SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball (1-0) came away with a two-point, 63-61, victory in its season opener against Tulsa (1-1) here Sunday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Clutch free throws down the stretch sealed the victory for the Lady Bears in a back-and-forth battle with the Golden Hurricane. Following an intentional foul called on Tulsa with 0:58 remaining in the game, Paige Rocca stepped to the line with the game tied at 60-60 and knocked down both of her free throws to ultimately secure the victory.
Following a couple of missed shots from MSU, the Golden Hurricane had a chance to tie the game at the charity stripe but missed the first of two free throws to keep Missouri State out in front. From there, Tulsa was forced to foul and Rocca hit on one of her two attempts to make it 63-61. Tulsa was not going away easy, but the Lady Bears were up to the task as they came up with two huge defensive stops courtesy of a defensive rebound from Kaemyn Bekemeier and a charge taken by Kiley Bess in the final seconds.
Tulsa had to mount a comeback to make it close in the end after Missouri State extended its lead to 11 points immediately out of the halftime break on a Sarah Linthacum jumper. That’s when Tulsa put together its best run of the day – a 9-0 surge that cut MSU’s lead to two points and was eventually part of a 15-3 run that gave the Golden Hurricane the lead with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter. MSU answered quickly with six consecutive points, but Tulsa cut the lead to just two points once again at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter saw the game tied five times, but the Lady Bears only relinquished the lead to Tulsa for a brief instance near the midway point of the period en route to the win.
Despite the close game down the stretch, the first half belonged to the Lady Bears. After both teams traded a couple of three-pointers to start the game, Missouri State settled in and grew its lead to double figures with an 11-point, 28-17, advantage after the first quarter.
The second quarter was much more balanced between the squads as Tulsa actually had a two-point advantage in the frame. However, four consecutive Rocca free throws just inside of two minutes left on the clock gave the Lady Bears their largest lead of the game at 13 points before the Golden Hurricane made it 39-30 at the intermission.
Free throws proved to be the difference-maker in this one with Missouri State going 19-for-32 (.594) from the stripe compared to Tulsa’s 9-for-22 (.409). MoState also controlled the glass with a +10 (45-35) rebounding margin on the afternoon, while shooting 36 percent (19-for-53) from the field and 35 percent from three (6-for-17).
Rocca paced the Lady Bears with a game-high 15 points (10-of-11 FT), while Linthacum recorded her first career double-double with a 10-point, 11-rebound performance. Lacy Stokes also contributed 10 points and had three assists.
Missouri State will hit the road for six games, beginning with a midweek matchup at Wichita State on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Tipoff in Wichita is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.
