ST. THOMAS, U.S. VI – Missouri State women’s basketball improved to 4-1 on the season with a 65-64 victory over Gonzaga (4-3) to open its stay at the Paradise Jam here on Thursday night.
Lacy Stokes had a clutch shot at the end of each half to give the Lady Bears the advantage and the victory on day one of the Paradise Jam tournament in St. Thomas.
Near the midway point of the second quarter, Missouri State had pushed its lead out to a first-half high of nine points, but Gonzaga reeled off nine in a row to knot the game at 27-27 with 1:22 remaining. After a couple of empty possessions from both teams, the Bulldogs grabbed a defensive rebound for one final possession, but Stokes knocked the ball loose and connected on the fastbreak layup before time expired to give MSU a 29-27 lead at the intermission.
Out of the halftime break, Paige Rocca had the hot hand as she scored the first eight points of the second half for MoState, including two triples. Her second trey put the Lady Bears up by five as Stokes then immediately stole the inbound pass and put it in the basket to spark a nine-point Lady Bear surge. Cady Pauley was the next Lady Bear to get on a hot streak, as she poured in seven consecutive points for Missouri State to extend the lead as MSU eventually led 52-40 heading into the final period.
Despite never trailing in the game, the Lady Bears made things interesting down the stretch. After Gonzaga cut the MSU lead to 10 points to open the fourth, Stokes, Rocca and Kaemyn Bekemeier quickly pushed the advantage back to 17 points before the Bulldogs made a final push that would test the Lady Bears.
Over a nearly six-minute span, Gonzaga went on a 17-3 run to make it a one-possession game at 62-59 with 0:44 left to play. Following two Stokes free throws to put the Lady Bears up five, the Bulldogs got a layup and 10 seconds later connected on a game-tying triple after Missouri State was whistled for a five-second violation as they attempted to inbound the ball. With the game tied at 64-64, Stokes was fouled as she drove to the basket and went 1-for-2 at the line to give the Lady Bears a one-point advantage. Gonzaga got a good look on the final shot, but it didn’t fall as Missouri State grabbed the victory.
Missouri State led early in this one with a 7-2 outburst to start the game, including a triple from Daniels on the Lady Bears’ first offensive possession. As both teams settled in and swapped buckets, MSU maintained its five-point advantage at the end of the first period, leading 18-13.
In a low-scoring second quarter, the Lady Bears were able to go up by as many as nine points on back-to-back buckets from Bekemeier and Daniels, but just as they did in the second half, they let Gonzaga tie it up late. Stokes’ steal and layup at the end of the half broke the tie and gave MSU the advantage heading into the locker room.
Rocca led the way for the Lady Bears with 14 points after going 5-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. The fifth-year senior also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in the win. Daniels and Stokes each followed with 12 points, while combining for nine assists and five steals. Bekemeier was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 11 points on the day.
As a squad, the Lady Bears got a huge performance from their bench as MSU outscored Gonzaga 26-7 in bench points. Missouri State turned 18 Bulldog turnovers into 22 points, while also connecting on seven triples to Gonzaga’s four on the day.
Missouri State is back at it tomorrow with a matchup against Florida State. The game will tip off at 4:30 p.m. CT and air on ESPN+.
