NEWARK, Del. – Missouri State women's basketball cruised to a 25-point road win at Delaware, defeating the Blue Hens 79-54 here on Friday night.
 
The Lady Bears (13-7, 5-2 CUSA) had four players score in double figures on the night, led by Lainie Douglas with 17 points and six rebounds. Kaemyn Bekemeier followed with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double. Freshman Kendal Brueggen set a new career high with 16 points, while Maiesha Washington also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
In the opening half, Missouri State finished both quarters with strong runs to cap a dominant first half in Delaware (9-11, 3-5 CUSA). After a few baskets to open the game, the Lady Bears took full control with a 14-0 run to end the frame to hold a 10-point lead after one. The MoState defense held the Blue Hens without a field goal for the final 6:47 of the first period.
 
The second quarter followed a similar trend as MoState outscored Delaware 18-4 over the final 4:22 of the first half. Brueggen got things going for the Lady Bears in the second, scoring six of her 16 points on the night in the second frame. With less than 2:00 remaining, a JaNyla Bush trey sparked a 9-0 surge to push the MoState advantage to 20 points, 39-19, at the half.
 
Out of the intermission, Delaware came out strong but the Lady Bears were able to sustain the push. An 8-0 run from the Blue Hens cut the MoState lead to 11, and the lead shrunk to nine points on two occasions late in the third. However, a Washington triple and a Douglas fastbreak layup made it a 53-42 game with one quarter left.
 
From there, the Lady Bears took over and gradually extended their lead in the fourth. MoState shot 56 percent (9-for-16) from the field and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Douglas scored 11 of her 17 points in the fourth period, helping Missouri State extend its lead to a game-high 25-point lead with under 0:30 remaining.
 
The Lady Bears were plus-13 on the glass drained six threes compared to two by the Blue Hens. MoState also dominated in bench points, 38-5, and won the battle in the paint, 36-32.
 
MoState stays on the road against Liberty on Sunday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. CT and the game will stream on ESPN+.