Missouri State women’s basketball (5-3) collected its second consecutive victory with a 56-55 hard-fought win over BYU (9-3) here Wednesday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena.
The game-changing moment for the Lady Bears came with 0:06 remaining in the first half as Angel Scott nailed a three-pointer to cap a 7-0 MSU run to end the half and give Missouri State a 32-30 lead at the break.
Out of halftime, the two squads continued to battle in a physical game. BYU’s leading scorer on the night, Lauren Davenport (12 points), put together a seven-point run with back-to-back triples and a free throw to put the visitors back in front by five. Their lead wouldn’t last, though, as Lacy Stokes sparked an 8-0 Lady Bear surge to recapture the lead and extend it to four.
A couple of Cougar free throws with under :30 remaining made it a two-point, 48-46, game in favor of the home team with 10 minutes remaining.
Missouri State jumped on BYU early in the fourth, scoring the first six points of the final stanza featuring layups from Kyrah Daniels, Jade Masogayo and Scott to push the lead to a game-high eight points for the Lady Bears. From there, Missouri State struggled to put the ball in the basket as Daniels’ jumper at 5:42 marked the final points of the afternoon for the Lady Bears.
Despite their offensive struggles late, the Lady Bears locked it down on the defensive end when it mattered most, holding BYU to nine points in the final quarter, to outduel the Cougars for a one-point victory.
The first half saw two vastly different quarters that favored each team. BYU was hot out of the gate, going on a 12-4 run to open the game. The Lady Bears eventually settled in, swapping buckets and later cutting the deficit to three.
Down by five entering the second frame, the script flipped as MSU once again cut the BYU lead to just three points on Louis Volker’s first career three-pointer at the 2:32 mark. That’s when Scott and Masogayo combined for seven consecutive points to end the half and catapult the Lady Bears to victory.
The victory marked the 11th consecutive season that Missouri State has defeated a Power Five opponent, with 19 such wins over that span. It also extended MSU’s home win streak to six games, as the Lady Bears have now won 12 of their last 13 games at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Stokes led the way for Missouri State with 13 points and three assists, followed by Kennedy Taylor and Daniels with 10 points apiece. Indya Green was MSU’s rebounding and steals leader with six and three, respectively.
As a group, the Lady Bears owned the advantage in points in the paint (30-24) and points off turnovers (28-14) after forcing 25 BYU turnovers on the afternoon. Missouri State also collected 10 steals and five blocked shots in the contest.
Missouri State will close out the Lady Bear Classic tomorrow with a matchup against Western Kentucky. The Lady Toppers defeated Nevada, 66-60, in their opening game of the tournament. Tipoff between MSU and WKU is set for 2:30 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.
