Missouri State trailed league-leading Drake by two points with just over 13 minutes to play Sunday afternoon, but the Bulldogs scored 34 points and hit six 3-pointers in the final 13:11 of the contest for an 84-65 win at the Knapp Center.
The Lady Bears (12-10, 8-3 Missouri Valley Conference) remained alone in second in the MVC standings thanks to UNI defeating Southern Illinois, while Drake moved to 16-7 overall and 11-0 in conference games with its 33rd consecutive regular-season Valley win.
Missouri State senior Aubrey Buckley had a double-double by halftime on the way to career-highs of 22 points, 16 rebounds (10 offensive), and an 11-for-14 showing at the foul line. Buckley’s line marks the first 20-point, 15-rebound game for a Lady Bear since Whitney Edie finished with identical totals in a December 2012 contest. The 16 rebounds also ties for the 11th-best single-game total in school history.
The Lady Bears fell behind 5-0 but had a 15-9 lead midway through the first period. MSU led 19-16 after 10 minutes, and the Bulldogs opened the second quarter with a 12-3 run to go ahead 28-22. Brice Calip‘s layup with 4:38 remaining until halftime tied the game at 28-all, and Buckley beat the halftime buzzer for a 40-36 deficit.
Drake scored on its first two possessions of the second half to push the margin to 44-36, and the Lady Bears got within a basket on two occasions after that, the last on a Buckley layup with 3:19 left for a 50-48 score. The Bulldogs broke the game open with an 18-4 run over the next six minutes, and MSU got no closer than 14 points after that.
Emily Gartner finished with a career-high 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting, adding eight rebounds and two blocks, while Danielle Gitzen had 10 points and three steals.
Missouri State hauled in 23 offensive rebounds and led 42-38 overall in that category, but shot 36.6 percent overall compared to .475 for the Bulldogs, and went 1-for-16 from beyond the arc. Five Drake players scored at least 12 points, and the Bulldogs got 44 points from their bench.
The Lady Bears play five of their final seven league games at home, beginning with a 7 p.m. Friday contest with Bradley in the annual Play4Kay game.
