SPRINGFIELD – No. 20 Missouri State pulled away from a tie game at halftime with a 17-2 run to start the third quarter and never looked back Saturday afternoon at JQH Arena, beating Bradley 75-62 for its 11th consecutive victory, the school’s longest streak since winning 13 games in a row during the 2018-19 season.
Missouri State moved to 11-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play for the third time in school history and first since 2004, and 15-2 overall for the best start since the 2003-04 club won 20 of its first 21 contests.
The first half included nine ties and 16 lead changes and was knotted at 19-all after a quarter and 37-37 at intermission, with Missouri State leads of 26-21 and 34-29 representing the largest for either side.
The Lady Bears took over after the break, keeping Bradley (12-10, 8-7) off the scoreboard for more than six minutes and opening on an 11-0 run that eventually became 17-2 on back-to-back Sydney Manning 3-pointers for a 54-39 lead with 2:12 on the clock.
Missouri State led by double figures the remainder of the game thanks in large part to a 24-6 rebound advantage in the second half an 43-18 margin in the game, MSU’s second plus-25 effort of the year.
Brice Calip led the Lady Bears with 17 points – her 13th consecutive game in double figures – and Abby Hipp had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her third career double-double. Sydney Wilson scored 13 and Jasmine Franklin added 10 with nine boards and three steals.
Missouri State shot 47.2 percent in the game and 20-for-23 at the foul line while holding Bradley to 41.1 percent from the floor thanks to eight blocked shots, including three by Abi Jackson.
The Lady Bears hit the road Wednesday for a 6 p.m. game at Southern Illinois.
