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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—The Missouri State University women’s basketball team used a 15-3 run four minutes into the second half on Friday to grab control of the contest and post an 80-67 victory over the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri.

After UE junior guard Amy Gallagher gave the Purple Aces a 39-38 lead with 16:51 to play with a jumper in the lane, the Lady Bears responded by scoring 15 of the game’s next 18 points to grab a 53-42 lead with 12:30 to play. Senior forward Maggie Dwyer scored seven of her game-high 22 points to fuel the run, which she capped with a three-pointer from the top of the key.

From there, Evansville would battle back to trim the deficit back to just four points, 59-55, on an old-fashioned three-point play by senior guard Ashley Austin with 8:38 to play. Missouri State rookies Casey Garrison and Jasmine Malone would respond though to score nine of the Lady Bears’ next 11 points as part of an 11-3 run which would give Missouri State back a double-digit lead it would never lose.

“We were just never able to overcome that first run by Missouri State in the second half,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “We could get the lead back to four and five points, but every time that we did, Missouri State would hit a big shot to maintain momentum.”

While Dwyer paced all scorers with 22 points, Garrison and Malone combined for 28 points after halftime to fuel Missouri State’s second-half charge. Garrison scored 13 of her 19 points after halftime, while Malone scored 15 of her 17 points and grabbed seven of her eight rebounds after the break to help Missouri State build on a one-point halftime cushion, 33-32.

Austin led Evansville with her third career double-double, as she posted 17 points and 11 rebounds to go along with six assists in 39 minutes of action. Rookie guard Jordan Lewis also added a season-high 12 points and senior forward Robyn Jennings pitched in 10 points and eight rebounds. 

With the victory, Missouri State improves to 9-17 overall and 5-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville, meanwhile, slips to 10-17 overall and 3-13 in the MVC. The Purple Aces will now travel on to Wichita, Kansas to take on the Wichita State Shockers on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2:05 p.m. and Sunday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.