NASHVILLE – Missouri State women’s basketball (22-7, 14-4 MVC) fell 67-61 on the road at Belmont (18-11, 13-5 MVC) here Saturday afternoon.
It was another hard-fought battle between the Lady Bears and Bruins, but Belmont was able to control the second half and hand MoState its second consecutive loss.
The first half saw an incredibly even matchup with both squads never stretching the lead to more than one possession early in the first period. Finally, at the 2:33 mark when trailing by one, Lacy Stokes and Kaemyn Bekemeier went on a 7-0 surge to put the Lady Bears in front by six. A Belmont triple dialed it back to a three-point lead before Stokes got the final basket of the quarter to fall to make it 19-14 in favor of Missouri State after one quarter.
The second quarter was nearly identical as the first, but with Belmont making the run in this one. At the 5:45 mark, a Bekemeier jumper made it a five-point game, and that’s when the Bruins made their run. Belmont scored seven straight to flip the lead back to the home squad. The final three buckets of the first half all swapped the lead with MoState getting the last opportunity and going into the intermission with a one-point, 34-33, lead after Daniels beat the buzzer.
Out of the halftime break, Belmont came out scorching hot, scoring the first eight points of the third period to force a Missouri State timeout. One MoState field goal cut it back to five points, but then the Bruins added seven more to extend the lead to 12 points. With time expiring, Belmont heaved a long three that went in as the buzzer sounded and the Lady Bears trailed by 14 heading into the final period. Missouri State was held without a field goal over the final 4:07 of the third quarter.
The Bruins extended their lead to as many as 18 on the afternoon and kept it steady for a majority of the fourth, but MoState had one more big push down the stretch. A Stokes jumper sparked an 11-0 run for the Lady Bears to turn it in to a two-possession game trailing by six. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on Missouri State’s side with just 14 ticks left on the clock as they ultimately fell, 67-61, on the road.
Daniels led Missouri State with 19 points in addition to six rebounds. Bekemeier followed with 16 points and seven boards, while Stokes was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Missouri State shot 39 percent (25-65) from the field, 14 percent (3-21) from three and 67 percent (8-12) from the line. The Lady Bears forced 13 Belmont turnovers, but were minus-two on the glass.
MoState returns home to close out the regular season next weekend. The Lady Bears enter the final weekend in a three-way tie for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings. Missouri State will start the weekend by hosting Illinois State on Thursday, March 6. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.
