CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Missouri State women’s basketball earned a 67-57 road victory over Southeast Missouri State (1-2) here on Tuesday night at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
The dynamic duo of junior Kaemyn Bekemeier (22 points, 10 rebounds) and sophomore Lainie Douglas (17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks) helped propel the Lady Bears to their best start (3-0) since the 2019-20 season.
After an up-and-down first half, the Lady Bears came out of the locker room with a dominant third quarter, outscoring the Redhawks 27-11 in the period. MoState’s 27 points in the frame were the most in a quarter so far this season. Down three at the intermission, Missouri State went on a 13-2 run to open the second half and flip the script to give the visitors an eight-point advantage. Both squads then traded buckets, before MoState ended the third on a 9-2 run that spanned 3:22, featuring a couple of layups from Douglas and five free throws, to put the Lady Bears up 50-37.
SEMO didn’t go away quietly as the Redhawks slowly chipped away at the Lady Bear lead, cutting it to as low as three points at the 3:18 mark of the final period. Missouri State continued to battle and once the Lady Bears were in the bonus, Maycee James and Bekemeier stepped up and went 9-for-10 at the charity stripe in crunch time to secure the victory.
Both squads struggled to find a rhythm early, with the lead changing hands five times in the opening quarter. The Lady Bears went 5-for-15 (.333) from the field in the first 10 minutes, before finding some momentum as Kendal Brueggen connected on a jumper with time expiring to spark MoState.
Douglas kicked things off in the second quarter to continue the run as Bekemeier, James and Tyra Robinson baskets capped the 11-0 surge and made it a 19-15 ballgame in favor of the Lady Bears. Despite holding SEMO scoreless until the 3:58 mark of the second period, the Redhawks came storming back with a 9-0 run of their own to reclaim the lead and ultimately lead by three, 26-23, at the break.
As a team, Missouri State shot .356 from the field, was held to 1-for-10 from three-point range and went 24-of-29 (.828) at the free throw line. The Lady Bears committed 20 turnovers on the night, but MoState won the battle on the boards and took advantage of its free throw opportunities to secure the win.
The Lady Bears stay on the road for a neutral site matchup on Saturday, Nov. 15, against Wichita State. The game will be played at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., and tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
