The Missouri State Lady Bears saw their two-game win streak come to an end Sunday afternoon, as DePaul junior forward Caprice Smith scored a career-high 23 points to lead the 17th-ranked Blue Demons in a convincing 78-57 victory at Hammons Student Center.

Missouri State got off to a solid start in the contest, grabbing a 7-4 lead on Tahnee Balerio’s three-pointer just three-and-a-half minutes into the game. The Lady Bears outshot the Blue Demons, .392 (9-of-23) to .370 (10-of-27) in the first half, but DePaul used a 9-0 run over a six-minute span to seize control of the game. Junior guard Allie Quigley knocked down a trio of three-pointers, and the Blue Demons converted 13-of-15 free-throw attempts to build a 37-22 halftime lead.

The Blue Demons outscored Missouri State 12-3 over the first four minutes of the second half to build a 49-25 advantage- their largest lead of the game. Smith was in control throughout the second stanza, hitting all six of her free-throw attempts and going 4-of-8 from the floor to tally 14 points and help DePaul put the game away.

The Lady Bears never got any closer than 16 points down the stretch, despite getting career-best scoring efforts from freshmen Taylor Silas and Roxy Stiles. Silas scored all 12 of her points after the break, while Stiles chipped in 11 of her team-high 16 points in the second half.

DePaul shot .909 (20-of-22) from the free-throw line and recorded 21 assists to just 13 turnovers for the game. Conversely, the Lady Bears posted just six assists while turning the ball over 20 times.

Quigley went 4-of-5 from three-point range to finish with 16 points, while junior guard Missy Mitidiero added 13 points to the DePaul offensive attack.

Junior forward Tiff Terwelp just missed her fifth-straight double-double, netting 10 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Bears.

Next up, the Lady Bears will face their first true road test of the season next Saturday, Dec. 9, when they meet the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in a 3 p.m. contest in Tulsa, Okla.