SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball used an impressive second-half comeback to improve to 9-5 (4-1 MVC) on the season, defeating Southern Illinois 78-57 here Wednesday night.After trailing 38-30 at halftime following an 11-2 Saluki run to end the second quarter, Missouri State came out with a vengeance in the second half. The Lady Bears scored the first 10 points of the third quarter, taking the lead on an Isabelle Delarue three-pointer, and they never looked back.MSU kept its foot on the gas, holding Southern Illinois (6-8, 3-2 MVC) to just eight points on 4-for-18 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, the Lady Bears logged their highest scoring quarter of the season at 28 points in the third with a .529 field goal percentage. In addition to Delarue’s triple to take the lead for good, Missouri State’s huge third quarter was highlighted by Jade Masogayo securing her first career double-digit scoring performance and an Aniya Thomas three-pointer with :01 remaining on the clock to give MSU a 12-point lead and all of the momentum.The Lady Bears continued their dominance in the fourth quarter, reeling off six, eight and four-point runs to secure their fourth Missouri Valley Conference victory of the young league season. Thomas was a crucial piece in MSU’s comeback, as she scored 16 of her 25 points and dished out six of her 10 assists in the second half. Masogayo also pulled down three fourth-quarter rebounds to record her first career double-double.MSU and SIU swapped blows back-and-forth in the first half with Missouri State jumping out to a narrow three-point lead early, and extending it to five on a Thomas steal and dish to Sydney Wilson for a layup right before the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, SIU doubled MSU’s points in the final 3:47 of the first period to cut the Lady Bears’ lead to two after a quarter.Turnovers cost Missouri State the lead in the second quarter, as they committed eight in the second quarter and 11 total in the first half. SIU turned those 11 turnovers into 15 points and had an offensive surge over the final 3:21 of the opening half, outscoring the Lady Bears 11-2 to take an eight-point lead into the break.Missouri State had three players turn in double-doubles against the Salukis. Thomas led the way with 25 points and a career-high 10 assists to just two turnovers, becoming the first Lady Bear since Casey Garrison on Jan. 29, 2012 to record at least 20 points and 10 assists. Taylor recorded her fourth consecutive double-double with 13 points and a career-high 15 boards, while Masogayo logged career highs with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the best performance of her young career. Wilson joined the group in double figures with 10 points and Indya Green tallied her sixth double-digit rebounding performance of the season with 12 boards.Collectively, the Lady Bears turned in a dominating performance on the glass, outrebounding the Salukis 62-34. MSU’s 62 rebounds are tied for the fourth most in a single game in program history, while the +28 rebounding margin on the night tied for 11th in the MSU record book. MSU also recorded 18 assists on 30 baskets and led the battle in the paint, 48-30.Missouri State will begin a three-game road trip at Valparaiso on Saturday, Jan. 14. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
