SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's basketball defeated Missouri S&T, 76-30, here Monday night at Great Southern Bank Arena in the team's final tune up before officially opening the 2024-25 regular season on Sunday. 
 
Newcomers Sarah Linthacum and Cady Pauley led the way offensively with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Returners Lacy Stokes (11 points) and Kyrah Daniels (10 points) joined them in double figures in a balanced Lady Bears attack. 
 
The game started a bit slow as both teams looked to find a rhythm offensively, but with 2:51 remaining in the first quarter the Lady Bears got on a roll and never looked back. Transfer Zoe Stewart sparked a 7-0 MoState run with a free throw, which then gave way to three straight Lady Bear buckets to give the home squad a 15-9 lead after a quarter. 
 
Missouri State carried that momentum into a dominant second quarter, in which the Lady Bears outscored the Miners 23-2. Linthacum opened the second period with back-to-back layups to push the MoState led to 10 points. After two made S&T free throws, the Lady Bears poured it on. Stokes scored on a layup at the 7:27 mark and the Lady Bears didn't surrender another point from that point on in the quarter. 
 
Missouri State finished the first half on a 19-0 run to lead 38-11 at the intermission. During that run, Pauley knocked down the first two three-pointers of the night for the Lady Bears on her way to a team-high 10 first-half points (3-6 FG, 2-2 3FG). Daniels pulled down five first-half rebounds while Stokes dished out four assists in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Out of the break, the Lady Bears doubled up the Miners in the third quarter, outscoring S&T 26-13 in the period. Missouri State shot an impressive .786 (11-for-14) from the field in the third to push the lead to 40 points, 64-24, with a quarter to play in Springfield. 
 
Both squads' production slowed down in the fourth quarter with the game firmly in hand for the Lady Bears. An 8-0 Missouri State run over a four-minute span gave the Lady Bears their largest lead of the night at 46 points as they closed out the preseason with a 76-30 victory. 
 
As a team, the Lady Bears forced 30 turnovers, which they turned into 32 points on the offensive end, and held the Miners to 27 percent (12-for-44) shooting from the field. MoState scored 48 points in the paint, got 28 points from its bench and shot 52 percent (33-for-63) from the field. 
 
Nine different Lady Bears scored points on the night. Stokes led the team with seven assists and Stewart collected a game-high three steals, while Daniels, Linthacum and Paige Rocca each pulled down five rebounds. 
 
The Lady Bears open the 2024-25 regular season on Sunday, Nov. 10 as they welcome Tulsa to Great Southern Bank Arena. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+