SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball (24-7, 16-4 MVC) secured its 15th Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship with a 64-54 win over Bradley (13-18, 7-13 MVC) here Saturday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Missouri State and Murray State share the title this season after both teams finished the regular season with a 16-4 record in league play. Seeding for next week’s MVC Tournament will be determined tomorrow morning when the updated NCAA NET rankings are released.
The Lady Bears also secured the program’s eighth undefeated season at home (first since 2019-20) and were the only team in the MVC with an unblemished home record this season. MoState has now won 17 straight games at home dating back to last season.
It was a battle on the final day of the regular season in Springfield. Missouri State entered the final 10 minutes of the game with a seven-point lead and eventually stretched it to 10 points at the 7:36 mark. Bradley then made its final run, going on a 7-2 surge to cut the MoState advantage to five points with 1:47 remaining.
That’s when Kiley Bess had her championship moment, draining a triple off the assist from fellow senior Lacy Stokes as the crowd of 4,063 inside Great Southern Bank Arena erupted. It proved to be the knockout blow as Missouri State went on to earn the 10-point, 64-54, victory en route to a share of the MVC regular-season title.
To open the game, it was Bradley that got off to a hot start, beginning the game on a 7-1 run before Missouri State settled in. Bess converted an and-1 opportunity to really get things rolling for the Lady Bears, sparking an 8-0 surge. After a Bradley triple to give the visitors a one-point advantage, back-to-back layups from seniors Paige Rocca and Sarah Linthacum handed the lead back to MoState for good.
The second quarter saw more of the same as there was just a one-point differential in scoring in the period. After four consecutive points from Lainie Douglas late in the first half to push the lead to seven points, the largest lead in the first 20 minutes by either team, a Bradley triple made it a four-point game in favor of the Lady Bears at the intermission.
Out of halftime, the story remained the same as the Lady Bears just couldn’t quite pull away from the Braves. With the MoState lead hovering at one to two possessions, Bekemeier hit two free throws late in the period to make it a seven-point, 49-42, game heading to the final period.
Linthacum was the game’s leading scorer with 14 points (7-9 FG) and a team-high eight rebounds. Bekemeier followed with 13 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Bess (12 points) and Stokes (11 points) also posted double-digit scoring performances as MoState improved to 15-1 this season when four or more players score in double figures.
As a team, the Lady Bears made Bradley pay at the free throw line, knocking down 21-of-24 at the charity stripe. MoState won the battle in the paint, 30-22, was plus-three on the glass. Missouri State shot 39 percent (20-52) from the field, 21 percent (3-14) from three and 88 percent at the line.
The Lady Bears will head to the MVC Tournament next week at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. MoState secured a first-round bye, so the Lady Bears will open their tournament stay on Friday, March 14 in the quarterfinal round.
