WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State used a pair of critical second-half scoring runs to run away with a 69-52 victory over the Missouri State Lady Bears Thursday evening at Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers turned in 14-6 scoring run over a five-minute stretch early in the half to turn a two-point game into a double-digit advantage, then scored the final 13 points of the contest to put the game away.
The Lady Bears, who shot a season-low .281 (18-of-64) on the night, missed their final 11 field goal attempts of the game and went the final 4:22 without scoring a single point. Wichita State, meanwhile, converted 24-of-32 (.750) free throw attempts, including 12-of-16 in the second half, to avenge a 30-point loss to Missouri State on Jan. 21 in Springfield.
The victory for Wichita State marks its sixth straight against the Lady Bears in Wichita and its 11th in the last 14 games in the series.
After Missouri State had trimmed an eight-point halftime deficit down to two with an 8-2 scoring run to start the second half, WSU got a pair of Haleigh Lankster free throws to start its decisive run. Alicia Sanchez and Michelle Price converted short jumpers, and Chynna Turner converted a three-point play to highlight the spurt. Lankster’s layup with 10:26 to play capped the run and handed the Shockers their biggest lead of the night at 50-40.
MSU would claw its way back to within four on a pair of Jasmine Malone free throws with just over four minutes left on the clock, but Lankster’s three-pointer—the Shockers lone trey of the game—from the left wing with 3:21 to play would provide the Shockers all the breathing room they would need. Jazimen Gordon added a three-point play the next trip down the court, and WSU would knock down 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch.
Wichita State overcame a sluggish start to outscore Missouri State 17-6 over the final 7:56 of the first half to take a 32-24 lead into intermisison. Price tallied 10 points to lead all scorers in the stanza, and the Shocker defense held the Lady Bears to a dismal .269 (7-of-26) shooting over the game’s first 20 minutes.
Missouri State’s defense played a key role in allowing the Lady Bears to build a five-point lead early in the game, holding the Shockers to just 3-of-17 (.176) shooting over the first 10 minutes of the contest.
Wichita State jumped out to a four-point lead in the opening minutes, as Price accounted for the first six Shocker points of the night. But Missouri State got a Karly Buer jumper and four points from Christiana Shorter to claim their first lead of the night at the 15:38 mark, then pushed the margin to 11-6 on a Jaleshia Roberson three-pointer.
That would be the last time the Lady Bears would score for nearly six minutes, however, as Wichita State reeled off seven unanswered points to reclaim the lead. Jessica Diamond totaled five of those points, with her two free throws at the 9:10 mark handing WSU a 13-11 advantage.
Roberson dialed it up again from long distance to end the dry spell with 8:57 to play. Shorter and Casey Garrison added layups on back-to-back possessions to stretch the MSU lead back to three points.
The Shockers offense awoke to score 10 of the next 11 points over a three-and-a-half minute stretch to seize the lead for good. Lankster’s steal and layup with 4:59 to go gave the home team an advantage it would not relinquish. WSU pushed its lead to as many as nine points in the closing minutes of the half and held the Lady Bears to just one field goal during their key first-half run.
Garrison opened the second half scoring with a drive to the basket on the Lady Bears’ first possession of the period, and Shorter added a bucket and a pair of free throws to cap the run and make it a two-point ball game.
But that’s when the Shockers rebounded to take control for good. Lankster’s two free throws represented the first of 11 second-half points for the WSU junior, who would finish with 18 points on the night.
Garrison also totaled 18 points, while Shorter recorded her seventh double-double of the season with a 15-point, 10-rebound effort.
Next up, Missouri State returns home next Friday (Feb. 25) to open the final home stand of the regular season with a 7:05 p.m. contest against Drake at JQH Arena.
-MSU-
