WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State shot just 62.2 percent from the foul line, but hit just enough to hold off the Missouri State Lady Bears, 66-62, Saturday (Jan. 24) afternoon at Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers scored nine of their last 13 points at the charity stripe and got a career-high 28 points from Marcy Sudbeck to send the Lady Bears to their sixth Missouri Valley Conference defeat in seven games.
The Shockers overcame a four-point deficit in the final five minutes, taking advantage of 16 second-half fouls by MSU to cash in at the line when it mattered most. WSU’s defense also played a key role in the victory, forcing 17 Lady Bear turnovers and limiting Missouri State to .271 (16-of-59) shooting from the field.
The loss for the Lady Bears came in spite of another standout performance from freshman guard Casey Garrison, who posted her second double-double in the last three games with a 21-point, 13-rebound effort.
Despite shooting just 26.5 percent from the field, the Lady Bears trailed Wichita State by just two points at the half. Sudbeck went 7-of-10 from the floor to score 18 points in the game’s first 20 minutes for the Shockers, who hit on 12-of-26 (.462) field goal tries in the opening stanza.
Garrison had the hot hand early for Missouri State, scoring the first eight Lady Bear points to stake MSU to a four-point lead. Sudbeck countered with a strong start of her own, totaling eight points in the first five minutes to help WSU take a 9-8 advantage.
The Lady Bears would then go on a 7-0 run, capped by a Jasmine Malone three-pointer at the 12:26 mark to build a 15-9 lead. WSU answered with a 13-5 spurt, highlighted by back-to-back threes from Val Siemens and Jacie Hoyt, to reclaim the lead with just over seven minutes to go in the period. The Shockers extended their lead to as many as eight points, as Sudbeck would tally 10 of WSU’s last 13 points.
The Lady Bears struggled to generate any offense in the early portion of the second stanza. MSU hit just one of its first seven field goal attempts while committing seven turnovers in the first eight minutes of the period to allow the Shockers to stretch their lead back to six points.
But MSU fought back, pulling to within 51-49 on consecutive three-pointers from Jaleshia Roberson and Roxy Stiles, before Garrison’s first bucket of the half knotted the score with 6:35 to play. Maggie Dwyer scored nine of her 11 points after the break, including a three-pointer that gave MSU its first lead of the second half with just under six minutes remaining. Garrison rang it up from long distance on the Lady Bears’ next possession to push the lead to 57-53, but the Shockers would outscore MSU 13-5 down the stretch to claim the win.
Sudbeck, who was 10-of-19 from the floor and 8-of-12 from the free throw line, also pulled down nine rebounds and blocked a career-best six shots. Marisah Henderson also finished in double figures, totaling 12 points to go along with game-highs of five assists and three steals.
Dwyer turned in her second career double-double, finishing with 11 boards and a team-high three assists. Roberson, who also registered three assists, would finish with 13 points.
Missouri State, which dropped to 5-13 overall, will continue its three-game road swing Thursday evening when they pay the Evansville Purple Aces a visit. Game time at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind., is set for 7 p.m.
