiesha Washington layup got the crowd at Great Southern Bank Arena on its feet as the Owls called timeout.
Kennesaw State didn’t back down from the challenge, eventually pulling within two points of MoState with 2:35 left in the game. From there, the Lady Bears came up clutch at the free throw line as they did all night, scoring six consecutive points at the stripe over the last two minutes to ice the victory. Maycee James led the MoState defensive effort down the stretch, recording three of her five steals on the night in the fourth.
It took a lot of for the Lady Bears to tie the game at the end of the third quarter. After trailing by six at the half, the MoState deficit grew to a game-high 12 points with 6:22 on the clock in the third. That’s when the Lady Bears dug deep and reeled off a 12-0 run in under three minutes to tie the game at 43-43. With the Lady Bears down five later in the third quarter, Douglas connected on a layup before Bekemeier hit one of the biggest shots of the night, connecting on MoState’s only trey of the night with under a minute left to tie it at 50-50.
The game started out with a fast-paced first half and featured a tale of two quarters. The first period saw both squads trade baskets as they settled in with neither team leading by more than four points. Despite shooting 23 percent (5-22) from the field in the first, MoState took advantage of its opportunities at the free throw line, going 9-for-10, to lead by three after one.
Kennesaw State then grabbed the momentum in the second period with a huge run that gave the lead back to the visitors and allowed them to extend it to 11 points. After a Bekemeier free throw started the scoring in the third and put MoState up four, Kennesaw State went on a 17-2 surge to flip the script. MoState steadied the ship as James put an end to the drought and the Lady Bears ended the quarter with five points to trial by just six, 33-27, at the half.
As a team, Missouri State won the rebounding battle 39-27 (plus-12) and scored 29 points off of 29 Kennesaw State turnovers. Despite an off shooting night from beyond the arc, the Lady Bears made up for it at the free throw line, connecting on 26-of-32 attempts compared to just four free throw attempts on the night for the Owls. The Lady Bears were stingy on defense, collecting 16 steals on the night.
Missouri State is back at home on Saturday, Jan. 10 as the Lady Bears host Jacksonville State. Tipoff is set for 12:00 p.m. as the Lady Bears are the first game of a MoState men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader at Great Southern Bank Arena. Both games on Saturday will stream on ESPN+.
