MINNEAPOLIS — Junior Brice Calip scored a career-high 21 points, Jasmine Franklin had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Missouri State beat No. 23 Minnesota 77-69 on Tuesday for Amaka Agugua-Hamilton’s first victory as coach of the Lady Bears.
Missouri State opened the game on an 18-4 spurt and held on to extend its school-record to 11th straight victory on the road. The Lady Bears never trailed and led by as much as 16 points.
The Lady Bears returned 12 players from last season’s Sweet 16 team that finished 16-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Alexa Willard added 13 points for Missouri State and Calip topped her previous high of 19 points. Agugua-Hamilton is Missouri State’s eighth head coach after spending the last six seasons at Michigan State.
The Lady Bears also out-rebounded the Golden Gophers 41-21 and shot a perfect 17-17 from the free-throw line.
Destiny Pitts, the Big Ten freshman of the year in 2017-18, led Minnesota with 18 points after making her first six 3-point attempts. Jasmine Brunson added 14 points and Taiye Bello 13. Starter Gadiva Hubbard, who missed all of last season due to surgery on her right foot, was held to two points in 20 minutes.
