SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball (11-4, 5-1) cruised to a 35-point, 90-55, victory over Evansville (2-15, 0-6) here on Friday night at Great Southern Bank Arena.
It was all Lady Bears from the jump in this one with Missouri State going on a 13-0 run to begin the game and never looking back. As MSU’s offense kept rolling, the Lady Bears locked it down defensively in the early going, holding Evansville to 18 percent (2-for-11) from the field in the first period.
With MSU leading 22-6 after a quarter, the Purple Aces knocked down the first two shots of the second quarter. However, Missouri State wouldn’t let Evansville grab onto any momentum as the Lady Bears answered with a 12-2 surge, sparked by an Indya Green layup and capped with a Paige Rocca triple to push the lead to 22 points. With under a minute left in the second, freshman Kyrah Daniels found a rhythm, knocking down a jumper and then draining a corner three with time expiring in the half to give MSU a 43-16 advantage at the half.
After holding the Purple Aces to just 16 first-half points, Evansville found a spark in Maggie Hartwig coming out the break. Hartwig (23 points, 9-15 FG) scored 17 of Evansville’s 21 points in the third quarter, going 6-for-7 from the field, 2-for-2 from three and 3-for-6 at the charity stripe. Despite UE’s spark, the Lady Bears answered by shooting 71 percent (12-17) in the quarter and extending their lead to 33 points at the end of the quarter.
With the lead in hand heading into the final quarter, MSU was able to play its second wave for an extended period of time. After two Evansville free throws to kick off the fourth, the foursome of Louis Volker, Kaemyn Bekemeier, Natasha Barnes and Katrine Jessen were able to put together a 13-2 run to push the lead to a game-high 42 points. Late in the game, freshman Blake O’Grady scored her first collegiate points as the Lady Bears went on to capture a 90-55 victory. With the win, Missouri State moved to 9-0 at home this season and extended its home win streak to 11 games.
Missouri State had five players reach double figures on the night, led by Rocca and Kennedy Taylor with 11 points each. Daniels, Jade Masogayo and Volker each scored 10 points in the victory. Taylor paced MSU with eight rebounds, while Lacy Stokes dished out a game-high seven assists with no turnovers.
All 14 Lady Bears on Missouri State’s roster recorded a rebound as MSU dominated on the boards, 52-33. The Lady Bears also racked up 21 assists and 11 steals, while shooting 47 percent (37-79) for the game.
The Lady Bears are back at home on Sunday, Jan. 21 as they welcome Indiana State. Tipoff against the Sycamores is set for 2 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena and the game will stream on ESPN+. Sunday’s game will also feature a jersey retirement ceremony for Lady Bear great Kari Koch at halftime.
