PEORIA, Ill. – Missouri State women’s basketball improved to 15-7 (10-3 MVC) following a 74-64 fourth quarter comeback victory against Bradley (3-21, 0-13 MVC) in Peoria on Friday night.
The Lady Bears trailed 50-49 entering the fourth quarter, before posting their highest-scoring quarter of the night at 25 points and holding Bradley to just 14 points in the final 10 minutes. Free throws were the most crucial part of the game for the Lady Bears, especially in the final period, as they went 13-for-17 from the charity stripe in the fourth and 24-for-29 for the game.
With 3:01 remaining in the contest, the Braves connected on two free throws to cut the MSU lead to a single point, but that’s when the Lady Bears showed their grit and resiliency and ended the game on a 9-0 run to secure the 10-point road victory. The run was sparked by a Sydney Wilson layup, followed by two more buckets courtesy of Kennedy Taylor and Jade Masogayo to put MSU up seven with just over a minute left to play. Taylor and Aniya Thomas further iced the victory with three late free throws.
Missouri State was able to put pressure on the Braves with a good start to the second half in a back-and-forth ballgame. After Bradley extended its lead to nine points out of the halftime break, Wilson knocked down a three and Thomas drove to the basket for a layup to cut the deficit back to four points.
From there, MSU cut the Bradley lead to three on two occasions, first with a Masogayo jumper and then a few seconds later via two Thomas free throws. The momentum-shifter came with 0:03 left in the third as Taylor hit a layup, drew the foul and completed the three-point play to put MSU within a point headed to the final quarter.
MSU got off to an incredibly fast start, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and forcing a Bradley timeout just 1:10 into the ballgame. However, the Braves settled down and immediately reeled off eight straight points, including two threes from BU’s Caroline Waite. Paige Rocca ended the run with a three of her own as both teams settled in for the night, with Bradley eventually owning an 18-15 lead after a quarter.
The Braves built on their momentum from the end of the first, which ended with a 4-0 run, by hitting three consecutive field goals to begin the second period and take a nine-point lead. The Lady Bears largest deficit of the night was 11 points at the 4:31 mark of the second, but they were able to lock in on both ends of the floor and score six points (Masogayo jumper, Wilson layup and Indya Green jumper) to end the first half and trail 30-25 at the break.
Four Lady Bears were in double digits on the night, led by Thomas with 19 points as she was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Taylor followed with 15 points and five rebounds, while Wilson logged 14 points and a game-high five assists. Masogayo was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 13 points and nine rebounds, while adding four assists, four steals and two blocks. Green was the game’s leading rebounder with 10 boards.
Collectively, the Lady Bears shot 83 percent from the free throw line and narrowly outrebounded the Braves, 37-33. After allowing two three-pointers in the first two and half minutes of the game, the Lady Bears didn’t allow another triple for the remainder of the game. Missouri State also owned a 12-9 advantage in points off turnovers and 14-8 in fast break points.
Missouri State will be back in action on Sunday, Feb. 12 as they travel to take on Illinois State. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT in Normal, Ill.
