After going toe-to-toe with the Missouri Valley Conference’s top team for a half Friday night in women’s basketball action in Springfield, the Missouri State Lady Bears ran into a buzz saw in the second period, as Illinois State outscored MSU 55-19 after the break to notch their 12th consecutive victory and improve to 6-0 in conference play. The Redbirds dominated on both ends of the floor, hitting 56 percent (18-of-32) of their second-half field goal attempts while holding the Lady Bears to just 6-of-36 (.167) shooting.
The Redbirds took control of the game early in the second half, outscoring MSU 25-8 over the first 8:26 of the period to build a 17-point lead. From there the visitors cruised, pushing their lead to as many as 38 points in the final minute of play in a complete performance that saw the Redbirds outrebound the Lady Bears by a 55-30 margin and outscore MSU 22-2 on second chance points.
Sophomore guard Maggie Krick had the hot hand for ISU, burying five of her seven three-pointers after intermission, including three in the first seven minutes of the second half. She would finish 7-of-9 from beyond the arc for a game-high 25 points to go along with a season-high eight rebounds.
Illinois State’s runaway victory came after a highly competitive first half that saw both teams recover from sluggish starts to finish strong offensively. Despite shooting just 35 percent from the floor, the Redbirds were hot from three-point range in the opening half, connecting on 6-of-13 (.462) attempts. The Lady Bears were also strong from long range, hitting 5-of-12 shots from three-point range and 13-of-27 (.481) overall. After Missouri State grabbed what would turn out to be its largest lead of the game at 19-8 on a Tiff Terwelp jumper with 10:58 to go in the half, reigning Valley MVC Kristi Cirone keyed a 13-2 ISU run with a trio of three-pointers to draw the Redbirds even at 21-21.
MSU would come back with a 10-2 run minutes later to rebuild its double-digit advantage at 36-26. But Illinois State’s Kenyatta Shelton hit 6-of-8 foul shots over the last 3:49 to help the Redbirds score 14 of the final 18 points of the half to go into the break even at 40-40.
The Lady Bears took a 43-42 advantage on another Terwelp jumper two and a half minutes into the second half, but that would prove to be their last lead of the night, as a Tiffany Hudson field goal with 17:18 left on the clock gave the Redbirds the lead for good and started a 23-5 offensive spurt that put the game away for ISU. Krick knocked down the first of her second-half triples at the 16:46 mark to turn a two-point lead into a 48-43 advantage, and Hudson canned a trey of her own with 15:42 to go to make it an eight-point game. Krick hit two more threes over the ensuing three minutes to push the lead into double digits, and MSU never seriously threatened again.
ISU finished the game 30-of-66 (.455) from the floor, including 14-of-27 (.519) from three-point range. The Redbirds also cashed in at the foul line, hitting 21-of-24 (.875) attempts. Cirone finished with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Hudson added 14 points and a game-high seven assists. Sha’la Jackson pulled down a game-high 13 boards to lead ISU’s dominance on the glass.
After its strong first-half effort, MSU wrapped up the contest just 19-of-63 (.302) from the field. Tahnee Balerio tallied 17 points and five assists to lead the Lady Bears, while Maggie Dwyer added 13 points.
The 36-point loss represents MSU’s largest home loss since a 77-32 setback at the hands of Iowa State on Nov. 17, 1979.
Missouri State (6-12 overall, 4-3 MVC) will host Indiana State in a 2:05 p.m. contest Sunday (Jan. 27) at Hammons before hitting the road for three straight games.
