The MSU Lady Bears came away with a hard fought win over the St. Louis University Billikens 75-59 Wednesday night at JQH Arena.
MSU took at 30-29 lead at the intermission, but SLU went on a 10-0 run at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half to take a 33-30 lead. The Lady Bears then took the lead for good at the 17:32 mark on a steal and layup by Jasmine Malone.
The Billikens briefly grabbed the advantage 52-51 with 8:23 left, but MSU went on a 14-0 run to put the game away.
One of the key plays in the game may have just been a jump ball. With just under 10 minutes left in regulation, the Lady Bears Jaleshia Roberson and the Billikens' Katie Paganelli got tangled up and the officials called a jump ball after five or six players ended up on the floor. There were words exchanged, with most of them coming from Paganelli. The officials got together for five minutes and reviewed a replay to determine if any punches were thrown during the pileup. They determined none were thrown. What effect did it have on the Lady Bears? "We went on and played, and our team was fired up," said Head Coach Nyla Milleson.
Sophomore guard Casey Garrison lead MSU in scoring with 20 points, followed by Jasmine Malone with 19. Malone, who celebrated a birthday Wednesday, scored eight points in that 14-0 run in the second half. "It feels amazing, especially when you have the whole team together and everybody knows their role," Malone said. " The bench is yelling, you feel confident and you have a lot more trust in your team knowing that they're going to have your back." Lacey Boshe also scored in double figures, finishing with 15.
SLU had two players in double figures, Lauren Woods with 21, and center Amanda Kemezys, who finished with 14 and fouled out of the game with 5:33 left.
The Lady Bears improve to 1-1 with the win. They'll take on Southeast Missouri State University Saturday afternoon at 1:05 at JQH Arena.
Updated 10:07 p.m. 11-18-09