by TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Missouri State women’s basketball improved to 15-4 (6-2 MVC) on the season with a 62-58 over Indiana State (9-8, 4-2 MVC) on Saturday afternoon in Terre Haute.
The Lady Bears picked up right where they left off coming into today’s contest with the Sycamores, as sixth-year senior Brice Calip (Mvskoke Creek) kick started the MSU offense with a three-pointer on the opening possession.
Following Calip’s three was a 4-0 run by fifth-year senior Abi Jackson, who came in fresh off of a career high 25-point performance at Evansville in the Lady Bears’ last time out. The Sycamores answered quickly with back-to-back jumpers to tie the game at seven, but the Lady Bears owned the rest of the opening quarter.
Missouri State went on a 12-0 run beginning at the 6:04 mark, with four consecutive points coming courtesy of Calip. After MSU took a 19-7 lead as a result of the run, Indiana State ended its scoring drought with a trip to the free throw line.
Mariah White then made back-to-back trips to the free throw line for the Lady Bears, with junior college transfer Ifunanya Nwachukwu grabbing the offensive rebound and scoring on the fourth and only missed White free throw of the sequence.
MSU held Indiana State to just 27 percent shooting to give the Lady Bears a 24-11 lead after the opening quarter.
Indiana State scored the first bucket of the second quarter with a jumper, to which sophomore Paige Rocca responded with her first three-pointer of the day.
The Sycamores then went on a 7-0 run to cut their deficit to 27-20. After swapping baskets, both teams went on a scoring drought of just over two minutes before Calip broke through with a free throw. Indiana State then went on a 4-0 run to cut the MSU lead to six points as the Lady Bears took a 34-28 lead into the locker room.
Coming out the break, Indiana State started the second half scoring with a jumper before Wilson and Calip connected on back-to-back baskets to extend the Lady Bear lead to eight points.
As both teams continued to answer each other’s shots, Calip knocked down a three in the corner to keep the MSU lead at eight points, but the Sycamores reeled off two shots to cut their deficit to four points. The Lady Bears didn’t flinch as Rocca hit two free throws and Wilson drove in for a layup to get Missouri State back to an eight-point, 46-38, lead heading into the final quarter.
In a crucial fourth quarter, Jackson hit the first two shots for Missouri State, as she recorded double digit points for her fourth consecutive game. The Lady Bear lead continued to hover around eight points, then the Sycamores made it a whole new game with an 8-0 run that tied the game at 52 points with 2:07 remaining.
Coming out of the media timeout, the Lady Bears wouldn’t be denied as White and Jackson hit on back-to-back possessions to put MSU back in front by four. The Sycamores were then forced to foul, which sent Calip and Jackson to the free throw line, where they converted all six opportunities to secure the 62-58 victory on the road in Terre Haute.
Calip led the way for the Lady Bears with 21 points, marking her second 20-point outing of the season, to pair with seven rebounds. Jackson continued her impressive weekend with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance against the Sycamores for her fifth double-double of the season and fourth in conference play. Wilson was the third Lady Bear in double figures with 10 points and 10 rebounds on the afternoon, to mark her second double-double of the season and fifth consecutive games with 10 or more points.
