EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri State women’s basketball (7-4, 2-0 MVC) defeated Evansville (5-5, 0-2 MVC) on the road, 73-61, to remain undefeated in conference action and extend its win streak to five games.
MSU’s fifth-year seniors led the charge for the Lady Bears including a 27-point, 10-rebound, six-steal performance from Aniya Thomas and 17 points and seven rebounds from Sydney Wilson. Thomas’ six steals were a career high and her 10 rebounds tied her career-high mark, while Wilson has set her season high in scoring in the last two outings.
The Lady Bears took advantage of their offensive surges in the second and third quarters to ultimately take down the Purple Aces and start the conference season with an undefeated weekend.
After trailing by one after a period, Missouri State knocked down the first two baskets of the second to retake the lead and extend it to three points. Evansville responded quickly with a six-point run to put the lead back in the hands of the Purple Aces, but Isabelle Delarue drained a corner three just seven seconds later to light a spark for the Lady Bears that lasted throughout the remainder of the quarter.
From that point, MSU outscored the Purple Aces, 14-7, over the final 4:35 of the first half to take a 35-28 lead into the break.
Missouri State continued to ride the momentum captured in the second quarter coming out of the halftime break, which was highlighted by a crucial nine-point run beginning at the halfway mark of the third. Wilson accounted for seven points in the run, including a huge and-1 conversion, to give MSU a 15-point advantage. The Lady Bears outscored the Purple Aces, 21-17, in the third quarter to hold a 56-45 lead with a quarter remaining.
The first and fourth quarters saw a back-and-forth battle with both teams scoring 31 points between the two periods in an early-season MVC matchup at the Meeks Family Fieldhouse in Evansville.
Behind the big performances of Thomas and Wilson, Kennedy Taylor also added her second double-double of the season with a 10-point, 10-rebound outing. As a team, Missouri State owned a +17 rebound margin in the game (46-29) and forced 18 Evansville turnovers. In addition to owning the advantage on the glass, the Lady Bears dominated in the paint, scoring 58 of its 73 points on the inside.
Missouri State will return home for a three-game home stand at Great Southern Bank Arena next week. The Lady Bears will face Illinois State on Thursday, Jan. 5 with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT in Springfield.
