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SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball improved to 17-5 (8-3 MVC) overall on the season with a gutsy 63-59 victory against Drake (12-11, 4-8 MVC) here on Friday night at JQH Arena.
The victory moved head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton to 6-0 in her career against the Bulldogs.
After a back and forth game in the early going, Missouri State went on a 6-0 run beginning with an Abi Jackson layup, followed by baskets from Sydney Wilson and Mariah White to give MSU a six-point lead halfway through the first quarter.
Following a couple of Drake baskets and a converted and-1 opportunity, the Bulldogs pulled back within one of the Lady Bears. Jackson then quickly hit her second shot of the night with around one minute left in the opening quarter to stretch the lead back out to three points. However, Drake went on a 5-0 run in the final :55, including Maddie Peterson’s second three-pointer of the night, to take a 17-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
Drake started the second quarter with five straight points before freshman Isabelle Delarue, who saw action for the first time since being out for four games, knocked down her first three-pointer of the night to get MSU on the board in the second. Back-to-back Drake layups gave the Bulldogs an eight-point lead, which would ultimately be their largest lead of the night.
After swapping free throws to make it a six-point game in favor of Drake, Jackson answered the Bulldogs on back-to-back-to-back possessions to keep the game at a five-point margin. With Drake leading by six following a free throw, senior Mya Bhinhar drained a long-range basket with :18 left in the half to make it a 32-29 game heading to the break.
Jackson led all scorers in the first half with 10 points, while Bhinhar contributed five points and a team-high six first-half rebounds.
The Lady Bears seemed to turn the tide coming out of halftime, as Wilson connected on her second three-ball of the night just 10 seconds into the third quarter to tie the game. After MSU took the lead on a Jackson layup and Drake answered with two shots from the charity stripe, Brice Calip hit her only shot of the night from behind the arc to put MSU back in front.
Drake then responded with a 6-0 run to tip the scales back in favor of the Bulldogs, before Delarue once again showed up from behind the three-point line and tied the game at 40-40. Missouri State allowed a Drake layup but then had a 6-0 run of their own to hold a four-point advantage. However, two Bulldog free throws at the end of the quarter made it a two-point game headed into the final 10 minutes in Springfield.
In a fourth quarter that saw five ties, both Missouri State and Drake showed an intense will to win. Drake reeled off the first big run of the quarter, scoring six points to take a two-point lead over the Lady Bears. MSU followed up with runs of five and four consecutive points to take their largest lead of the second half with a five-point advantage.
Drake punched back one last time with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 59-59 with :35 remaining, but that would be the last time the Bulldogs scored. White drove to the basket and was fouled with :16 on the clock, hitting both free throws to give MSU a two-point lead, which would be all the Lady Bears would need. After stopping the Bulldogs one final time, Drake was forced to foul and Jackson hit her first two free throws of the night to secure the 63-59 victory for MSU.
Jackson led all scorers with 22 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks. White was the second Lady Bear in double figures with a 12-point, five-steal performance against the Bulldogs. Bhinhar tied her career-high with nine rebounds, while also dishing out four assists. Wilson was the only Lady Bear with double-figure rebounds, as she grabbed 10 boards on the night.
Missouri State will be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 13 as the Lady Bears take on Northern Iowa at 2 p.m.
