SPRINGFIELD — Sophomore Danielle Gitzen scored a career-high 20 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help the Missouri State Lady Bears fend off Indiana State by a 73-63 final at JQH Arena.
The Lady Bears (15-11, 11-4 Missouri Valley Conference) picked up their 11th win in the last 13 games to clinch a third consecutive top-three MVC finish, while Indiana State, the league’s top field goal percentage and scoring defense, fell to 12-14 and 6-9 in conference play. MSU sits one game behind UNI in the MVC standings with three to play, while Drake secured the regular season crown with a win over UNI on Friday.
Missouri State never trailed in the game, but also did not earn its first double-digit lead until 36 seconds remained as the Sycamores battled back time and again.
MSU took a 35-26 lead into halftime on Liza Fruendt’s late 3-pointer, and the Sycamores cut the gap to six points on six separate occasions in the third quarter before freshman Shameka Ealy buried a trey for a 49-40 lead with 1:48 on the clock.
The Sycamores countered with a 7-0 run to cut the gap to 49-47 early in the fourth period, and Fruendt responded with a 3-pointer at the 9:07 mark. Gitzen scored four consecutive MSU points to make it 56-49 with 5:26 left before Indiana State pulled within a possession two more times, the last at 61-58 with 2:32 remaining.
From there, Gitzen went 10-for-10 at the foul line in the final 2:07 to seal the game, finishing 13-for-14 from the charity stripe with a game-high seven rebounds.
Fruendt added 21 points for the Lady Bears, who shot 41.4 percent overall against an ISU defense that entered the contest allowing 33.4 percent shooting in MVC games. MSU finished with a 39-35 rebounding edge, turned 17 ISU turnovers into 20 points, and got 29 points from the bench.
MSU plays its final home game of the regular season Sunday at 2 p.m. against Loyola. Seniors Lexi Hughes, Onye Osemenam and Rachel Schwartz will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
