Ben Adamson (MSU Sports Information) ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The University of Southern California jumped out to a big first-half lead and held off a Missouri State charge in the third quarter to hand the Lady Bears an 89-67 loss in the first game of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout inside the Alaska Airlines Center.
USC (3-1) used its athleticism and pressuring man-to-man defense to build a 43-15 lead with four minutes to go until halftime when Missouri State (1-3) began a significant comeback.
Junior Liza Fruendt scored two of her season-high 21 points to get the Lady Bears within 20 at 45-26 with 1:56 left before half, and MSU opened the second half on a 12-2 run capped by another Fruendt bucket with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter for a 51-39 deficit.
The Trojans countered with a 7-0 run, and led 62-47 after three periods before opening the final quarter on a 6-0 run to grow the lead in excess of 20 points once more. USC led by at least 16 points for the remainder of the game.
Despite shooting under 30 percent from the floor, the Lady Bears went 25-for-34 at the foul line, with Fruendt (9-for-10) and Aubrey Buckley (10-for-14) both establishing career highs for makes and attempts. Buckley also matched her career high with 12 points, and Danielle Gitzen added 12 points to go with four assists. All 10 Lady Bears who played got in the scoring column.
USC shot 55 percent and placed four scorers in double figures, and hung on to a 38-36 rebounding lead after building a large first-half advantage. MSU pulled down 18 offensive boards, including six by Buckley.
The Lady Bears return to action Wednesday at 5 p.m. (CST) against the loser of the Alaska Anchorage/Portland contest.
