SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women's basketball (14-8, 6-3 CUSA) got back in the win column with a 60-54 win against Middle Tennessee (12-10, 7-3 CUSA) here on Thursday night at Great Southern Bank Arena. The victory also marked the 250^th career win for head coach Beth Cunningham.
 
Kaemyn Bekemeier led the way for the Lady Bears with a game-high 25 points on 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, while also adding eight rebounds. MoState got scoring contributions from nine different players on the night.
 
A key run in the second quarter turned the tide for the Lady Bears who trailed by seven with 7:32 on the clock in the second period. Freshman Audrey Hopkinst then sparked a 9-0 MoState run with a layup that fellow freshman Maiesha Washington capped with a bucket of her own to flip the lead to the home squad. With the Lady Bear lead sitting at one point with under 0:14 left in the half, Bekemeier got a short jumper to fall to give Missouri State a 27-24 at the intermission.
 
From that point on, it was all Lady Bears as they never surrendered the lead back to the Blue Raiders. After an MTSU jumper to open the third quarter, Hopkins splashed a trey to set up yet another 9-0 run that Bekemeier capped with a layup to stretch the MoState lead to double digits. With under two minutes left in the third, Bekemeier hit her fourth triple of the night and freshman Kendal Brueggen came up with two clutch layups to give the Lady Bears a 45-36 advantage with a quarter to play in Springfield.
 
The Lady Bears continued to work in the fourth quarter of a crucial Conference USA matchup. Brueggen's jumper at the 5:06 mark gave MoState its largest lead of the night at 13 points. MTSU made one final push, hitting three triples in a 2:20 span to make it a six-point game, but Bekemeier put this one out of reach at the free throw line late as MoState ultimately earned the 60-54 win.
 
The first quarter saw a tough defensive battle with both squads struggling to score points early. Following back-to-back baskets from Bekemeier and JaNyla Bush to give MoState a one-point lead, the Blue Raiders scored the final four points of the frame to lead by three after one. Middle Tennessee would stretch their lead to seven points, MoState's largest deficit of the game, after back-to-back threes with 7:32 to go in the second.
 
As a team, Missouri State was plus-13 on the boards and held MTSU to just two offensive rebounds on the night. The Lady Bears also won the battle in the paint (24-12) and in bench points (22-3). For the night, MoState shot .412 (21-51) from the field, .313 (5-16) from three and .650 (13-20) from the charity stripe.
 
Missouri State is back home on Saturday, Feb. 7 as the Lady Bears host Western Kentucky. Saturday's game will mark MoState's annual Play4Kay pink game and the 2001 Final Four team will be back in town for the 25^th anniversary of their historic season. The game will tip off at 1:00 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.