Indiana State shot just under 52 percent from the field to pull away with a 78-55 victory over the Missouri State Lady Bears in Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball action Sunday afternoon in Springfield. Senior guard Angela Phillips led the way for the Sycamores, handing out nine assists and going 6-of-11 from three-point range to tally a game-high 20 points.
The Sycamores (9-8 overall, 3-4 MVC) hit on 15-of-29 field goal attempts, including 5-of-12 from beyond the arc, in the first half to seize control of the game. ISU shot its way to an early double-digit lead, as Phillips knocked down two of her four first-half three-pointers in the first four minutes of the ballgame to give the Sycamores a 14-3 advantage.
Missouri State briefly cut into the margin, drawing to within three points on a Jacque Griggs jumper at the 4:31 mark of the first half. But the Lady Bears struggled offensively throughout the afternoon, hitting just 8-of-33 (.242) field goal attempts and turning the ball over 12 times in the first 20 minutes of the game to give the visitors an opening to take control of the contest.
They did just that behind some solid long-range shooting and the inside duo of Laura Rudolphi and Maria Olsthoorn, who combined to score 18 points in the opening period. Phillips’s final trey of the first half with 2:21 left made it a 28-20 ISU lead, and Olsthoorn’s basket at the 0:50 mark started what would turn into an 11-0 run. A Leah Phillips triple with just seven seconds left sent Indiana State to the lockerroom with a 37-24 advantage, and ISU would score the first six points of the second period to build a 19-point lead.
Missouri State never seriously threatened the Sycamore lead, pulling no closer than 15 points the rest of the way. Indiana State led by no fewer than 21 points over the final 8:44 and extended its lead to as many as 27.
Rudolphi, who blocked four shots on the day, connected on 8-of-12 field goal attempts to finish with 19 points. Kelsey Luna chipped in 17 points and grabbed five rebounds for ISU.
As a team, the Sycamores converted 29-of-56 field goal attempts and totaled 21 assists. They also recorded eight blocks on the afternoon, a season-high for an Missouri State opponent.
MSU, which fell to 4-4 in the conference and 6-13 overall, struggled offensively for the second game in-a-row, hitting just 27.9 percent of its field goal tries and 4-of-15 (.267) three-point attempts.
Junior forward Maggie Dwyer led the Lady Bears with 13 points, while senior forward Tiff Terwelp posted her fifth double-double of the season with a 10-point, 11-rebound effort.
Next up, Missouri State will kick off a three-game road stretch with a 2 p.m. game next Saturday (Feb. 2) at Wichita State. The contest will be carried live in Springfield on Mediacom (MCC-14).
