WICHITA, Kan. – Missouri State women's basketball improved to 2-0 on the season with an 82-77 road win at Wichita State (1-2) here Wednesday night. 
 
Despite the Lady Bears owning a 14-point lead early in the second half, this one was decided by who could take control in the fourth quarter. After Wichita State cut the Missouri State lead to two points at the end of the third period, the Lady Bears answered quickly with a Kiley Bess layup and Kaemyn Bekemeier triple to get some breathing room. 
 
That's when the Shockers made their first push and tied the game at 66-66 near the midway point of the fourth quarter. Over the next 1:20 on the clock, WSU would tie the game on two more occasions. It was anyone's ballgame with the scored tied at 73-73 and 3:15 left in the game, but the Lady Bears weren't giving up control. Kyrah Daniels connected on a jumper in the paint to give MoState the lead before Bess drained a triple and shifted the momentum to the visitor's side. From there, the Shockers were never able to cut it to a one possession game as the Lady Bears picked up their first road win of the season. 
 
The first quarter in Wichita saw a close battle between the two squads before Missouri State caught fire in the second period. With 6:17 left in the first half, it was a one-point game in favor of the Shockers, but that wouldn't last for long. 
 
Paige Rocca sank a three-pointer to spark a 15-0 Missouri State run. During the surge, five different Lady Bears scored points including Lainie Douglas with a couple of buckets, Bess with a triple and Lacy Stokes and Daniels with jumpers. Wichita State put an end to the run with a free throw, but the Lady Bears made a statement and ended the half on a 17-3 run to take a 41-28 lead into the intermission. Missouri State shot 67 percent (10-for-15) from the field in the second period, while holding WSU to 25 percent (4-for-16) as the Lady Bears outscored the Shockers 24-9. 
 
Missouri State was able to push its lead back to 14 points early in the third quarter, but Wichita State started slowly chipping away and eventually cut the lead to two points at the end of the period to set up a crucial fourth quarter. 
 
Six different Lady Bears reached double-figure points on the night, paced by Daniels with 16. Bekemeier followed with 13 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. Meanwhile, Douglas and Stokes poured in 12 points each with the latter grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. Bess had a solid outing with 11 points and seven rebounds on 50 percent shooting, while Sarah Linthacum rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and seven boards. Zoe Stewart was also a standout defensively, collecting three steals in just under 10 minutes of action. 
 
As a team, Missouri State shot 53 percent (32-60) from the field, 40 percent (6-15) from three and 48 percent at the line (12-15). MoState scored 50 points in the paint and forced 19 Shocker turnovers.  
 
Missouri State stays on the road next week with a Tuesday morning matchup at UT Martin on Education Day. Tipoff in Martin, Tenn., is set for 11:00 a.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.