by CHICAGO – Missouri State’s best NCAA Tournament run in nearly two decades came to an end Saturday in the Chicago Regional Semifinal at Wintrust Arena, as the Lady Bears fell to No. 2 seed and sixth-ranked Stanford by a 55-46 final.
The Lady Bears (25-10) finished with their most wins in a season since 2005, holding the Cardinal to 25 percent shooting overall and 3-for-29 from 3-point range in a gritty defensive effort. Stanford (31-4) was equal to the task, blocking six shots and limiting MSU to 25.4 percent from the field and a season-low point total. The loss ended a streak of 16 consecutive wins away from Springfield over the course of 111 days.
Missouri State fell behind 4-0 and never led, scoring a season-low 19 first-half points but keeping Stanford within striking distance for the duration of the game.
After going without a field goal for nearly nine minutes around halftime, Jasmine Franklin scored for a 28-23 deficit with 7:12 left in the third quarter, and Brice Calip (Mvskoke Creek) followed with a trey 39 seconds later for a 30-26 score. Freshman Sydney Wilson pulled MSU within a possession at 34-31 late in third, and Danielle Gitzen’s bucket with 1:04 left did so again at 38-35.
Stanford responded with an 11-1 run over the next five minutes to lead by 13, and the Lady Bears fired right back, scoring eight straight points to close to 49-44 on a Franklin basket with 2:09 remaining.
The Cardinal ended their five-minute scoring drought at the foul line with 27 seconds left, and went 6-for-8 at the stripe down the stretch to secure an Elite Eight berth.
Gitzen led MSU with a game-high 14 points to go with eight rebounds in her final game, and Franklin finished with 11 points and 10 boards for her sixth double-double of the year. Emily Gartner also had eight board for MSU, who trailed Stanford 55-48 in that category.
