MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Behind the one-two punch of Casey Garrison and Jaleshia Roberson and a career game from freshman Christiana Shorter, the Missouri State Lady Bears overcame an early double-digit deficit to post an 80-73 victory over UTEP in the opening round of the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic Friday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum. MSU, which improved to 4-2 with the win, will play host Kansas State for the tournament title Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Missouri State pulled out the victory in large part due to some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. The Lady Bears went 13-of-16 from the charity stripe over the final 3:09, with Garrison converting 9-of-10 tries during that stretch after burying a three-pointer with just under seven minutes to play to give the Lady Bears the lead for good.
Garrison, who went 10-of-11 from the foul line on the afternoon, would finish with a 24-point effort, while Roberson notched a season-high 20 points by going 4-of-8 from three-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.
Shorter also played a significant role in the win, turning in career highs of 14 points and nine boards. The Tulsa, Okla., native sank four straight free throws following Garrison's key three-pointer at the 6:47 mark put Missouri State up 58-57. Shorter then converted a key field goal with 4:45 to play to stretch the Lady Bear lead to 67-59, the largest of the day for MSU.
The decisive stretch run for MSU came on the heels of the one-woman show put on by UTEP's Jareica Hughes, who scored nine consecutive points for the Miners to turn a four-point deficit into a five-point lead with nine minutes to go.
Missouri State battled back from an early 11-point hole, created by the hot-shooting Miners. UTEP came out of the gate on fire, scoring their first 18 points on six three-point field goals. Dietra Caldwell and Timika Williams each buried a pair of long jumpers and the Miners converted six of their first eight tries from beyond the arc to build a 24-14 lead with just under 12 minutes to play in the half.
But the Lady Bears responded with a 14-4 run, sparked by Garrison's three-point play, to pull even at 28-28 with 4:58 to go. Roberson knocked down two of her four first-half three-pointers during the run, then canned two more in the final five minutes of the period to send MSU into intermission on a 23-11 run and a 37-35 advantage.
MSU was successful on 51.9 percent of its field goal attempts in the opening half, but hit on only 32 percent in the second half. But a 25-of-30 (.833) showing from the foul line in the second half more than made up the difference, as well as a 12-of-24 three-point shooting performance from the Miners (5-3).
The Lady Bears also dominated the glass after the break, turning a 20-14 total rebounding deficit at the half into a 40-35 board advantage at the conclusion of the contest.
Williams shared game-high scoring honors with Garrison, finishing with 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-4 form behind the arc. Hughes also posted a strong effort, totaling 18 points and eight assists.
After concluding their four-game road swing with Saturday's championship game in Manhattan, the Lady Bears return home Tuesday (Dec. 8) night for a 7:05 p.m. match-up with Tulsa at JQH Arena.
