SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball used a second-half comeback to secure its fifth consecutive victory, defeating UIC, 68-57, here Saturday afternoon.
Kennedy Taylor had a career day for the Lady Bears as she posted a career and game-high 25 points (12-for-19 FG) and six assists, while tying her career high with 15 rebounds. Paige Rocca and Jade Masogayo followed with 12 points each, as Masogayo added nine rebounds and four assists.
After trailing by five following a slow first-half start, the Lady Bears (14-7, 9-3 MVC) came out of the halftime break and established themselves early. Missouri State scored the first six points of the third period to quickly capture their first lead of the day and shift the momentum to the home side. Taylor started the surge with a layup to open the half before Rocca knocked down a three-pointer right in front of the Lady Bear bench to put MSU out in front, 37-36, and force a UIC timeout.
From there, both teams settled in and swapped baskets, with the Flames using a short 4-0 run late in the third to cut the Lady Bear lead to one point. MSU responded in a big way as Taylor Woodhouse drained her second three-ball of the day as time expired to propel the Lady Bears to a four-point, 50-46, lead with a quarter to play at Great Southern Bank Arena.
UIC (13-10, 5-7 MVC) had one last punch in them as they started the fourth quarter with four consecutive points, including a three-pointer just 0:25 into the period, to knot the game at 50-50 with 8:06 remaining. After both squads traded a singular basket to tie the game at 52 points apiece, the Lady Bears locked in on both ends of the floor to take the lead and hold it until the end.
The first surge of the final quarter saw MSU reel off a 7-0 run, highlighted by a Rocca and-1 to put the home team up seven points at the six-minute mark. With the lead hovering there, the Lady Bears delivered the final blow with yet another seven-point offensive attack, bookended by two Taylor layups, to give MSU’s its largest lead of the game at 12 points with 0:23 left and the eventual 68-57 victory.
Missouri State struggled to get going on both ends in the first half, as UIC jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead to start the game. MSU put together five consecutive points of its own a few minutes later to tie the game at seven points each in a back-and-forth first quarter. The Flames went up by four with 2:44 on the clock, before Masogayo found the bottom of the basket for MSU to make it 15-13 in favor of UIC after a period.
The second quarter belonged to the Flames as they shot 67 percent from the field in the period and gained the lead at the 7:45 mark on a three-pointer and didn’t relinquish it for the remainder of the half. The Lady Bears stayed with striking distance, using Woodhouse’s first three of the day to cut the deficit to two points near the midway point of the quarter and a Masogayo and-1 to put the Lady Bears within a point of the Flames. However, UIC slowed the momentum with the final two buckets of the quarter, as MSU trailed 36-31 entering halftime.
As a team, the Lady Bears outrebounded the Flames, 42-30, while pulling down 20 offensive boards. MSU tallied 18 assists and forced 16 UIC turnovers, while shooting 44 percent from the field. Missouri State is now 9-0 this season when holding its opponents to 60 points or less.
MSU will hit the road next week as the Lady Bears travel to take on Bradley on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m., before closing the road trip with a matchup at Illinois State on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 1 p.m.
