Casey Garrison scored 16 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as the Lady Bears connected on 17-of-28 (.607) field goal attempts after intermission to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit. Jaleshia Roberson hit all three of her tries from beyond the arc in the second half to finish with 20 points.

The top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference in terms of field goal and three-point field goal percentage put on a shooting clinic for much of the afternoon. Behind Kristin Turk's 5-of-6 first-half effort from long range, the Bulldogs took a 46-31 lead into the break. Turk totaled 17 first-half points, and DU hit seven of its 10 attempts from beyond the arc.

Missouri State found itself in an early 10-0 hole, as Drake connected on its first four field goal attempts out of the gate. Turk and Amber Wollschlager each knocked down three-point attempts, while the Bulldog defense flustered the Lady Bears into missing six of their first seven shots of the game.

But Roberson keyed a 13-2 MSU spurt that would see the Lady Bears take their first lead of the day on a Melissa Busby putback at the 11:51 mark. Roberson accounted for seven points during the run, including a three-pointer with 15:04 left on the clock.

Drake responded with three more long-range jumpers, including two from Turk, to outscore MSU 27-6 over a nine-minute stretch to ultimately take a 44-26 lead, its largest of the afternoon.

DU finished the half 18-of-33 (.545) from the floor and held the Lady Bears to just 33 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes.

Missouri State made its key run early in the second half by hitting five of its first eight shots. Busby's three from the left corner with 17:16 to play made it a 48-39 contest, and Garrison scored five straight points to slice the DU lead to just four. Then it was Christiana Shorter's turn to shine, as the MSU freshman hit 1-of-2 free throws, then finished a strong move to the basket for two more points to draw the Lady Bears to within one. Busby then knocked down treys on successive possessions to put MSU up, 53-50 with 12:08 remaining.

After the Bulldogs regrouped to score four unanswered points and briefly take a one-point lead, the Lady Bears maintained their torrid shooting, as Roberson drilled a pair of threes to put MSU back on top. Her long jumper at the 9:46 mark stretched the Lady Bear lead to 61-54, but the visitors wouldn't go away quietly. Drake got back-to-back threes from Jordann Plummer and Wollschlager and a bucket from Rachael Hackbarth to take a 65-63 advantage.

DU would hold a 69-68 lead with just under six minutes to go when the Lady Bears would make their decisive push. Shorter started the drive with a basket in the paint and Roberson sank her fourth triple of the day to give MSU a four-point edge. Jacque Griggs would convert a layup at the 3:09 mark to push the margin to five before Garrison scored in transition, drew a foul and completed the three-point play to put the Lady Bears up 79-71.

Shorter, who posted her third double-double of the season with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance, would knock down another field goal to complete a 10-0 MSU run and hand the Lady Bears an 83-71 lead with just over a minute left.

After being held scoreless for the first 19 minutes of the second half, Turk hit a pair of threes in the final minute, the last of which pulled the Bulldogs to within seven. That would prove to be as close as they would get, however, as MSU hit its final eight free throws of the game over the last 3:56 to ice the victory.

After the slow start, Missouri State recovered to shoot .466 (27-58) for the game, including an 11-of-22 effort from three-point range. DU shot 50 percent overall from the field, hitting on 11-of-17 (.647) tries from beyond the arc.

The Lady Bears will begin a three-game road swing Friday (Feb. 12) with a 6:05 (CST) contest against Indiana State in Terre Haute.