NORMAL, Ill. – The 23rd-ranked Missouri State Lady Bears bolted to a 24-9 lead after one quarter Friday afternoon to set the tone in a 69-52 victory at Illinois State to open a two-game set at Redbird Arena between the top defensive teams in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Playing their first game since Jan. 31, the Lady Bears improved 12-2 overall and 8-0 in Valley play while extending their road win streak to eight consecutive games dating to last February.

Jasmine Franklin collected 16 points and 10 rebounds for her 20th career double-double and third in a row, Brice Calip scored 11 to reach double figures for the 10th straight game and surpass 1,200 for her career, and Abi Jackson added 11 for a balanced offensive attack that shot 46.6 percent overall and 7-of-19 from 3-point range.

The Missouri State defense held the Redbirds (10-5, 7-5) to 33 percent shooting overall and beyond the arc, blocking seven shots and collecting 10 steals with a 38-30 advantage on the boards. Abby Hipp grabbed a season-high nine boards and Sydney Wilson swiped a career-high five steals.

Four of MSU's 3-pointers came in the first period, with the first of two from senior Elle Ruffridge coming 49 seconds into the game and putting the Lady Bears ahead for good. Missouri State busted the game open with a 12-0 run to lead 17-4 and shot 10-for-16 with nine assists in the opening period. The Lady Bears finished with 19 assists, including five from Sydney Manning, against only 10 turnovers.

The Lady Bears suffered through a four-plus minute scoring drought midway through the second quarter that Calip ended with a 3-point play at the 3:35 mark for a 31-20 lead, sparking a closing 9-2 run to a 37-22 lead at intermission.

Hipp scored twice in the opening 65 seconds of the second half for a 41-23 lead and the Redbirds took 10 points off that margin in the next five minutes but could not get closer than eight points despite two more opportunities. Hipp scored five points in a 9-0 run for a 59-42 lead with 6:11 left to put the game away.

The teams meet again Saturday at 4 p.m.