EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri State women's basketball (25-7) held on to win a physical battle, 77-70, against UIC here Friday night at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. to advance to the MVC Tournament semifinals on Saturday. 
 
It was all Missouri State in the first half as the Lady Bears got off to a hot start in their first game of the MVC Tournament. MoState jumped out to an 11-2 lead to begin the game, which included six points from Lacy Stokes. With both squads settling in, Stokes took over late in the period, scoring the last six points of the quarter for the Lady Bears, as MoState led 23-15 after one in Evansville. 
 
The Lady Bears didn't let up as the second quarter started, scoring the first six points of the period with buckets from Stokes, Kiley Bess and Kyrah Daniels. After swapping buckets for a stretch, Missouri State put together a 9-0 surge via six points from Sarah Linthacum and a Kaemyn Bekemeier triple. The Flames scored the final bucket of the half, but MoState held an 18-point, 43-25, advantage at the intermission. 
 
Missouri State's work in the first half paid off down the stretch, as UIC outscored the Lady Bears 45-34 in the second half. 
 
Daniels kicked off the second half with a triple to push the Lady Bear lead to 21 points, but the Flames weren't going down without a fight. MoState and UIC were locked in a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the third, but the Flames scored the final five points of the quarter to make it a 14-point game with 10 minutes to play. 
 
UIC continued to chip away in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to nine points at the 6:08 mark. The trend continued as a 5-0 UIC run cut the MoState lead to just six points with 1:39 left on the clock. Missouri State continued to respond, but so did the Flames as UIC made it a one-possession game with 0:28 to play. The Lady Bears iced the game at the free throw line with four makes between Paige Rocca and Stokes to send Missouri State to the MVC Tournament semifinals with a 77-70 win. 
 
Stokes led the way with a career-high 29 points (9-20 FG, 11-15 FT), while Sarah Linthacum posted her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Daniels was the final Lady Bear in double figures with 12 points. 
 
As a team, MoState shot 52 percent (27-52) from the field, 45 percent (5-11) from three and 62 percent (18-29) from the charity stripe.
 
Missouri State advances to tomorrow's (March 15) semifinal and will face the winner of No. 3 Belmont and No. 6 Northern Iowa. Tipoff at the Ford Center is set for 4:00 p.m. and the game will stream on ESPN+.