MOLINE, Ill. – Missouri State women’s basketball (20-11) fell in a 73-70 heartbreaker to Drake (20-9) here in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday afternoon.
With the game tied at 47-47 heading into the final quarter in Moline, the Lady Bears found some momentum as they went on an 8-0 run with multiple key defensive stops and rebounds to lead 55-47 with 7:19 remaining. From there, both teams swapped baskets with Drake knocking down a couple of three-pointers to tie the game once again, this time at 63-63 with 2:15 on the clock. Missouri State was then forced to foul down the stretch and the Lady Bears eventually cut the lead to a point with one second remaining but fell short in the end.
The third quarter saw Missouri State hit a basket to open the scoring and take a four-point lead. However, the third period would be a back-and-forth battle that included four ties. MSU went on a 5-2 spurt with three points coming at the free throw line to hold a two-point advantage with 1:39 remaining in the third before Drake connected on a layup to make it 47-47 with 10 minutes to play.
Both teams got off to a quick start in the game, before Missouri State reeled off a six-point run courtesy of two Paige Rocca and a Sydney Wilson jumper to take an 11-5 lead near the midway point of the first. From that point, the Lady Bear lead hovered around four to seven points. Drake then hit the final shot of the period with 0:31 left as Missouri State headed to the second quarter with a 19-15 lead.
The second quarter ultimately ended in a game of runs, but Drake opened the second with a three to make it a one-point game. Missouri State responded, pushing the lead back to four and then six points, before Isabelle Delarue knocked down a triple to give the Lady Bears a seven-point advantage. At the midway point of the second, Missouri State strung together six consecutive points from Wilson, Aniya Thomas and Delarue to extend its lead to a game-high 11 points with 3:15 remaining in the first half. However, Drake then answered with their own run via back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to make it a two-point, 35-33, game at halftime.
Thomas paced Missouri State with 21 points, four assists and three steals to mark her eighth 20-point scoring performance of the season. Kennedy Taylor followed in double figures with 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Collectively, Missouri State forced 19 Drake turnovers and scored 19 points off those turnovers. The Lady Bears collected 11 steals and outscored the Bulldogs in bench points, 16-0. Ultimately, the battle was won from behind the arc as the Lady Bears and Bulldogs each had 36 paint points, with Drake holding the advantage from three-point range with seven three-point field goals to MSU’s two.
The Lady Bears now await Sunday’s postseason bid announcements to determine if their season will continue.
