SPRINGFIELD,
Mo.
- Junior Anna Munn scored a career-high 27 points to the lead the Indiana State
women's basketball team to a 71-67 Missouri Valley Conference victory over the
Missouri State Bears inside JQH Arena on Friday night, the team's first win over
the Bears since the 2007-08 season.
Missouri State (10-10, 2-6 MVC) raced out of the gates to a 16-9 lead with
10:16 remaining in the first half, capping a 15-4 run over six minutes of
action on a jumper by Whitney Edie. Indiana State (12-7, 4-4 MVC) responded
with a 7-0 run of their own, tying the game at 16-16 with 8:41 left in the half
on a jumper by sophomore Travecia Franklin.
The Sycamores closed the first half on a 13-2 run, taking a 39-32 at the half
behind a late offensive-spurt by senior Taylor Whitley. The lone ISU senior
scored seven of her eight first-half points in the final two minutes of the
period, including a pair of free-throws with 0.4 seconds on the clock. Munn led
all scorers with 13 points in the first half, shooting 6-for-10 from the field.
Freshman Marina Laramie added 10 points and five rebounds in the first half, as
Indiana State out-rebounded Missouri State by a 21-12 margin in the opening 20
minutes of play.
After a jumper by MSU's Edie to start the second half, the Sycamores went on an
8-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to take their largest lead of the
game, at 47-34 with 17:26 remaining, on a three-pointer from Munn.
Missouri State would not go away, however, using an active defensive effort to
force seven Indiana State turnovers while allowing just a shot attempt (a made
jumper by Whitley) over a five-minute stretch. The Bears closed to within two
points at the end of their run, at 51-49 with 11:39 remaining.
The Bears tied the score at 56-56 with 6:18 remaining, but Franklin and Munn
hit back-to-back shots before freshman Kasey Johnson answered a pair of MSU
free-throws with a three-pointer to give the Sycamores a 63-58 lead with 4:00
remaining.
Indiana State would hold at least a two-point lead for the remainder of the
game, shooting 6-for-8 at the charity stripe over the final four minutes of
action to close out their first victory over Missouri State since sweeping the
Bears during the 2007-08 season. The victory is also just ISU's fifth on the
road against MSU, improving the Sycamores to 5-27 all-time in Springfield
against Missouri State.
Munn went for a career-high 27 points on Friday night, shooting 10-for-18 from
the field while adding five rebounds. Friday's effort was Munn's third above 20
points this season. Whitley (13 points, 7-for-9 FT) and Laramie (10 points,
eight rebounds) also went into double figures for Indiana State, as the
Sycamores shot 50% (27-for-54) from the field. ISU's shooting effort was their
best of the season and their first game at 50% since going 21-for-38 (55.3%)
against Wichita State on Feb. 26, 2012.
The Sycamores dominated the glass on Friday, out-rebounding the Bears by a
39-26 margin. Indiana State improves to 10-1 this season when winning the
battle of the boards, while holding Missouri State, who entered the game
averaging a MVC-leading 44.2 rebounds a game, to a season-low 26 rebounds.
Indiana State closes out their three-game road swing on Sunday, Feb. 3,
traveling to Wichita, Kan., for a matchup with the unbeaten Wichita State
Shockers. The first-place Shockers (14-6, 8-0 MVC) defeated Illinois State,
66-54, on Friday inside Charles Koch Arena.
