Missouri State women’s basketball attempted another late-game comeback during its challenging road trip, but this time, it came up short.
Missouri State fell 78-67 to Murray State on Thursday night in Murray, Kentucky. The loss brought the Racers and Drake Bulldogs within a game of the first-place Lady Bears with three games to go.
The Lady Bears (22-6, 14-3 MVC) will attempt to rebound when they travel to Belmont on Saturday afternoon.
LADY BEARS: Why Missouri State women’s basketball legend Cheryl Burnett is ‘amazed’ by Beth Cunningham
Missouri State women’s basketball can’t pull off another magical comeback
The Lady Bears trailed for much of the game and fell behind by as many as 13 with 7:22 left in the fourth before going on a 14-2 run that brought the game back within one with 3:50 remaining.
Unlike in their games against Drake and Northern Iowa, the Lady Bears couldn’t get the shots and stops they needed to pull off a come-from-behind victory. The Racers got the late buckets to fall, holding off the Lady Bears and bringing the race for the regular-season championship within a game.
Lacy Stokes finished with 25 points for the Lady Bears, making 10 of the team’s 27 shots. Murray State’s Katelyn Young scored 27, while Halli Poock added 26.
How did Missouri State women’s basketball’s loss impact its MVC championship race?
With three games to go, the Lady Bears are now one game ahead of Drake and Murray State in the MVC standings.
They are still two wins away from winning at least a share of the league. Winning the last three games will give the Lady Bears the championship outright.
If the Lady Bears finish in a three-way tie with the Racers and Bulldogs, they will be the No. 1 seed because they would have the best record in a round-robin tiebreaker. If they finish in a two-way tie with Drake, they’ll be the No. 1 seed after sweeping the head-to-head.
After splitting with Murray State, a two-way tie would be decided by who is ranked highest in the final NET ranking of the season. The Racers were ranked 58th entering Thursday, while the Lady Bears were 10 spots below.
Murray State remaining schedule
Drake remaining schedule
-
March 1: @ Northern Iowa
-
March 6: @ Valparaiso
-
March 8: @ UIC
What’s next for Missouri State women’s basketball?
The Lady Bears will travel to Belmont on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game in Nashville. The Lady Bears beat Belmont 57-55 in Springfield on Jan. 2.
They conclude their regular season with a two-game homestand against Illinois State and Bradley on March 6 and 8.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State women’s basketball falls to Murray State, impacts MVC race
