Missouri State women’s basketball entered the week with a chance at winning a share of the Missouri Valley Conference. Instead, the Lady Bears have dropped two straight and have entered a three-way tie atop the league standings.
Depending on how the last two games of the regular season fall, the Lady Bears could finish anywhere from first to fifth and not even receive a first-round bye in the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The Lady Bears fell 67-61 at Belmont on Saturday evening in Nashville. The loss is their second straight before finishing the regular season at home against Illinois State and Bradley on Thursday and Saturday.
Missouri State (22-7, 14-4 MVC) is tied with Drake and Murray State for the league lead.
Belmont women’s basketball pulled away in the second half
After going into halftime down by one, the Bruins outscored the Lady Bears 22-7 in the third quarter to take a 14-point lead that was never brought within single digits until the final seconds of the fourth quarter. During the period, the Lady Bears only made three shots from the field and were 0 for 9 from beyond the arc.
Belmont’s Jailyn Banks put on a show, scoring 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting with five boards and five assists.
Kyrah Daniels was the Lady Bears’ biggest offensive threat, scoring 19 points on 50% shooting with five rebounds.
How Missouri State loss impacts MVC championship race
The Lady Bears are now in a three-way tie with Murray State and Drake atop the MVC standings. The three are one game ahead of Illinois State and Belmont for third and fourth place.
Missouri State still controls its destiny. Two wins to close the season will turn into at least a share of the conference title. If the Lady Bears are tied with only Drake, they will be the one-seed at the MVC tournament. If they are tied with only Murray State, the NET rankings tiebreaker will come into play, where the Racers were ranked 57th entering Saturday, compared to the Lady Bears at 68.
If only the three are tied atop the league standings, the Lady Bears would earn the top seed because they’d have the best combined record against the two in a mini round-robin.
The Lady Bears are still not guaranteed a first-round bye at the MVC tourney, and their upcoming game against Illinois State will be critical. A loss to the Redbirds could knock the Lady Bears into a three-way tie with Illinois State and Belmont. If they lose to Illinois State and finish in a two-way or three-way tie with the Redbirds and/or Bruins, the Lady Bears could drop to the league’s five-seed because Belmont is currently ahead in a NET tiebreaker.
Missouri State women’s basketball returns home to play Illinois State, Bradley
Winning the next two games isn’t a given. The Lady Bears had already lost to Illinois State earlier in the season, 66-55, in Normal, Illinois, on Feb. 2. They shot 31.9% in the game, and Lacy Stokes was limited to just two points.
Missouri State and Illinois State will tip off at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Lady Bears and Bradley will conclude the regular season on March 8 at 1 p.m. Missouri State won the first matchup 73-62 in Peoria on Jan. 31. The Braves have won two of their last three games, which included a 70-65 win over Illinois State on Feb. 23.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State women’s basketball loses to Belmont, now tied atop MVC
