NORMAL, Ill. – Missouri State women’s basketball (16-7, 11-3 MVC) secured a 71-66 victory over the first-place Illinois State Redbirds (18-6, 12-2 MVC) here Sunday afternoon to push its win streak to seven games.
The Lady Bears used a big third quarter performance, outscoring Illinois State 26-19, to gain momentum and create some much-needed separation from the Redbirds. After leading by two at the half, Missouri State went on an 8-1 run to start the third quarter, courtesy of a Kennedy Taylor layup and two Indya Green jumpers, propelling MSU to a nine-point lead. A couple of minutes later, Taylor Woodhouse hit a dagger from three to give MSU its first double-figure lead, before the Lady Bears extended their lead to a game-high 14 points at the 2:38 mark following a Jade Masogayo free throw.
Following five points to end the half from Illinois State’s Paige Robinson, who had a game-high 30 points on the afternoon, MSU carried a 50-41, nine-point lead into the final quarter.
After swapping baskets to open the final period, Paige Rocca sparked a 7-0 Lady Bear run by knocking down a jumper and drawing the foul for the three-point play, followed shortly thereafter by an Aniya Thomas triple to push the lead back to 14 points with 5:20 left on the clock.
Illinois State had a final push that saw the Redbirds cut the MSU lead to five points over a two-and-a-half-minute span, but the Lady Bears responded, keeping ISU just out of striking distance. As the game entered the final minute, both teams began making it to the free-throw line. Following two Redbird free throws with 0:07 remaining to make it a three-point Lady Bear advantage, fifth-year senior Sydney Wilson was fouled on the other end and knocked down both of her shots at the charity stripe to secure the 71-66 victory.
The first half saw a defensive battle between the two squads, with Missouri State jumping out to a five-point lead over the first few minutes of the game off a Green jumper and Wilson trey. The teams then traded short runs, before Ilinois State hit the final shot of the opening quarter to cut MSU’s lead to 12-10.
Missouri State opened up the second period with four points to extend the lead to six, before the Redbirds reeled off a 10-point offensive surge, bookended by a Maya Wong layup and a Robinson three, to take their largest lead of the game at four points. The Lady Bears answered immediately, holding Illinois State scoreless for nearly four minutes, as they scored eight straight points to take the lead back and carry a 24-22 lead into the halftime break.
Thomas paced the Lady Bears with 15 points and went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, while Green logged her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds on 5-for-7 shooting from the field. Taylor followed with 13 points and five boards. Wilson was the final Lady Bear to secure a double-digit scoring performance with 11 points in addition to four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while also going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
As a team, the Lady Bears shot 79 percent (26-for-33) from the free throw line and won on the glass, 41-33. Missouri State held Illinois State to 35 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range, while forcing 17 Redbird turnovers and collecting eight steals.
The Lady Bears have now won at least six Missouri Valley Conference road games in nine straight seasons, and improved to 11-0 on the season when scoring 70 or more and 16-2 when collecting more assists than their opponent.
Missouri State will return home as they begin a four-game homestand, beginning with a visit from Murray State on Friday, Feb. 17. Tipoff against the Racers is set 6 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena.
