SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball (17-8, 12-4 MVC) suffered a 68-58 loss here Sunday afternoon to Belmont (17-10, 13-3 MVC), bringing an end to MSU’s eight-game win streak.
After trailing by 12 at the half, Missouri State clawed its way back into the game. The Lady Bears got back-to-back baskets from Paige Rocca to begin the third quarter to cut the deficit back to single digits. As the two teams traded bucket for bucket, Missouri State produced a 7-1 run beginning at the 4:43 mark of the third, sparked by an Aniya Thomas three, to cut Belmont’s lead to five. Thomas knocked down two free throws later in the quarter to make it a four-point game, but Belmont hit a jumper with three ticks left on the clock to put the Bruins in front by six with a quarter left to play.
The Lady Bears by no means quit fighting as Thomas drained back-to-back jumpers to pull MSU within a basket, 57-54, with 3:38 left in the game. Unfortunately, a five-point Belmont spurt, capped by a Destinee Wells three with the shot clock expiring, gave the Bruins an eight-point advantage that eventually forced the Lady Bears to foul down the stretch. Missouri State’s eight-game win streak came to an end with a 68-58 loss.
Missouri State trailed for the entire game, except for a tie at 2-2 just 0:50 into the game. After trailing by seven points at the 2:47 mark of the first quarter, Rocca knocked down her first of two triples in the period to pull MSU back within four points. A Thomas layup and Rocca’s second three then had MSU within two, but Belmont’s Kendal Cheesman hit her third consecutive three-pointer of the first with 0:38 remaining to give Belmont a 20-15 advantage after one in Springfield.
The Bruins came out of the quarter break and reeled off a 7-0 run to push the Belmont lead to 12 points, before a Jade Masogayo jumper ended the run and got MSU to within 10. As the teams swapped baskets, Belmont was able to extend its lead to as many as 13, but the Lady Bears responded with a Masogayo layup and four Rocca points via a jumper and at the free throw line to cut the deficit to eight. Once again, Belmont hit a three with time winding down in the half to take a 40-28 lead over the Lady Bears headed into halftime.
Missouri State was led by Thomas who had 19 points and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Rocca was MSU’s second-leading scorer with a career-high 17 points with two triples. Taylor was the game’s leading rebounder with 12 boards.
As a team, the Lady Bears outrebounded the Bruins, 47-33, and grabbed 23 offensive boards. Missouri State fell to 0-6 this season when their opponent records more assists.
Missouri State will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 23 against Evansville. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Women’s basketball tickets are available at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the box office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during box office hours.
