Ben Adamson (MSU Sports Information) PEORIA, Ill. — Missouri State suffered its first loss since Jan. 22 Friday evening as Bradley pulled away at the end of a back-and-forth final quarter for a 62-56 victory at Renaissance Coliseum.
The Lady Bears (13-11, 9-4 Missouri Valley Conference) led only once during the first 28 minutes of the game, but stayed within six points of the Braves (10-15, 6-9) to a 35-29 deficit midway through the third quarter.
Junior Liza Fruendt countered with a traditional 3-point play followed by a triple from the left wing for a 35-all tie with 2:52 on the clock. Danielle Gitzen followed with a pair of free throws 30 seconds later for MSU’s first lead since 4-2, and the team’s carried a 39-39 tie into the wild final period.
Audrey Holt put the Lady Bears on the board first in the fourth quarter, scoring just 12 seconds in for a 41-39 lead, and three ties and nine lead changes followed over the next seven minutes before Bradley’s Anneke Schlueter hit a trey from the left corner with 65 seconds remaining in the game to put the home team ahead 55-53.
Missouri State had possession to shoot for the tie three times in the final minute, but came up empty each time while the Braves connected on seven free throws in the last 42 seconds to cap a 24-for-32 night at the foul line.
The Lady Bears finished 22-for-60 from the field compared to 17-for-50 for the Braves and owned a 44-34 rebounding advantage, but ended the game 10-for-18 at the charity stripe and minus-seven in turnover differential.
Despite the loss, MSU remained in the No. 3 spot in the MVC standings, three games ahead of Wichita State and Indiana State after both suffered losses Friday. The Lady Bears return to action Sunday for an 11:30 a.m. tip at Illinois State.
