SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State fell behind by 11 points early in the second quarter Sunday afternoon before rallying for a 61-52 victory against Loyola in the final regular season game at JQH Arena.
The Lady Bears (16-11, 12-4 Missouri Valley Conference) won for the 12th time in 14 tries to reach the 12-win mark in league play for the third consecutive season.
Junior Liza Fruendt scored a game-high 18 points, Aubrey Buckley finished with 15 points, six boards and a career-high five steals, and Danielle Gitzen went 8-for-8 at the foul line to reach double figures of the fifth consecutive game with 12 points. Senior Lexi Hughes grabbed a career-high eight rebounds while moving into MSU’s career top 10 with her 125th game play.
The Ramblers (2-25, 1-15) used a 10-0 run to build an 18-7 lead with 9:09 remaining before halftime, and the teams traded 3-pointers to a 21-12 LUC advantage with 6:13 to play before the Lady Bears closed the half on an 8-0 run, with every point coming from the foul line.
Loyola hit a trey out of the intermission before the Lady Bears countered with a 14-0 run to lead 34-24 with 5:32 left in the third quarter. The Ramblers responded with a 7-0 spurt, Hughes answered with a 3-pointer 22 seconds later, and Missouri State stayed ahead by at least six points until an 8-0 run by the visitors made it 44-43 with 6:54 on the clock.
Buckley came through with two free throws for a 52-47 lead at the 4:11 mark, and hit a layup for 54-50 with 1:26 to play to start a 7-0 run, as the Lady Bears were able to connect of seven of eight free throws in the final minute to seal the game.
Missouri State finished the game 22-for-26 at the charity stripe and owned a 44-27 rebounding edge.
The Lady Bears trek to Iowa to close the regular season with games at No. 21/22 Drake (7 p.m. Thursday) and UNI (8 p.m. Saturday). MSU will either be the second or third seed at MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill., the following week, with an opening game set for either 6 or 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 10, depending on final seeding.
