MOLINE, Ill. – Missouri State women’s basketball (23-8) put together an impressive defensive effort to secure a 63-48 win over Belmont (25-8) here Saturday evening to advance to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship tomorrow against top-seeded Drake.
Tomorrow will mark Missouri State’s 17th appearance in the conference tournament championship game, spanning both the Gateway and Missouri Valley conferences. MSU’s last appearance in the conference tournament title game was in 2019 when the Lady Bears defeated Drake, 94-79.
Missouri State dominated the second half in the semifinal matchup, outscoring the Bruins 34-21 and forcing 12 Belmont turnovers over the final 20 minutes. The Lady Bears held Belmont to a season-low 48 points, with the Bruins’ previous low of 54 points also coming courtesy of Missouri State earlier this season in Springfield.
After leading by two at the half, Belmont quickly tied the game in the third to set up a whole new ballgame in the second half. From there, Missouri State went on a 12-3 surge to take and extend the lead to nine points. At the 2:00 mark of the third period, an Indya Green three-pointer pushed MSU’s lead to double digits, before a Belmont free throw made it a nine-point MSU advantage heading to the final period.
The Lady Bears wouldn’t allow Belmont to close the cap significantly in the final quarter, holding the Bruins to 31 percent from the field and just one three-point field goal. With the Lady Bears keeping hold of an eight-point lead down the stretch, Belmont was forced to foul and Missouri State iced the game, going 8-for-10 from the charity stripe in the fourth to secure a 15-point victory over Belmont.
The game saw a close first half matchup with the largest lead for either team topping out at six points. Belmont came out firing from three with the Bruins’ Kendal Cheesman knocking down three triples in the first five minutes to take a six-point lead. However, Missouri State settled in and locked the Bruins down, holding Belmont scoreless over the final 5:01 of the first. Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year Lacy Stokes then went to work, scoring the last six points of the quarter herself to tie the game at 14-14 after one in Moline.
The Lady Bears kept the momentum going in the second, scoring the first four points to take their largest lead of the first half. The remainder of the half saw no lead grow larger than three points as the Bruins retook the lead twice on more success from behind the arc.
Freshman Kyrah Daniels then found her stride, connecting on back-to-back jumpers to give the Lady Bears a three-point advantage. Belmont would tie the game with free throws on two more occasions, but Missouri State got the last possession and Stokes made them pay, knocking down a jumper with 0:02 left in the half to give the Lady Bears a 29-27 lead at the half.
Stokes led the way for the Lady Bears with 21 points, five assists and four steals. Daniels joined in double figures with 13 points on the evening. As a team, the Lady Bears forced 17 Belmont turnovers, turning those mishaps into 16 points. Missouri State also owned the advantage on the boards, 40-33, and in the paint, 24-16.
Missouri State will face No. 1 Drake in the title game tomorrow (March 17). It will mark the seventh meeting between the two teams in the championship game, with each team owning three wins in the previous six meetings. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2 and it will also stream on ESPN+.
