The Lady Bears swept their two-game road trip in Indiana to set up the biggest game remaining on their regular season schedule.

A 59-51 win over Indiana State on Thursday and a 73-56 win over Evansville on Saturday will see Missouri State travel to play Drake in a game needed to stay in contention for a Missouri Valley Conference title.

As of Saturday evening, the Lady Bears were one game behind Belmont for second place in the MVC standings and two behind Drake for first. They would still need to do their part and receive some help over the final five games of the regular season to claim at least a share of the league.

Missouri State (17-6, 11-3) will play the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday.

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Missouri State Lady Bears needed second-half rallies to win both games

The Lady Bears trailed in both their road games this weekend.

They trailed by as many as seven in the third quarter at Indiana State and found themselves down by four late in the third quarter against the Purple Aces.

The win over Indiana State saw MSU hold the Sycamores to just two makes from the field in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Taylor scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the second half with Lacy Stokes scoring six of MSU’s 16 fourth-quarter points.

Against Evansville, the Lady Bears, again, held their opponent to just two makes from the field in the final quarter. MSU finished the game on a 15-2 run with Taylor scoring all 10 of her points in the second half.

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Where the MSU Lady Bears stand now

Missouri State has six games remaining before Hoops in the Heartland. It has a two-game lead over fourth-place Northern Iowa for third place in the standings. MSU is in a good spot to earn a first-round bye in the MVC Tournament next month.

Drake is MSU’s toughest remaining opponent. Thursday will be the only time the two play during the regular season.

The Lady Bears have beaten every other team remaining on their schedule except for Illinois State who they played in Normal, Illinois, on Jan. 14 and lost 85-78. The March 2 rematch could have seeding implications when the Redbirds were 2.5 games behind the Lady Bears ahead of ISU’s Saturday evening game.

Missouri State will return home to play Southern Illinois on Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.

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 X at @WyattWheeler_NL.