Missouri State runs away late over Indiana State 75-57

Time and time again the Indiana State Sycamores made a run and time and time again, the Missouri State Bears (17-13) had an answer.

Missouri State closed the game on a 20-6 run to advance to the Valley semifinals with a 75-57 win. It caps off a 9-game winning streak for the Bears.

A quick blitz by the Sycamores to jump up 14-6 with 12:05 left in the first half awoke a sleeping bear, figuratively and literally. Missouri State used a 12-2 run to crawl back into it, tying the game at 16-all with 9:55 left until halftime.

Tyonna Snow led all scores with 26 points on 7-of-16 shooting. She had 15 points in the second half.

The Bears then used another 9-2 run that took them from a 2-point deficit into a 35-28 lead wtih 1:19 until halftime.

Missouri State held a slim 35-32 lead at halftime.

Indiana State came out of halftime, and tied the game at 36-all with 17:39 remaining in the game. The Bears responded every time. This time it was the defense that stood tall. They held the Sycamores to just a single basket over the six minutes, outscoring them 12-3 in the process.

After Missouri State had gained a 49-42 lead with 8:38 left in the game, Indiana State made one last ditch effort to get back into the contest. Led by Cierra Ceazer and Co. combined their powers, cutting the lead to 55-51 with 4:42 remaining.

Liza Fruendt drained a Missouri State money ball, pushing the lead to seven. Then, Snow took over. She six of the next 10 points, butting the game out of reach and securing a spot in the semifinals.

Free throws and staunch defense became the catalyst to end any hope of an Indiana State win tonight. Snow showed why all evening she was the best player on the court. It was the second highest scoring total of the Valley tournament throughout the quarterfinals.

Indiana State season comes to a halt at 17-13. They'll have to hope and pray that the NIT takes a good look at them. However, if they're going dancing at all in the post season, it'll be in the CBI. They lose seven seniors, but head coach Joey Wells talked about how the three early commitments should help their guard play going forward.

Missouri State clinches their first Valley semifinal appearance since 2011 when they would eventually lose to Northern Iowa Panthers in the Championship game 69-41. They were a 3-seed then, too. Now, they'll get a chance to take on seventh-seeded Evansville Purple Aces (13-18) at 4 p.m. CST tomorrow on ESPN3.