Missouri State went on a 10-0 run midway through the fourth quarter and held Bradley to just three points in the game’s final six minutes to secure a 71-65 victory Sunday afternoon inside Renaissance Coliseum.
Brice Calip scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, Alexa Willard added 18, Liza Fruendt tallied 15 and Danielle Gitzen scored 11 to go along with five assists to help the Lady Bears improve to 9-8 overall and 5-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play, including a 4-0 road record.
Missouri State used a 9-0 first-quarter run to lead 13-8, and pushed the margin to 29-22 on a Calip bucket with 7:25 left until halftime before Bradley (9-7, 3-2) finished the half on an 11-2 spurt to lead 41-37.
The Lady Bears grabbed a 44-42 lead just over three minutes into the second half with a 7-0 run, and the lead changed hands four times over the next two minutes, the last on a Gitzen basket for a 48-47 lead. The Lady Bears led 52-49 on a Fruendt score with 1:25 on the clock, only to watch the Bradley regain control with a 7-0 run for a four-point lead with 8:51 remaining.
Willard’s jumper tied the score at 58 with 7:38 to play, and the Braves pushed their advantage back to 62-58 with 6:01 left before the Lady Bears began their game-clinching run, with Calip and Willard scoring four apiece before Lee Ann Polowy hit two free throws with 2:43 left for a 68-62 lead. Bradley managed only three points the rest of the game, with Fruendt’s press-breaking layup with 28 seconds left sealing the win.
Both teams shot 46.2 percent in the game, with the Lady Bears making six more field goals than BU thanks in large part to a season-low seven turnovers. The rebounding was tied as well, at 36 apiece, with Emily Gartner grabbing a season-high seven boards to go with several big defensive plays. Calip added six rebounds and three steals.
The Lady Bears are back at JQH Arena for two games next weekend, beginning with a 7 p.m. Friday contest with Valparaiso.
