LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Missouri State’s women’s basketball team opened the 2021-22 season with a 76-62 victory against Little Rock on Tuesday night.
With the victory, Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton became just the fifth coach in Division I history to reach 50 wins in less than 60 games to begin their careers at the D1 level, which she accomplished in 57 games.
MSU (1-0) matched its longest road win streak in program history at 13, which began on March 1, 2020.
The Lady Bears got off to a slow start offensively, finding themselves down 9-8 midway through the opening quarter. Coming out of the timeout, Missouri State got a spark from graduate transfer Mariah White who scored a quick five points. Later in the quarter, White drove hard to the basket, drew the foul, and converted the three-point opportunity to give the Lady Bears a 21-11 advantage and the momentum.
White had a game-high 17 points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting from the field (2-for-3 3FG) and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
MSU and Little Rock (0-1) traded runs throughout the second quarter with the Trojans closing the gap to two points with 3:56 remaining in the second period. The Lady Bears used points from their veterans including Jasmine Franklin and Brice Calip, along with White, to extend the lead to eight right before the Trojans closed out the first half by converting an and-one opportunity to make the score 38-32 heading into the break.
Little Rock came out firing in the second half with Kourouma connecting on two jumpers to cut the lead back to two, but the Lady Bears answered with a run of their own. Sparked by Calip, Missouri State reeled off eight straight points, six of which came from the free throw line.
However, the Trojans wouldn’t go away as they connected on four consecutive shots to take the lead, 53-52, with time winding down in the third period. Little Rock, Ark., native Abi Jackson drove in and connected on a layup with just :10 left on the clock to tip the lead back in favor of the Lady Bears, 54-53, with one quarter to play.
The big three on the night for MSU helped shut down the Little Rock threat, as the Lady Bears went on a 13-3 run over the final 5:09 to secure the 76-62 victory against Little Rock. White ended the night with a game-high 24 points, while Calip and Franklin scored 15 and 18, respectively.
With four blocks against the Trojans, Jasmine Franklin moved into third all-time on the MSU career blocks list with 108 in her career, and is just two blocks shy of taking over second place.
Sixth-year senior Calip tied the Missouri State program record for career games played with 131, tying Lacey Boshe (2008-2012) at the top of the list.
The Lady Bears will be back in action against North Texas at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14. at JQH Arena for the 2021-22 home opener.
