Missouri State turned in its best offensive performance of the 2007-08 season to knock off the Tulsa Golden Hurricane by a 72-61 score in women’s college basketball action Tuesday (Dec. 4) evening at Hammons Student Center. The victory was the first of the season for the Lady Bears and new head coach Nyla Milleson following six straight losses to start the campaign.
The Lady Bears overcame a sluggish start that saw them fall behind by 10 points in the opening minutes of the ballgame. Tiffany Coppage’s three-pointer at the 9:03 mark started a 34-13 run to end the period, resulting in a 42-31 halftime lead for MSU. Junior Maggie Dwyer scored 10 of her 12 points during that stretch, and Coppage buried three of the Lady Bears’ eight first-half treys to spark an offense that entered the game averaging 56.5 points per contest while shooting just .244 from three-point range.
Missouri State continued to have its way with the Golden Hurricane in the second stanza, extending its lead to as many as 23 points. Freshman Marisha Brown scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the second period and her three-pointer with 12:04 left to play pushed the Lady Bears’ lead to 59-36, their largest of the night.
Tulsa was able to chip away at the Missouri State lead behind the performances of Larrissa Williams and Tatum Beer. Williams scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field while tying Dwyer for game-high honors with 10 boards. Beer scored 11 of her 18 points in the second half and connected on five three-point tries in all.
But Missouri State held on to earn its first victory since a Feb. 23 win over Creighton during the 2006-07 regular season. The 10-game losing streak matched two other such streaks as the longest in the program’s 39-year history.
The Lady Bears shot a season-best .439 (25-of-57) from the field, including .423 (11-of-26) from three-point range. They also posted season-highs for points (72), assists (13) and blocks (7) while holding Tulsa to a .333 field-goal percentage.
For Milleson the victory was her first as a Division I head coach after taking over as coach of the Lady Bears in April after amassing a 185-36 mark in seven seasons as Drury University’s head coach.
Dwyer notched her first double-double as a Lady Bear, while both Brown and Coppage posted career-high scoring nights. Coppage’s 11 points helped MSU finish with a decisive 33-2 advantage in bench scoring. Tahnee Balerio also finished in double figures for MSU, totaling 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go along with three assists and four rebounds.
Next up, Missouri State will renew its rivalry with Saint Louis University with a 7:05 p.m. contest Friday (Dec. 7) evening at Hammons Student Center. The Lady Bears will recognize MSU’s 1992 and 2001 NCAA Final Four teams at halftime and during a post-game reception for Fast Break Club members at the Turner Family Practice Court in Hammons.
