WICHITA, Kan. — Missouri State overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and led in the final seconds Saturday afternoon before Wichita State hit a desperation 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left and went on to hand the Lady Bears a 63-60 overtime defeat at Koch Arena.
The Lady Bears (0-1) led for just 30 seconds of the game’s first 37 minutes, but took a 47-46 lead on one of Shameka Ealy’s three 3-pointers with 2:52 remaining in the game. Ealy followed with a basket for 49-46, and freshman Sydney Manning’s traditional three-point play put MSU ahead 52-48 with 44.7 ticks left.
MSU led 53-50 with 20 seconds remaining before Wichita State’s (2-0) Carla Bremaud connected on a deep trey to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, Alexa Willard scored two of her 21 points for a 55-53 lead, but MSU hit only one free throw in the next three minutes while the Shockers went ahead 60-56. Willard scored again to close to 60-58, but the Lady Bears were unable to take advantage of several WSU missed free throws in the extra period to retake the lead.
Missouri State’s only prior lead of the game came midway through the first quarter, and after Mya Bhinhar scored to make it 15-15 with 2:20 left in the opening period, the Lady Bears were unable to hit a field goal for the remainder of the first half.
Despite that, the Lady Bears trailed by only six at the break, and the Shockers hit a triple on their first possession of the second half to make it 30-21.
Wichita State pulled ahead 40-30 late in the third quarter when freshman Jasmine Franklin scored eight of her 10 points in 90 seconds for a 40-38 deficit. The Shockers pushed the margin back to 45-40 before MSU’s late run.
Missouri State shot just 29 percent overall but grabbed 25 offensive rebounds and forced 27 WSU turnovers to keep it close. The Lady Bears owned a 38-35 rebounding edge, but missed 14 foul shots.
Missouri State visits No. 16/14 Missouri (1-0) for a 7 p.m. Tuesday contest before opening the home schedule at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17 against Ball State.
