Box Score MIAMI – Missouri State women's basketball earned an 80-69 victory over FIU in its first-ever Conference USA game here on Sunday afternoon in Miami.
 
Reigning CUSA Freshman of the Week Maiesha Washington put together a career performance to lead the Lady Bears against FIU (7-5), posting her first-career double-double with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Four other Lady Bears followed in double figures on the afternoon: Kaemyn Bekemeier (15), Faith Lee (13), Kendal Brueggen (career-high 11) and Cady Pauley (11).
 
After trailing by five at the half, Missouri State (9-5) made its comeback out of the intermission. The Lady Bears shot a scorching .867 (13-for-15) from the field in the third quarter and outscored the Panthers 31-16 in the frame. Faith Lee was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field with 10 points in the third as the Lady Bears made their push.
 
Lee's jumper at 5:11 in the third switched the lead back to the Lady Bears and they would never surrender it. It also sparked a quick 6-0 run to extend the lead to five. From there, the Lady Bears continued to tack on points and put together a couple of stops. Lee's back-to-back jumpers to end the period gave the visitors a 10-point, 58-48, lead headed to the fourth.
 
The Panthers wouldn't go away quietly as the home team strung together eight straight points early in the fourth to cut MoState's lead to two points. Kendal Brueggen converted an and-1 opportunity to put a stop to the FIU surge. With the MoState lead sitting at four points with 4:55 left, Cady Pauley drained a triple to stretch the lead back to seven and give the visiting squad some much-needed breathing room. A final trey from FIU with 1:49 on the clock made it a four-point ballgame, but Washington got her short jumper to fall and the Lady Bears hit their free throws down the stretch to earn the 80-69 road victory.
 
Missouri State got off to a good start to begin the game. Near the midway point of the first quarter, freshman Maiesha Washington connected on a layup to spark a 6-0 run to create the first separation of the day for either team as the Lady Bears led by seven. From there, the squads traded baskets as Washington hit two free throws to give MoState a six-point lead after one quarter.
 
With the Lady Bears leading by seven in the second period, it was FIU who made the run this time. A trip to the free throw line sparked a 7-0 run for the Panthers to tie the game up at 22-22 with 4:31 left in the half. Kendal Brueggen completed her and-1 opportunity at the charity stripe a few minutes later to go back up by two points, but the Lady Bears finished the quarter on a 2:26 scoring drought. The cold spell allowed FIU to score five consecutive points to end the half and lead 32-27 at the intermission.
 
As a team, Missouri State shot 52 percent from the field, 19 percent from three and 79 percent from the charity stripe. MoState dominated on the boards, 41-27, and scored 14 points off 15 FIU turnovers.
 
The Lady Bears are back at home next week as they welcome Kennesaw State (Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m.) and Jacksonville State (Jan. 10, 12:00 p.m.) to Springfield. Both games will stream on ESPN+.