CARBONDALE, Ill. – The 19th-ranked Missouri State Lady Bears secured their second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and 14th MVC/Gateway championship since 1990 Wednesday evening with a 67-55 victory over Southern Illinois inside SIU's Banterra Center.

The Lady Bears (16-2, 12-0 MVC) matched MSU's 1995-96 club for the best conference start in school history and improved to 9-0 on the road this season while extending the nation's second-longest road winning streak to 10 games dating to last year, all while claiming back-to-back Valley titles for the first time since 2004 and 2005.

Missouri State made its first five 3-point attempts in the team's 12th consecutive win, including a career-high four from senior Brice Calip, to lead 20-12 early in the second quarter, and closed the first half on a 10-0 run for a 36-21 advantage after the Salukis (8-11, 5-9) closed the gap to five points.

The MSU defense held Southern Illinois without a field goal for more than seven minutes on either side of halftime in growing the margin to 40-22 and kept the lead between 10 and 18 points the rest of the game.

Jasmine Franklin led the Lady Bears with 14 points and nine rebounds, Calip had 13 for her 14th straight game in double figures, Abby Hipp scored 12 and Sydney Wilson added 10. Senior Bri Ellis scored her first points of the season with 12 seconds remaining.

Missouri State held a 36-25 rebounding advantage, winning on the boards for the 15th time in 18 games, and held the opposition under its scoring average for the 16th time this season.

The Lady Bears shot 47.8 percent overall and a season-best 50 percent from beyond the arc at 7-for-14, adding a 16-for-21 showing at the foul line. MSU had 18 assists on 22 field goals, with Calip, Wilson and Sydney Manning sharing high honors with four apiece.

Missouri State returns to JQH Arena for the final home games of the season Feb. 27 and 28 against Loyola. Both games start at 5 p.m., and tickets are available at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets or at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.