[wpbvideo id=’318540′]
SPRINGFIELD — The Missouri State Lady Bears impressed in their home debut Saturday, earning a 74-54 victory against visiting Ball State for their ninth consecutive overall win at JQH Arena.
Missouri State (1-2) took the lead for good with an early 7-0 run capped by a Danielle Gitzen 3-point play for a 9-4 advantage less than four minutes into the game. Freshman Sydney Manning beat the first-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer for an 18-10 lead, and hit two more treys in the second period for a 3-for-4 game, including one in the final seconds to make it 37-20 Lady Bears at halftime.
The Cardinals (1-2) pulled within 11 points on two occasions in the third quarter, and MSU responded to the second with a 10-0 run, with Gitzen scoring the final eight points for a 54-33 advantage late in the third period.
The Lady Bears kept their lead at 13 points or more after that, finishing the game with a 50-33 rebounding margin and shooting 45.2 percent overall compared to .329 for the visitors.
Gitzen and Emily Gartner shared high-scoring honors with 13 apiece for MSU, and Jasmine Franklin hauled in 12 rebounds in just 14 minutes, the most boards for an MSU freshman since Christiana Shorter had 13 against Oral Roberts in the 2010 WNIT.
Freshmen accounted for 26 points, 31 rebounds and 10 assists for MSU, with Sydney Wilson and Mya Bhinhar each dishing out three helpers without a turnover. Dariauna Lewis added eight rebounds, and Franklin blocked two shots.
Missouri State has a week off before traveling to Santa Clara on Nov. 24 for a 4 p.m. Central tip.
