SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball (11-4, 3-1 MVC) cruised to a 38-point, 75-37, victory over Southern Illinois (2-11, 0-4 MVC) here Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Bears allowed their lowest point total of the season (37) and held Southern Illinois to just .208 shooting from the field (11-53), also a season low mark. MoState improved to 7-0 at home this season and 30-0 under Beth Cunningham when holding opponents below the 60-point mark.
Missouri State grabbed the lead in under 30 seconds and never looked back. After a tie at 2-2, the Lady Bears put together a 7-0 run and never relinquished the lead. Kyrah Daniels got off to a hot start, scoring seven of MSU’s first nine points on the afternoon, before the game settled into a rhythm with the Lady Bears leading by six after a quarter.
Kiley Bess connected on two free throws to open the scoring in the second period as MoState stretched its lead to 12 points at the 7:36 mark. Missouri State dominated on the defensive end in the second, holding SIU to 8 percent (1-12) from the field and just five points with three of those coming at the free throw line. Daniels knocked down a triple before Kaemyn Bekemeier accounted for MSU’s next three baskets to push the lead to and keep it at a 16-point advantage for the Lady Bears.
Daniels led the way with a game-high 10 first-half points, followed by Bekemeier with eight points and seven boards. Missouri State improved to 11-1 on the season when leading at halftime as they carried a 33-17 lead into the intermission.
The Lady Bears didn’t let up as they came out of the locker room, in fact, they had their best quarter of the night shooting 65 percent (11-17) to take total control of the game. Lacy Stokes laid one in on the opening possession of the second half to spark an 18-4 surge that put MoState up 30 points, 51-21, with 3:14 left on the clock. The Salukis eventually got a couple of more shots to fall, but the Lady Bears scored the final four points as Bess put an exclamation point on the third period when she grabbed the rebound on a missed MoState free throw, tossed it up and into the basket as time expired to give the home team a 58-29 lead heading to the fourth.
Once again, the Missouri State defensive effort was incredible in the final period as the Lady Bears held Southern Illinois to 7 percent (1-14) from the field and just eight points. Pauley led the way for MoState in the fourth with five points as the Lady Bears cruised to a 75-37 victory and remained undefeated at home.
Sarah Linthacum tied for the game’s lead with 14 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in just 14:33 on the floor. Ten of her 14 points came in the third quarter as she logged her 11th double-figure scoring performance of the year. Daniels also had 14 points to pair with eight rebounds. Bekemeier turned in her second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Pauley was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 10 points, five boards and three assists.
As a team, Missouri State pulled down 50 rebounds, owned a plus-13 rebound margin and forced 23 SIU turnovers. The Lady Bears dominated in the paint (34-12), in points off turnovers (22-12) and in bench points (30-12). For the game, MoState shot 46 percent (28-61) from the field and 53 percent (17-32) from the line. Both teams struggled from behind the arc, going a combined 4-for-34 (.118).
Missouri State will hit the road next week for more conference action, beginning at Evansville on Friday, January 17. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.
