AUSTIN, Texas – No. 16 Missouri State women's basketball (23-12) defeated No. 16 Stephen F. Austin 85-75 in the First Four play-in game to advance in the NCAA Tournament to face No. 1 Texas in the First Round.
 
The win marked the 20^th NCAA Tournament win in Lady Bear program history and Missouri State has now won a game in each of its last four NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Kaemyn Bekemeier led the way for the Lady Bears with 22 points and 13 rebounds to mark her 15^th 20-point game of the season and her 10^th double-double of the year. She also surpassed 600 points on the season, making her the fifth Lady Bear in history to do so. Lainie Douglas also tallied a double-double, her seventh of the season, with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to move her into seventh on the career blocks list at Mo State. Two freshman turned in impressive performances with Maiesha Washington posting 18 points and six rebounds, while Kendal Brueggen added 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Faith Lee rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
 
After leading by four at the half, Missouri State used a big third quarter to stretch its lead and set the tone for the remainder of the game. At the 8:33 mark of the third, Washington connected on a layup to kickstart a 13-0 run for the Lady Bears that also featured points from Douglas, Bekemeier and Lee, pushing the advantage to a game-high 15 points. The Lady Bears were able to keep the lead in double digits for the rest of the third and carry a 14-point lead to the final period.
 
Stephen F. Austin (25-10) held Missouri State to a game-low 10 points in the final quarter, but the Mo State defense had their best period of the night as well, limiting the Ladyjacks to 14 points on .250 shooting from the field en route to victory.
 
It was a fast-paced, high-scoring affair in the first half of the opening game in Austin. Missouri State threw the first punch and jumped out to an 8-2 lead behind six early points from Bekemeier. With the Lady Bear lead cut back to three points later in the first, Missouri State reeled off 11 straight points highlighted by JaNyla Bush and Bekemeier triples and capped by a Lee jumper to make it a 13-point game. SFA responded in a big way, stealing the momentum right back with a flurry of points. The Ladyjacks went on a 13-3 run over the final 1:39 of the first to make it a one-possession game after one.
 
It was a back-and-forth start to the second period as SFA grabbed the lead and extended it to three points at the 6:46 mark in the quarter. Later in the frame, Brueggen tied the game with a couple of free throws before a couple of Washington buckets and an Angel Scott trey against her former team put the exclamation mark on a 9-0 run to put Mo State up by seven. The Ladyjacks got a three to fall late in the quarter, as the Lady Bears led 47-43 heading into the half.
 
Missouri State advances to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament to face No. 1 Texas on Friday, March 20. Tipoff against the Longhorns is set for 3:00 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN.