Missouri State Lady Bears escape with MVC quarterfinal win over Murray State

Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year Lacy Stokes sank two free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining to help Missouri State escape in its first game at the MVC Tournament.

A 71-70 quarterfinal win over Murray State advanced the Lady Bears to Saturday’s 4 p.m. semifinal game against Belmont. The winner will play for the Valley’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in the league’s championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Missouri State (22-8) nearly gave away a 10-point lead it took early in the fourth quarter. The Racers went on a 14-4 run to tie the game in less than four minutes.

More: What we’re hearing about the Missouri State men’s basketball coaching search

When tied at 69 with 5.9 seconds left, the Lady Bears fouled Bria Sanders-Woods who went to the line and split her free throws. Out of two timeouts, Stokes drove to the basket and was fouled. She made her free throws for the 71-69 lead.

After advancing the ball up the floor, the Racers turned the ball over, keeping the Lady Bears’ postseason hopes alive.

Indya Green scored 22 points for the Lady Bears while grabbing 17 rebounds. Stokes scored 17 and dished out four assists.

The Lady Bears and Belmont split their regular season series with each team winning their home game. The Lady Bears lost 66-55 in Nashville on Jan. 26 and then won 73-54 on Feb. 9 in Springfield.

The second-seeded Bruins snuck past No. 7 Belmont with a 70-65 win Friday night. The opposite semifinal features top-seed Drake and No. 4 Northern Iowa.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.