SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- In a game that featured 18 lead changes, the Missouri State Lady Bears pulled out a hard-fought 70-64 victory over Creighton Friday evening at JQH Arena. MSU converted its last 14 free throws and got a pair of key three-point plays from freshman Christiana Shorter down the stretch to move into a tie with the Bluejays (12-7, 7-3 MVC) for the second spot in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with their second win of the season over the league's preseason favorite.
Shorter's old-fashioned three-pointer with 1:26 to play proved to be the biggest of the night, turning a one-point game into a 64-60 MSU lead that it would never relinquish.
Held to just three free throw attempts in the first half, the Lady Bears came up big at the foul line in the closing minutes to seal the victory. Led by Casey Garrison's eight charity tosses in the final 3:36, MSU went 14-of-14 from the stripe in the last six minutes to ice the game.
Jaleshia Roberson would lead all scorers with 19 points on the strength of a 4-of-5 shooting effort from three-point range. Shorter just missed her second double-double in the last three games with an 18-point, nine-rebound night, and Garrison chipped in 15 points to go along with seven boards and four assists.
Creighton took a 32-30 lead into the halftime locker room behind 13 points from senior Megan Neuvirth in a tightly-contested first half. After a brisk start that saw the Lady Bears score five points in the first 45 seconds of the contest, Creighton reeled off nine unanswered points to take a 9-5 lead.
Missouri State would heat up from long range to reclaim the upper hand with a 12-5 run. Roberson would start the spurt by hitting a three from the left corner and drawing a foul. After Roberson completed the four-point play to pull MSU even at 11-11, it was Jasmine Malone's turn to connect from long distance. Her triple with 12:23 left on the clock put MSU on top 14-13, and Roberson would hit from beyond the arc for the third time on the Lady Bears next possession to make it a four-point game.
The two teams would trade baskets over the last five minutes of the half before Neuvirth's bucket with nine seconds left in the period sent CU into the break with a two-point edge.
The Lady Bears converted 5-of-8 (.625) three-point attempts, including a 3-of-3 showing by Roberson, who would finish the half with 14 points.
Missouri State would make the most of its offensive opportunities over the first 12 minutes of the second half, hitting 10-of-16 field goal tries, despite going 0-for-3 at the foul line. Meanwhile, the Lady Bear defense did its part as well, holding CU to just 5-of-16 shooting over the same span. In all, MSU would limit the 'Jays to a 22-of-57 (.386) performance from the field .
But just when MSU appeared to put a little daylight between itself and Creighton, the Bluejay offense came to life. After the Lady Bears extended their lead to 54-50 on a pair of Shorter free throws, CU got back-to-back three-pointers from Chevelle Herring and Neuvirth, the second of which put the 'Jays up by two with just under five minutes to play.
MSU fought back one more time, as Garrison canned a pair of free throws at the 3:36 mark to even the score, and Shorter converted the first of her two critical three-point plays off of an offensive rebound and putback to give the Lady Bears a 59-56 edge.
After a CU bucket cut the deficit to one, the two teams traded a pair of free throws before Shorter would do it again. This time the freshman split a pair of defenders, rolled home a short jumper and drew a foul. Her free throw gave MSU a 64-60 lead from which CU would never fully recover.
Roberson and Garrison would combine to hit all six of their free throw attempts in the last 21 seconds to close the win.
Next up, the Lady Bears (15-6, 7-3 MVC) will face off against Drake Sunday (Feb. 7) afternoon in a 2:05 p.m., contest at JQH Arena that will be televised live in southwest Missouri on Mediacom (MC-22).
