Dec. 2, 2015 Final Stats
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Missouri State out-scored Arkansas by 15 points in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 69-54 decision and its second road victory over a Southeastern Conference opponent this season Wednesday evening at Bud Walton Arena.
Lexi Hughes sparked the 26-11 outburst with 11 fourth-period points, while Tyonna Snow scored six of her game-high 18 points in the final stanza to help lead MSU to its first win over the Razorbacks in Fayetteville since 1997.
Held to 12-of-47 (.255) shooting from the field over the first three periods, the Lady Bears erupted on the offensive end over the game's final 10 minutes, connecting on 9-of-17 (.529) shots. Hughes hit on 4-of-6 attempts, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers down the stretch, while the MSU defense held the Razorbacks to a 5-of-16 (.313) showing in the period and just .344 (21-of-64) shooting for the night. Key to that result was a strong post defensive effort that helped hold SEC scoring leader Jessica Jackson to a season-low four points on 1-of-9 shooting.
Tied at 43 entering the final period, the Lady Bears started their late run with a Kenzie Williams 3-pointer off a Rachel Swartz offensive rebound on MSU's opening possession of the quarter. Hughes then drained a jumper at the 8:12 mark to stretch the margin to 48-43, before Alecia Cooley and Malica Monk brought the Razorbacks (2-5) to within one point on back-to-back layups.
Snow answered the UA charge with a critical trey of her own with 6:48 to play, setting off an 8-0 Lady Bear run that would include a Williams basket in transition and the first of Hughes' two threes in the period that pushed the MSU lead to nine points. The junior guard came through again at the 3:40 mark, completing a drive to the basket to extend the margin to double digits for the first time. Onye Osemenam's layup moments later made it a 12-point game, before Hughes threw home a 3-point dagger to extend the cushion to 64-51 with 1:55 to go.
The Lady Bears (4-4), who would lead by as many as 17 in the final minute of play, erased a five-point deficit in the third period to position themselves for the decisive push. Liza Fruendt, who finished with 10 points off the bench, scored five points during MSU's 10-5 run to close the quarter.
Williams scored five of the Lady Bears' first 10 points in the fourth to finish with 17 points on the night, surpassing Melissa Busby for the ninth spot on MSU's career 3-point field goal chart (137) by hitting 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc. Snow added nine boards, three assists, three steals - surpassing Casey Garrison for the No. 4 position on MSU's career list - and a block to her big offensive night that resulted in MSU's first win at Bud Walton Arena since a 12-point victory over a 20th-ranked UA squad on Dec. 7, 1997.
MSU overcame a cold start on the offensive end with some sharp-shooting at the foul line to seize control late in the second period of an opening half that featured seven ties and seven lead changes. After misfiring on their first 12 attempts from the floor, the Lady Bears kept the contest close by knocking down 14-of-15 charity tosses in the game's first 20 minutes. MSU also limited the Razorbacks' effectiveness with a defensive effort that forced 11 first-half turvovers and held UA to .333 (10-of-30) shooting from the field.
With the help of a balanced offensive attack, MSU grabbed the largest lead for either club in the opening half with a 12-4 run over the final six minutes of the second period. Williams, who accounted for eight of MSU's points during the key stretch, buried a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch, the second of which handed MSU a 29-24 lead with 51 seconds left on the clock.
After trading buckets in the final minute of the half to take a five-point lead into the break, it would be Arkansas that stormed out of the locker room to force a momentum shift with a 12-2 run. Melissa Wolff scored six of her 10 points in the third period, while Jackson connected from 3-point range for her only field goal of the night to tie the game at 31-31 just 56 seconds into the half.
A Kelsey Brooks three-point play, followed by an Alecia Cooley bucket gave UA its largest lead of the night at 38-33, before Fruendt's key triple set off MSU's 36-16 run to close the contest.
Despite being held without a field goal, Hillary Chvatal converted 4-of-4 free throw tries to help keep MSU close in the opening period, and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the night, blocked a pair of shots and recorded two steals.
The Lady Bears will return to JQH Arena for consecutive Saturday night games, taking on Eastern Kentucky on this weekend (Dec. 5) at 7 p.m. and Oral Roberts on Dec. 12 at the same time.
