SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State led by 24 points early in the second half and withstood a late Southwest Baptist rally to claim an 89-74 exhibition win Sunday afternoon at JQH Arena. The Lady Bears begin regular season play on Friday, Nov. 14, with a 4 p.m. game at Memphis.

The Lady Bears held a 53-29 lead with 18:14 remaining in the game after Kenzie Williams scored early in the second half, but the Bearcats chipped away and eventually cut the lead to 72-69 with 3:37 left to play.

SBU cut the 24-point lead in half by the 12:31 mark, and used a 7-0 run to pull within single digits at 62-54 with 8:42 on the clock. Lexi Hughes buried her third 3-pointer of the game in response and Aubrey Buckley grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put the Lady Bears up 67-54 with 7:46 to go.

The Bearcats drained four 3-pointers over the next four minutes to close the gap to 72-69, and Rachel Swartz hit a free throw to stop the run with 3:19 to play. Onye Osemenam and Liza Fruendt each hit two free throws for a 77-69 lead, and SBU was never closer than seven points after NiJay Gaines hit two free tosses with 1:58 to play for a 79-71 advantage.

Missouri State built a 44-25 halftime team thanks in large part to a solid defensive effort over the final two-thirds of the first half. Southwest Baptist hit five 3-pointers in the game's first six minutes to lead 17-16 at the 13:50 mark, and the Lady Bears clamped down from there, limiting SBU to 2-for-18 shooting and forcing 11 turnovers during a 28-8 run to close the first period.

Freshmen and sophomores scored 71 of MSU's 89 points in the game, led by Fruendt with 17, Hughes with 15 and Buckley with 13. Williams added 11 points, five assists and five steals, while Gaines had a game-high nine rebounds and Swartz had eight points and eight boards.

The Lady Bears shot 48.3 percent in the game and held a 42-35 rebounding edge, while SBU shot 41.9 percent overall but made 14 of 33 attempts from beyond the arc. MSU dished out 19 assists against 16 turnovers.