EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri State women’s basketball (17-6, 11-3 MVC) collected another Missouri Valley Conference road victory with a 73-56 win at Evansville (4-21, 2-12 MVC) here Saturday afternoon.After holding on to a three-point lead at the end of the third quarter on the road, Missouri State dominated the fourth quarter to cruise to a 17-point win. The Lady Bears posted 20 points in the final period, while holding the Purple Aces to just six points on 18 percent (2-for-11) shooting from the field and shutting Evansville out from behind the arc (0-4). The Lady Bears ended the game on a 15-2 run, initially sparked by a Kaemyn Bekemeier triple.Until Missouri State was able to pull away in the fourth quarter, it was a back-and-forth matchup on the road.The Purple Aces scored the opening basket of the game, but then the Lady Bears surged for 12 straight points with buckets from four different Lady Bears in the run. Evansville eventually settled in, knocking down a couple of threes in the quarter to cut MSU’s lead to three at the end of the first.Going into the second, Evansville found some offensive success, shooting 70 percent (7-for-10) in the period as the lead changed hands four times. A 10-3 run late in the first half helped Missouri State grab the lead, owning a four-point, 39-35, advantage at the half. Lacy Stokes scored 11 of her 14 first-half points in the second period on 3-for-4 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe.Things remained close in the third, with Evansville owning a one-point advantage in the period. The second half of the third quarter saw a big run by each team, as the Purple Aces made their surge first and took the lead back and extended it to four after a seven-point spurt. But the Lady Bears had an answer as Kennedy Taylor and Louis Volker matched Evansville’s run to swing the momentum and the lead back to Missouri State, 53-50, with 10 minutes remaining in the game.Stokes led the way for Missouri State on the afternoon with 19 points while shooting at a 50 percent clip (6-for-12) from the field and .875 (7-for-8) from the free throw line. Indya Green logged a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Taylor also joined in double figures with 10 points while missing no shots from the field (3-for-3).As a team, the Lady Bears dominated in the paint, 42-24, and were plus-21 (44-23) on the boards, including a 15-2 margin on the offensive glass. MSU’s depth was also crucial in this one as the Lady Bears scored 23 bench points to Evansville’s six.The Lady Bears close out a three-game road swing with a trip to Drake on Thursday, Feb. 22. Tipoff in Des Moines, Iowa is set for 6 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.
