March Madness: Missouri State women's basketball season ends in WBIT loss to Minnesota

Missouri State women's basketball's 10th consecutive postseason tournament appearance ended in the WBIT second round.

The Lady Bears couldn't keep up with Minnesota in a 78-71 loss to the Golden Gophers on Sunday afternoon at Great Southern Bank Arena. Minnesota will advance to the quarterfinal round of the second annual Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. It marked the Lady Bears' lone home loss of the season.

MSU's year ends at 26-9. The program won a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship before moving to Conference USA next season.

Beth Cunningham, heading into her fourth year as head coach, will go into an offseason needing to replace four starters, including graduating star point guard Lacy Stokes.

Minnesota women's basketball holds off Missouri State comeback attempt

The Golden Gophers built their lead up to 15 by the end of the first quarter. Anytime it appeared the Lady Bears were going on a run to bring the game within striking distance, Minnesota would respond with a run of its own.

When leading by 15 after a bucket to open the fourth quarter, the Lady Bears went on a 10-2 run to cut the Golden Gophers lead to seven with 6:40 left. They later brought the game within six after Sarah Linthacum split a pair of free throws.

After exchanging 3's, Kyrah Daniels made one of her own with 28.8 seconds left, bringing the game within a possession for the first time since early in the first quarter. The Golden Gophers made both free throws when the Lady Bears were forced to foul. When the Lady Bears came up empty on their following possession, the Gophers continued to hit their free throws to hold off the comeback.

Kaemyn Bekemeier finished the game with 18 points, going 8 of 12 from the field. Lacy Stokes, in her final game at Great Southern Bank Arena, scored 13 points with four assists and three rebounds.

Lacy Stokes ends remarkable college career

Stokes will go down as one of the great southwest Missouri basketball players to play their entire career in Springfield. The Mount Vernon native was one of the best point guards to ever wear a Lady Bears uniform and one of the program's best two-year players.

Her career included Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year honors and first- and second-team All-MVC selections. Prior to Missouri State, she earned All-American honorable mentions in both her years at Missouri Southern. She was also an all-state performer in basketball and volleyball at Mount Vernon.

Missouri State women's basketball will now prep for first Conference USA season

With Cunningham leading the way, the Lady Bears are in for a busy offseason ahead of their debut in Conference USA.

Replacing Stokes won't be easy. Cunningham remains confident in JaNyla Bush, who redshirted this season after offseason ACL surgery, but more insurance will likely be needed. Bekemeier figures to slide into the starting lineup with the graduation of Paige Rocca, as well as Lainie Douglas, who will take over in the post as Linthacum graduates.

Offseason attention will quickly turn to the transfer portal, which opens Monday. Intrigue will focus on whether the Lady Bears have any surprise departures and who they can attract in the coming months.