Liza Fruendt hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 21.4 seconds left in regulation, and Tyonna Snow scored all 10 of Missouri State’s points in overtime as the Lady Bears earned a 78-75 victory Friday evening at UNI.
MSU’s 10th consecutive Missouri Valley Conference road victory kept the Lady Bears (15-7, 8-2 MVC) in a tie for first in the league standings, while co-leader UNI fell to 12-9 and 7-3 in league contests. MSU heads to Drake (15-6, 8-2) Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest.
The Lady Bears fell behind by double digits after a quarter but took a 27-26 lead into halftime after shooting 8-for-13 in the second period, capped by a Kenzie Williams trey with 37 seconds left to close a streak of six consecutive made field goals.
After a scoreless first half, Tyonna Snow erupted for 24 points after intermission, beginning with the first four out of the break for a 31-26 lead. UNI retook the lead for 22 seconds before Williams answered with a trey, and Fruendt and Hillary Chvatal combined for 11 points in under two minutes for a 49-42 advantage.
Fruendt added two more treys to lead 57-50 with 8:02 left in the game before the Panthers countered with a 9-0 run for a 59-57 advantage with 4:29 to play. The Lady Bears tied the score twice and regained the lead at 63-61 on a Snow layup with 2:35 to play.
The Panthers scored the next five points and stayed ahead 66-65 after Snow scored again with 1:14 left. The Lady Bears came up empty on a possession with 24 seconds left, UNI hit two free throws, and Fruendt tied the score at 68 before MSU got one final stop.
Snow kicked off overtime with a 3-point play 17 seconds in, and added two free throws with 3:14 to go for a 73-68 lead. UNI closed within a possession before Snow made two more free throws and then turned a steal into a layup with 1:04 to play for a 77-70 lead. The Panthers made it interesting with a 3-pointer, steal and bucket to pull to 77-75 with 13 seconds remaining, Snow hit a foul shot with 10.2 seconds left, and UNI missed a trey in the final seconds to give MSU the win.
Fruendt added 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from long range, and Williams scored 16 to pass Lisa Davies for 10th place on MSU’s career scoring list.
Snow added nine rebounds and five steals, jumping to sixth in MVC history in that category, and Fruendt grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
MSU shot 45.9 percent overall compared to 43.9 percent for UNI, and hit nine treys in 21 tries while limiting the Panthers to 5-for-17 from beyond the arc. The Lady Bears also owned a 39-28 rebounding edge.
