EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The 17th-ranked Missouri State Lady Bears completed a pair of program firsts in Saturday’s 85-44 victory at Evansville, wrapping up the first unblemished conference and road seasons in school history.
The Lady Bears (20-2, 16-0 Missouri Valley Conference) became the fifth MVC/Gateway Conference team in history to navigate to league schedule without a loss, went 9-0 on MVC road games for the second time in the last three seasons, and finished unbeaten in true road games for the first time in school history at 11-0.
Missouri State led 14-0 and kept Evansville (6-17, 2-16) off the scoreboard for more than eight minutes to start the game, had a 45-22 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 45 late in the contest.
Brice Calip scored 14 points to lead five Lady Bears in double figures and two more with nine points, as Abi Jackson (12), Abby Hipp (11), Jasmine Franklin (11), Sydney Wilson (10), Elle Ruffridge (9) and Paige Rocca (9) provided a balanced offensive attack that shot 44 percent overall and a season-best .895 (17-19) at the foul line.
Hipp grabbed a team-high eight boards to help MSU lead 49-29 on the glass, while Wilson finished with career highs of six assists and four blocks.
The defense held the Aces to 26.8 percent shooting, blocked nine shots, and swiped 12 steals while forcing 18 turnovers and holding its 20th opponent in 22 games below its season scoring average.
MSU’s current winning streaks of 12 road games overall, 19 MVC games and 10 MVC road contests all rank second in school history, while the 16-game overall streak is the third-longest at Missouri State.
The Lady Bears take the No. 1 seed in the MVC Tournament for the 12th time in school history, opening play at 11 a.m. Friday, March 12, against the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 8 Southern Illinois and ninth-seeded Indiana State. The tournament takes place at TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Ill.
