Missouri State moves on in women’s NCAA Tournament with big win over UC Davis
Brice Calip had 18 points and Missouri State used a huge third-quarter run to beat UC Davis 70-51 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday night.
Jasmine Franklin added 17 points and 17 rebounds, helping No. 5 seed Missouri State dominate inside.
Missouri State will face No. 13 Wright State at 2 p.m. Wednesday after it advanced with an upset win against Arkansas. That game will be shown on ESPNU.
The Bears (22-2) are in the tournament for the 16th time. They are making their second straight appearance after reaching the Sweet 16 in 2019.
They have won 18 straight for their longest streak since they also won 18 in a row from Dec. 2003-Feb. 2004.
Evanne Turner, Cierra Hall and Kayla Konrad each made a three-pointer to open the third quarter and put No. 12 seed UC Davis up 34-33.
The Bears scored their first points of the half on a layup by Sydney Wilson with about 7½ minutes left in the third. That started a 16-0 run by Missouri State that made it 49-34 entering the fourth.
The Aggies couldn’t do anything right after their hot start to the quarter, missing seven shots and committing four turnovers as Missouri State built the lead.
Missouri State coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton admitted to getting after her team a bit after the Aggies took the lead.
“I needed to wake us up a little bit,” she said. “I had to remind them we only had one game on our schedule. We’ve been on this magical journey and we didn’t want to end that.”
Franklin said Agugua-Hamilton’s words got them going.
“We knew we were going to play or we’re going to lose,” she said. “It’s a long way home and we weren’t trying to go home so we knew we had to finish the game out.”
Missouri State made a free throw early in the fourth quarter before UC Davis finally ended its scoring drought with a three-pointer by Konrad with nine minutes remaining.
UC Davis (13-3) won the Big West regular season and tournament titles to make its third trip to the tournament and second in a row. The Aggies were led by Turner’s 16 points.
Missouri State had a 15-point lead midway through the second quarter before UC Davis discovered its offense. Hall made two three-pointers to power an 11-0 run, but Missouri State scored the last four points of the quarter to take a 33-25 lead into halftime.
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 9:45 PM.