The Missouri State women's basketball squad couldn't overcome an early offensive barrage from Illinois State and fell by a score of 76-47, Saturday evening at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill. With the loss the Lady Bears dropped to 5-9 overall and 1-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Already off to a 5-0 start in MVC play, Illinois State grabbed the early advantage over the Lady Bears and never looked back. The Redbirds shot 48.5 percent in the opening half and sprinted out to a 43-15 halftime lead behind sophomore center Nicolle Lewis' 17 points.

Lewis combined with sophomore guard Kristi Cirone, who also handed out six assists in the opening period, to score 31 of the Redbirds' 45 first-half points. Illinois State led by as many as 30 points, taking a 42-12 lead at the 1:23 mark on a pair of Lewis free throws, before settling for a 43-15 lead at the break.

Just one game removed from a .509 shooting performance in an 83-76 win at Indiana State, the Lady Bears never got their offense in gear against the Redbirds. While Illinois State knocked down 16-of-33 (.485) field-goal attempts in the opening stanza, Missouri State connected on just 19.4 percent (6-of-31) of their shots from the floor. The Redbirds also controlled the battle for the boards, taking a 27-16 rebounding advantage into the intermission.

It was more of the same in the second period, as Illinois State stretched its advantage to as many as 40 points and shot .448 (30-of-67) for the game to run its record to 13-4 and improve to 6-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play for the first time.

Illinois State outrebounded the Lady Bears 51-30 and outscored MSU in the paint by a 38-20 margin.

Cirone totaled eight assists and led all scorers with 21 points, while Lewis finished with 19 points to pace the Redbird offense. In all, the duo grabbed 13 rebounds and combined to go 16-of-27 from the floor.

Sophomore forward Breton Wyett led Missouri State with a career-best 15-point effort.

Missouri State returns to the friendly confines of Hammons Student Center next weekend for a two-game homestand. The Lady Bears will take on Northern Iowa in a 7:05 p.m. contest Friday, Jan. 19, before hosting Bradley on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 2:05 p.m.