The Missouri State women's golf team finished second of 16 teams at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Primm Valley, Calif., Tuesday (Mar. 16).  The Bears held a one-stroke lead over Oral Roberts and three-shot advantage on Drake heading into the final round, but despite shooting a 295 team score, ORU rallied for a two-stroke victory, shooting 292 to overtake the Bears.

MSU posted 303-296-295--894, its second-best 54-hole score ever, to record its best finish of the spring season.  ORU went 291-309-292--892 to claim the inaugural event, while Drake was third after shooting 297-305-294--896.  Kennesaw State (907) was fourth, Gonzaga (908) fifth and Iowa (914) sixth, while UMKC (917), Wyoming (923), Oakland (924) and UNI (935) rounded out the top 10.

Freshman Heather Smith led the way for the Bears, recording a career-best fourth-place finish after firing 75-71-75--221.  Senior Stacey Rodger shot 76-73-75--224 to tie for eighth for MSU.  Sophomores Catherine Dolan and Kelsey Welber tied for 29th with 230 totals.  Dolan went 82-76-72 with Welber going 74-76-80.  Freshman Hermine Greyling posted 78-87-73--238 and tied for 46th.  Drake's Olivia Lansing cruised to the individual championship, posting a five-shot win while shooting 72-70-71--213.

The Bears are idle next week and then return to action Mar. 29-30 at the UALR Classic in Hot Springs, Ark.