SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's basketball got back into the win column with a 65-61 victory over Central Arkansas (7-5) here Monday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena.
 
The Lady Bears (8-5) were led by a career day from Kaemyn Bekemeier. The junior guard posted a career high in points (24), rebounds (14) and assists (5), while shooting an efficient 8-for-12 from the field, a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.
 
Freshman Maiesha Washington also scored a career high with 14 points and matched her career best with eight boards as one of two Lady Bears in double figures on the afternoon.
 
Bekemeier had the hot hand most of the day, but she really took over in the second period. With the game tied at 20-20 after the first quarter, Bekemeier scored MoState's first nine points of the second frame to grab and extend the lead to five points. From there, the Lady Bears' post players took command as Washington and Lainie Douglas helped stretch the lead to double digits with 1:10 remaining in the first half. MoState held UCA to 3-for-18 (.167) and 0-for-7 from three in the second period to own a seven-point, 35-28, lead at the intermission.
 
Out of the halftime break, the squads posted fairly similar third quarter numbers as UCA owned the slight advantage to start the period. The Lady Bears sustained a 9-2 surge from the Sugar Bears that cut the MoState lead to just two points. Cady Pauley knocked down a couple of free throws to stop the UCA run and switch the momentum to the home team. Missouri State turned those free throws into a 7-0 run to end the quarter, leading 48-39 as the game entered the final 10 minutes.
 
UCA posted its best quarter of the afternoon in the fourth, scoring 22 points and shooting .526 (10-for-19) from the field, but once again the Lady Bears were able to sustain the push by the visitors. A Bekemeier triple with 8:03 on the clock gave MoState its largest lead of the day at 13 points, but that's when the Sugar Bears took one final punch. UCA scored 10 straight points in 2:20 of game clock to cut Missouri State's lead to just three points with under 5:00 to play in the game. Bekemeier and Washington came up clutch again, scoring four straight points to end the surge and get the lead back to a more comfortable seven points. From there, the Lady Bears were able to match UCA bucket-for-bucket with Maycee James hitting a free throw with 0:04 left to give MoState the coveted four-point advantage to secure the 65-61 victory.
 
The beginning of the game saw a much different start than the last couple of games for the Lady Bears. An offense that struggled to get going recently found its stride early in this one, posting 18 points in the opening frame. It was a back-and-forth first period that featured six ties and four lead changes with a Maiesha Washington bucket tying the game at 20-20 after one in Springfield.  
 
As a unit, the Lady Bears flipped the rebound margin back in their favor, leading 43-28 on the boards. Meanwhile, MoState continues to take advantage at the free throw line, knocking down 19-of-24 attempts compared to 7-of-15 at the charity stripe for the Sugar Bears.
 
The Lady Bears will now get a much-needed break as their non-conference slate comes to a close. Missouri State will be back in action on Sunday, Jan. 4 as the Lady Bears begin their first run through Conference USA at FIU. The game is set for 12:00 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN+.