Missouri State University

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Behind a season-high 22 points from Maggie Dwyer, the Missouri State Lady Bears earned their third straight win with an 80-67 victory over Evansville Friday (Feb. 27) night at JQH Arena. The Lady Bears shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half and forced 20 UE turnovers on the night to improve to 9-17 on the season and 5-10 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Dwyer eclipsed her previous scoring high for the season with 14 first-half points before totaling five of her eight points after the break at the foul line. She would also knock down a critical three-pointer--her third of the night--to cap a key stretch that saw MSU turn a 37-34 deficit into a double-digit lead midway through the second stanza.

In addition to posting a strong shooting effort that saw them connect on 16-of-29 tries from the field after intermission, the Lady Bears hit on 13-of-14 (.929) free throw attempts in the second half to help salt away the win.

Missouri State’s big second half came on the heels of  a nip-and-tuck first period that ended with the Lady Bears taking a 33-32 lead into the locker room. After charging out of the gate to convert their first seven field goals in last Saturday’s 10-point win over Wichita State, the Lady Bears had a difficult time finding the bottom of the net in the first half Friday. MSU hit just five of its first 19 shots, but still found itself with a three-point lead over the Purple Aces with just over 11 minutes to play in the opening period.

After Evansville got a three-pointer from Robyn Jennings to start a 5-0 run that put the Purple Aces up 14-12, MSU came right back, as Dwyer tallied five unanswered points to give the Lady Bears another three-point edge. The Lady Bears’ senior co-captain would strike again at the 5:22 mark, draining a three from the left corner to give MSU its largest lead of the half at 24-19.

But UE would outscore MSU 8-3 over the ensuing two minutes to knot the score at 28-28. The Lady Bears would reclaim a three-point advantage on an old-fashioned three-point play by Lacey Boshe, and Jasmine Malone would come up with a key steal in the closing seconds of the half to preserve the one-point lead.

Evansville gained the upper hand in the opening minutes of the second half, using an Ashley Austin three-pointer just 18 seconds into the action to reclaim the lead. The Purple Aces would add a Jennings basket in the paint to extend their lead to three points with 18:29 to go.

But that’s when the Lady Bears would seize control of the contest with a 16-5 scoring run over a five-minute stretch that ultimately produced a 53-42 lead. Dwyer accounted for seven points during the run, including her biggest trey of the game that capped the spurt with 12:30 left on the clock.

UE would turn on its offense over the next four minutes, outscoring the Lady Bears 13-6 to slice the lead to just four points with 8:25 left on the clock.

Casey Garrison poured home four straight Missouri State points to start an 11-3 spurt that would effectively seal the win. The Lady Bears’ leading scorer would also record two of the teams’ four steals during the run, as MSU’s defense allowed just one field goal in six UE trips down the floor. The Purple Aces would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Garrison and Malone would join Dwyer in double figures, as the trio combined for 58 points. In addition to her 19 points, Garrison registered five assists, four steals and a pair of blocked shots, while Malone turned in a game-high five steals to go along with her 17 points and eight rebounds.

Austin led the way for UE (10-17, 3-13 MVC), finishing with 17 points and game highs of 11 rebounds and six assists.

Next up, Missouri State will close out the home portion of the schedule with a 2:05 p.m. match-up Sunday (March 1) against Southern Illinois.