After falling in the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals, heartbreak set in for the Lady Bears, knowing their ultimate dreams of being in the big dance were over.
But shortly after learning they’d get playing more basketball, they quickly refocused.
“I think, as a senior, any extra game on your schedule is a blessing, and you’re going to be grateful for it,” Lady Bears star Lacy Stokes said. “We’re in it to win it.”
Missouri State looked like a team determined to play as long as it possibly could when it scored the game’s first 12 points en route to a 107-76 beatdown of Oral Roberts during the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament on Thursday night at Great Southern Bank Arena.
It was one of the more impressive performances the Lady Bears have displayed during their three years under coach Beth Cunningham. They scored 100-plus points for the first time against a Division I opponent since Jan. 2019, and it came against a team that won 24 games and was a win away from reaching the NCAA Tournament.
It was the most points the Lady Bears have ever scored in a postseason game, surpassing the 104 points the program scored in a 2001 Elite Eight win over Washington. Jackie Stiles scored 32 points in that game.
“I think if anybody had any questions if our kids were excited to be back in Great Southern Bank Arena, I think we answered that pretty early on,” Cunningham said. “We came out and set the tone.”
The Lady Bears played like there was tomorrow. Stokes, who will go down as one of the great players to play their entire career in southwest Missouri, played at a million miles per hour from the opening tip. Stokes finished with a game-high 20 points and had 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals while knowing a loss would have meant the end of her great career.
Paige Rocca, who has been with the program for five years, also made the most of her extra game, scoring 19 points and making five shots from deep.
The win put the Lady Bears at 15-0 when playing at Great Southern Bank Arena this season. A solid crowd of 2,032, amid a spring break week across the area, witnessed the continuation of what’s been an entertaining team all season.
“That’s what this arena does to you, ya know?” Stokes said. “It lights a fire in you. Playing in front of these fans, these people and on this court just brings a different type of energy. That’s why we have the record on this court that we do.”
That fire will remain when the Lady Bears’ season continues on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Minnesota. Despite being the higher seed, the Golden Gophers are unable to host, which will give the Lady Bears another game at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Now two wins away from reaching the WBIT’s Final Four, which will be held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Lady Bears will try to replicate the performance they gave their home fans come Sunday afternoon.
“Expectations don’t change,” Cunningham said. “One of our goals is to be undefeated at home. We’ve had some great atmospheres and great community support, but let’s make sure this one is the best of the season and support these young ladies. They’re worth the price of admission.”
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State women’s basketball hungry for March Madness success in WBIT
