Lacy Stokes & Indya Green:
Beth Cunningham:
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball moved to 4-3 on the season after mounting a second-half comeback to defeat Wichita State, 72-65, here Saturday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena.
After trailing 39-33 at the half, Kennedy Taylor and Jade Masogayo scored the first six points of the second half to tie the game and jumpstart MSU’s comeback bid.
With the leading hovering between one and three points for either team, the turning point in the matchup came when MSU put together an 8-0 over the final 2:29 of the second half to go ahead of the Shockers, 55-48. The run consisted of an Indya Green fastbreak layup, followed by back-to-back treys from Lacy Stokes and Kyrah Daniels as Missouri State outscored Wichita State by 13 points, 22-9, in the third period.
The Shockers (4-7) threw one final punch, tying the game at 55-55 with 7:26 remaining in the game. But, MSU retook the lead immediately with back-to-back buckets from Taylor and would later push the lead to its biggest of the game at 10 points with 1:32 left on the clock. Stokes led the way for MSU in the final stanza, scoring 10 of the Lady Bears’ 17 points, including going 7-for-12 at the charity stripe to ice the game late.
In a tale of two halves, the Lady Bears struggled in a couple of key areas to start the game. Missouri State turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, leading to 22 Wichita State points, while the Shockers also shot 68 percent (17-25) from the field compared to MSU’s 50 percent (14-28).
One area where the Lady Bears did hold the advantage was on the boards, outrebounding WSU 16-7 in the opening half, including a 9-1 margin on the offensive glass.
After surrendering 22 points off turnovers in the first half, the Lady Bears allowed just one point off eight turnovers in the second half, while scoring 16 points off the Shockers’ 13 turnovers. MSU also held Wichita State to 35 percent (8-23) from the field in the final 20 minutes to secure the victory.
Stokes led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Taylor with 18 points, five rebounds and a team-high four steals. Green logged her second double-double of the season with a 12-point, 14-rebound performance. Masogayo was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 10 points and a game-high five assists.
Collectively, the Lady Bears outscored the Shockers in the paint, 42-34, and won the battle on the boards, 32-21. MSU also recorded 16 assists on 28 field goals and forced 25 Shocker turnovers for the game.
The victory marked MSU’s fifth consecutive win at home over Wichita State and extended MSU’s current home win streak to five games, dating back to last season.
Missouri State will be back at home next week to host the Lady Bear Classic at Great Southern Bank Arena. The Lady Bears will take on BYU on Wednesday, Dec. 20 and Western Kentucky on Thursday, Dec. 21. Both games are set to tip off at 2:30 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.
