DES MOINES, Iowa – Missouri State women’s basketball fell to 19-9 (14-5 MVC) on the season following an 83-63 road loss at Drake (18-9, 13-6 MVC) here Thursday night.
The Lady Bears got off to a slow start on the road in Des Moines, falling behind 8-0 to begin the game. After Aniya Thomas knocked down the first two baskets of the game for MSU, the Bulldogs took a 16-4 lead just under the midway point of the first quarter. Despite trailing, Missouri State responded by reeling off a 9-0 run that was bookended by Thomas and Taylor Woodhouse threes to cut the MSU deficit to three points. Just as the Lady Bears pulled within a basket, Drake went on a 10-2 spurt to push the Bulldog lead back to 11 with a minute remaining in the first.
Trailing 28-17 after one quarter on the road, Missouri State opened the second period with three baskets and a free throw to pull within seven, before the Bulldogs connected on two three-pointers to extend the lead back out to 13 points. Over the final 4:43 of the first half, Drake outscored MSU, 6-4, to carry a 43-28 lead into the break over the Lady Bears.
The first-half trend continued out of the break as Thomas scored the first four points of the second half to pull MSU back within 11 points. Drake once again answered, this time with a 10-3 run to make it an 18-point game. Jade Masogayo connected on a layup to stop the 2:15 scoring drought for MSU, but Drake kept the momentum as the Bulldogs scored the next six points. A Taylor layup and two Paige Rocca free throws over the final 2:07 of the third quarter made it a 61-41 game in favor of Drake with 10 minutes remaining.
Missouri State produced its highest-scoring quarter of the night in the fourth with 22 points. Over the first four minutes of the fourth period, both squads had three field goals, with Drake holding a narrow three-point advantage in that span as all of its buckets came from behind the arc. From there, MSU put together a couple of five-point runs over the last 4:13, but the Lady Bears weren’t ever able to get back within striking distance as they suffered an 83-63 road loss.
Thomas led the way for MSU with 22 points and three assists, marking her seventh 20-point outing this season. Taylor joined in double figures with 10 points on the night, while Indya Green and Rocca were MSU’s leading rebounders with five boards each.
As a team, MSU forced 18 Bulldog turnovers and collected nine steals. However, the Lady Bears lost the battle on the boards, 41-26, and were outscored in the paint, 54-30.
Missouri State will conclude the regular season on Saturday, March 4 at Northern Iowa. Tipoff in Cedar Falls is set for 2 p.m. CT.
