MSU Women's Track tallies 12 top-five performances at Missouri Invitational

(From Missouri State Athletics)

The Missouri State track and field team tallied 12 top-five performances in eight different events at the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse on Friday (Jan. 20). The Missouri Invitational was just the second outing of the 2016-17 indoor season for the Bears after traveling to the Bob Timmons Challenge (Dec. 2) to begin the season.

Notable performances by Chicago Bains, Olivia Ott and Kelli Bowen started the day on the track for the Bears. In the preliminary round of the 60-meter hurdles, Ott and Bowen both collected a personal best time of 9.53 seconds while Bains finished second in the final round with a time of 9.01 seconds.

Marissa Kurtimah and Asha Cave ousted 30 student-athletes to advance to the final round of the 60-meter dash, where they finished second and fourth, respectively, with season-best times of 7.46 seconds and 7.72 seconds, respectively.

MSU's top distance performer, Jessica Allen, knocked 12 seconds off her personal best time in the mile run, finishing fourth overall with a time of 5:18.95. In the 3,000-meter run, Allen was the sixth of 21 competitors to cross the line, clocking in a time of 10:40.67 in the event.

In the field, throwers Melanie Raterman and Brittany McPike hurled third- and fifth-place finishes, respectively, in the weight throw. All five long jumpers – Ott, Bowen, Daijha Heron, Chelsey Linton and Sidne Williamson – finished in the top-11 for Missouri State in a field of 21 student-athletes.

Five newcomers – Bains, Linton, Danielle Bohannon, Grace Breiten and Maya Genard – showed promise after compiling top-10 performances in at least one of their individual events. Kayla Farris and Sidne' Williamson also joined fellow newcomers, aiding in two separate 4x400-meter relays that both finished in the top-10.

Missouri State will return to the University of Kansas for the second time in three outings for the Jayhawk Classic next Friday (Jan. 27).

Missouri State women hold off late charge to defeat Illinois State 65-60

(From Missouri State University Athletics)

Despite not trailing during the final three quarters, Missouri State needed to hold off a hard-charging Illinois State squad in the final seconds Friday evening to earn a 65-60 victory against the Redbirds at JQH Arena.

The Lady Bears improved to 8-9 overall and 4-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play with their fourth consecutive win, while Illinois State dropped to 4-13 and 1-5 in MVC games in spite of a school and MSU opponent record eight 3-pointers from Taylor Stewart.

MSU never trailed after senior Lexi Hughes hit a jumper with 57 seconds left in the first quarter for a 13-12 advantage after the sixth lead change of the period. The Redbirds tied the score at 17-all with 6:52 remaining until halftime, but did not score again before the break as MSU closed on a 10-0 run with Liza Fruendt scoring the final eight points.

Fruendt opened the second half with another trey for a 13-0 run and 30-17 lead before ISU ended its seven-minute scoreless drought and then exceeded its first-half scoring output in just over five minutes to pull to 39-36 with 4:20 to play.

Lee Ann Polowy's 3-pointer made it 47-40 after three frames, and Stewart countered with five points to pull ISU within a basket at 47-45. MSU junior Aubrey Buckley scored the final four points of an 8-0 run in response to push the Lady Bears' lead back to double digits at 55-45, and Hughes hit a trey with 2:52 left for a 60-52 lead.

Stewart struck again with triples to cut the gap to 60-55 and 62-58, and the Redbirds added a layup with 16.8 ticks on the clock to close to 62-60. Hughes hit one of two free throws for 63-60 and the Lady Bears forced a turnover with less than a second to play before Fruendt sank two foul shots with 0.3 seconds remaining for the final margin.

Fruendt finished with 15 points, Hughes scored 13 and Alexa Willard added 11 for her seventh consecutive game in double figures. Willard also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds as one of five Lady Bears with at least six boards. MSU led the rebounding battle 46-37 and turned 21 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.

MSU hosts Bradley (5-12, 1-5) at 2 p.m. Sunday. The 1992 Final Four team will be recognized at halftime of that contest.

MSSU track and field to hold alumni event February 11

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

The Missouri Southern track and field and cross country programs will host an alumni event this February 11.

The event will take place in the North End Zone Facility starting at 7:30 pm after the conclusion of the Lion Open that night.

Alumni can register online (Click Here) and pay the ten dollar fee, or pay at the door the night of the event.

Childcare will be provided along with great food and drinks. There will also be a trivia game, as well as raffling off an assortment of items and baskets.

This is a great chance to re-connect with past teammates and get to know the current Lions.

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact Taelour Murphy at 417-625-3189 or murphy-t@mssu.edu.