CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Missouri State women’s basketball (21-5, 13-2 MVC) earned a gritty overtime road win, 75-72, over Northern Iowa (13-13, 8-7 MVC) here Thursday night.
Lacy Stokes found her way to the rim and gave Missouri State a two-point lead with just 13 seconds left on the clock, before UNI’s Maya McDermott got the short floater to fall on the other end to tie the game at 67-67 with six seconds remaining. On the next possession, the Lady Bears were called for an offensive foul to give the Panthers a chance at the win with three seconds left, but the MoState defense held tough and forced overtime in Cedar Falls.
UNI got the advantage early in overtime on two free throws after a foul was called on the tipoff. Missouri State responded, though, as Sarah Linthacum got fouled on a layup and converted the and-1 opportunity. The Panthers retook the lead again on a layup, before Kiley Bess knocked down a jumper and Paige Rocca went 1-of-2 from the line, handing the lead back to MoState, 73-71. A foul on the other end sent UNI to the charity stripe, where Emerson Green (28 pts) went 1-for-2, and the Lady Bears defense got a big stop after missing out on the rebound. With MoState still leading by one, UNI stole the ball from the Lady Bears but were then called for an offensive foul while driving down the court. In a one-point game with the ball in the hands of Missouri State, the Panthers fouled and Stokes knocked them both down to put the Lady Bears up by three. On the final possession, Kaemyn Bekemeier came up with a steal to secure the three-point road win for the visiting Lady Bears.
The game was a back-and-forth battle the entire way. Missouri State jumped out to a four-point lead in the first quarter, but the lead for either team wouldn’t grow over one possession for the remainder of the quarter. The Panthers put together a 6-1 run to end the first and give UNI a three-point lead after one.
Missouri State showed a lot of grit and determination in the second quarter, as the Lady Bears found themselves in their biggest deficit of the night at 10 points. With 6:32 left in the first half and trailing by 10, back-to-back triples from Kyrah Daniels and Bekemeier sparked an offensive surge for the Lady Bears, as they went on a 19-4 run to flip the lead and extend it to five points.
After holding a two-point advantage at the break, Missouri State allowed UNI to score the first four points and retake the lead early in the third period. From there, both squads traded buckets as the Panthers eventually stretched the lead to five points. Daniels, Bekemeier and Stokes combined for six points over the final 2:10 of the third as the Lady Bears trailed by one point enter the final quarter.
With UNI still leading by one, Bess stepped up and knocked down a triple, before Stokes followed suit with her only trey of the night to extend the Lady Bear lead to five. The fourth quarter saw three ties over the final 2:52 as this one needed five more minutes to decide a winner.
Stokes led the way for Missouri State with 21 points and seven assists. Meanwhile, Linthacum posted her third double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Daniels was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 12 points in addition to six rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
As a team, Missouri State won the battle on the boards, 43-37 and held the Panthers to just 15 percent (3-20) from beyond the arc. Missouri State shot 42 percent (29-69) from the field, 32 percent (6-19) from three and 79 percent (11-14) from the line.
Missouri State stays on the road for a Saturday, February 22 matchup at Drake. Tipoff against the Bulldogs is set for 2:00 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.
