SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—Missouri State sophomore guard Casey Garrison exploded for 21 of her game-high 27 points in the second-half to help the Lady Bears overcome a valiant effort by the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces, 83-60, at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri.

 

Playing without leading scorer Amy Gallagher due to injury, Evansville trailed by just three points, 28-25, at halftime, as UE was able to hold the Lady Bears to 0-for-9 shooting from three-point range in the first half. Missouri State had entered the game leading the MVC in three-point accuracy at 38.3 percent.

 

Evansville was able to quickly tie the game at 28-28 on a three-point field goal by freshman guard Kaylan Martin just 35 seconds into the second half, but that’s when Garrison began her personal assault against the Purple Aces. Garrison would overcome an eight-point spurt by Martin by scoring Missouri State’s first 10 points of the second half to give the Lady Bears a 38-35 lead with 16:10 to play. 

 

After a three-pointer by Jasmine Malone, Garrison would add a three-pointer of her own to push the lead to nine points, 46-37, with 14:18 to go. UE would cut the lead back to seven points on three different occasions in the second half, with the last coming on a lay-up by sophomore guard Jordan Lewis with 11:24 to play, but Garrison would spark an 11-1 Missouri State run with a jumper on the Lady Bears’ next possession to put the game out of reach.

 

“As in our first meeting of the year, we just did not have an answer for Casey Garrison, especially in the second half,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “She took her game to another level in the second half, one that few players in our league can go to, and every time that we would make a run, Garrison would be right there to have an answer.

 

“We fought extremely hard though, and I was especially proud today of how some of our younger players responded. I thought that Kaylan Martin really played extremely well in the second half, and both Meagan Collins and Samantha Heck stepped up as well. That’s a very positive sign for the future, when three freshmen are your leading scorers.”

 

Martin and Collins tied for team-high scoring honors with 12 points each, while Heck added nine points and six rebounds. Garrison led all players with 27 points, while also grabbing six rebounds, five steals, and dishing out four assists. Missouri State freshman forward Christiana Shorter added 18 points and six rebounds for the Lady Bears, while sophomore guard Jasmine Malone joined them in double-figures with 13 points.

 

With the victory, Missouri State improves to 19-8 overall and 11-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville, meanwhile, falls to 4-24 overall and 1-16 in the Valley. The Purple Aces will now return home to play UE’s final home game of the 2009-10 season on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m., as Evansville will host Southern Illinois on “Senior Night.” UE will honor senior basketball players Amy Gallagher and Hannah Singleton and senior managers Sarah Kuehl and Katie Riehle following Thursday’s game.