SectionsYouthful Lady Bears see wins pile up
Four in a row after sweep
Jon Poorman
Issue date: 3/3/09 Section: Sports
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Sophomore Jacque Griggs led the way for the team, putting up a game-high 16 points and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
Freshman Jaleshia Roberson added 12 points, and freshman Casey Garrison scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds and four steals.
Griggs gave a lot of credit to her teammates.
"Part of it has to do with Casey and (Roberson) doing really good, so a lot of focus is on them," Griggs said. "That leaves it kind of wide open for me to do some things if she (Garrison) has two people on her, she makes the pitch, and as long as I'm finishing, she's going to keep pitching it."
That complete team play was pleasing for Missouri State coach Nyla Milleson, who is glad to see players on her team starting to step up.
"I think one thing this team is really starting to revolve around is that, Casey, without question, is still our go-to player, but we've got some kids that are really developing a tremendous amount of confidence to step up around her," Milleson said.
The Lady Bears came out hot and jumped out to a 19-6 lead in the first half. They ended the half on top, 40-30. In the second half, the team played tough and held a steady lead for the remainder of the game. The Lady Bears never trailed the entire contest.
The win Sunday came after an 80-67 victory over Evansville on Friday.
On Friday, senior Maggie Dwyer led the charge with a season-high 22 points, and the Lady Bears shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half and forced 20 turnovers.
The team also shot 13-for-14 from the free-throw line (93 percent) in the second half to keep Evansville from getting too close.
Garrison and freshman Jasmine Malone also had outstanding games. Garrison tallied 19 points, five assists and two blocked shots. Malone added 17 points, eight rebounds and a game-high five steals.
The win set the mood for Sunday's game against the Salukis, which was also senior night for Dwyer and two-sport athlete Jamie Adams. Adams also played on the Missouri State volleyball team.
The Lady Bears, who are on a four-game winning streak, now stand at 10-17 overall and 6-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference. They are currently in seventh place with two more games left to go in the regular season.
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