SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Jasmine Franklin scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds off the bench and No. 23 Missouri State fought off a sluggish start to beat Loyola 59-45 on Sunday.
Franklin came off a career-high 25 points set in a win against the Ramblers on Saturday.
The Bears (18-2, 14-0 Missouri Valley Conference) extended their win streak to 17 straight in conference and 14 overall, the eighth-best overall streak in school history and longest since the 2018-19 team won 13 straight.
Loyola (10-10, 8-8) took advantage of the fact the Bears missed 12 of their first 15 shots and led 11-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Despite the fact Emily Gartner made a layup and 3-pointer to give the Bears a 20-17 lead they’d never surrender, Loyola stuck around for most of the remainder before Missouri State pulled away.
The Bears needed an 11-0 run to start the fourth to establish their first double-digit lead of the game at 45-33.
Allison Day scored 14 for the Ramblers.
