No. 17-ranked Missouri State entered play on Friday night in Carbondale, Illinois in the midst of a dream season.
But after a nightmare at Banterra Center on the campus of Southern Illinois, the Lady Bears woke up in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Gabby Walker’s layup at the buzzer gave Southern Illinois a 70-68 win after Missouri State (14-3, 4-1) rallied to tie the game with just four seconds to play. Alexa Willard scored a game-high 27 points and she missed a 3-pointer in the waning moments that Jasmine Franklin rebounded and put-back to tie the game, 68-68.