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EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Missouri State sophomore guard Casey Garrison showed why she is considered a leading candidate for the Jackie Stiles Player of the Year trophy in the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday, as Garrison poured home a game-high 28 points in just 28 minutes to help power the visiting Lady Bears to an 86-57 victory over the University of Evansville Purple Aces at Roberts Stadium in Evansville.
Garrison missed only two shots on the afternoon—a first-half jumper and a second-half free throw—as she went 12-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to record her 13th consecutive double-figure game and 19th double-figure game of the year overall. Garrison also dished out five assists, grabbed four rebounds and swiped three steals to help the Lady Bears improve to 14-6 overall and 6-3 in the MVC.
“Casey Garrison got loose early today and got into a groove, and with such a talented scorer as Garrison, you can not let that happen and hope to beat Missouri State,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “She really set the tone for them early, and their entire team fed off of her energy, and we did not have an answer today.”
Garrison was involved early for Missouri State, as she assisted on the Lady Bears’ first basket of the game, a three-pointer by forward Melissa Busby, and then scored three-straight baskets in a three-minute span to fuel an eventual 20-5 run by the Lady Bears to open the game.
Evansville would eventually answer back with an 11-4 run midway through the first half to trim the Missouri State lead back to just nine points, 27-18, on a Chelsea Falkenstein lay-up with 6:21 to play. Missouri State would quickly respond though, rattling off a 16-4 run over the next five minutes fueled by six more Garrison points to take a 45-24 lead into the halftime locker room.
Garrison would then make sure that UE would not get any closer than 16 points in the second half, as she poured home 16 second-half points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the floor to help Missouri State pick up the victory. Reserve guard Jasmine Malone pitched in 15 points for the Lady Bears, while Christiana Shorter (12 points) and Jaleshia Roberson (11 points, nine assists) joined them in double-figures out of the starting lineup.
Evansville was led by freshman center Samantha Heck, who recorded a season-best 15 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Senior guard Amy Gallagher joined Heck in double-figures with 10 points, while junior forward Stephanie Bamberger added eight points.
With the victory, Missouri State improves to 14-6 overall and 6-3 in the Valley. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 4-16 overall and 1-8 in the MVC. The Purple Aces will return to Roberts Stadium on Friday night, February 5 to host Bradley at 7:00 p.m. Friday’s game can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.
