ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Wichita State overcame a nine-point, second-half deficit behind another standout shooting effort against the Missouri State Lady Bears to post an 80-75 victory in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Freshman Jessica Diamond's 21 points led all scorers and helped the Shockers record their third win of the season over the Lady Bears.
After Casey Garrison's leaning 10-footer banked home to give MSU a 72-70 lead with 2:52 to play, the Shockers got a pair of clutch three-pointers in the final two minutes of play that would prove to be the difference. Diamond sank a long jumper at the 1:46 mark to put WSU on top, and Chynna Turner buried a trey from the right corner with 0:59 left to break a 73-73 tie.
The Shockers (17-13) outscored MSU 10-3 over the final 2:52 to pull out the come-from-behind win. Sheena Johnson, who added 18 points for WSU, converted 4-of-4 attempts from the foul line in the final 15 seconds to seal the decision.
With the win, Wichita State advances to Saturday's semifinal to face Creighton at 7:35 p.m.
Behind Jaleshia Roberson's 16 first-half points, the Lady Bears took a 41-34 lead into the halftime locker room. Roberson connected on 4-of-6 three-point tries and the Lady Bear defense clamped down late to hold the Shockers scoreless over the final 3:49 of play.
Roberson got help from freshman Christiana Shorter, who added nine points and four rebounds, to help the Lady Bears (20-10) overcome a 51.6 percent shooting performance by the Shockers.
After Roberson's first triple at the 15:47 mark gave the Lady Bears their first lead of the night, Wichita State used a 7-0 spurt to seize the lead. Michelle Price scored an easy layup to start the run, and Marisah Henderson's trey from the right wing ended it and handed the Shockers a 13-7 lead.
The Lady Bears scored six of the next eight points to draw to within two, but Sheena Johnson converted back-to-back field goal attempts to keep WSU in front.
That's when Roberson would heat up, hitting the first of three consecutive three-pointers with 10:19 left to catapult the Lady Bears back in front. She would hit two more long jumpers within the next 1:05 to extend the MSU advantage to 24-17.
The Shockers responded with three straight buckets to climb back to within one, then reclaim the upper hand. Johnson canned three jumpers and Chynna Turner added a pair of field goals to give WSU a 32-29 advantage with just under five minutes to play in the period.
WSU would get a Jessica Diamond jumper with just under four minutes to go, but that would be the Shockers' last offense of the half. MSU forced a turnover and four missed field goal attempts from the Shockers, while scoring on its final five possessions of the half to match the largest lead for either club heading into the break.
WSU's offensive struggles continued in the early stages of the second stanza, as the Shockers hit just three of their first 12 attempts from the floor. The Lady Bears, meanwhile, would push their lead to as many as nine in the first two minutes of the half.
But Wichita State would shake off the rust to reel off six unanswered points, closing to within 52-50 behind jumpers by Johnson and Diamond and a pair of free throws from Jazimen Gordon.
MSU maintained its lead until a Haleigh Lankster three at the 4:20 mark drew WSU to within one, and a Michelle Price free throw knotted the score at 68-68 a minute later.
Roberson led the way for MSU, finishing with 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Shorter also turned in a solid final line consisting of 18 points and 10 rebounds, which was good for her third straight double-double. Garrison tallied 17 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
