The Southwest Missouri State Lady Bears crushed SMU 83-56 to advance to the second round of the WNIT. The Lady Bears excited the 4,674 in attendance at Hammons Student Center by jumping out to a 19-2 lead in the first half and cruising from there. They led 43-22 at the half.
Senior Jenni Lingor led the way for SMS with 23 points, as she moved into third place on the school’s all-time scoring list. She now has 1,791 total points. Kari Koch added 19, while Nicole Lehman and K.C. Cowgill chipped in 10 apiece. Koch led a 12-of-23 three point attack by hitting 5-of-8.
The Lady Bears (21-8) will host Gonzaga (28-3) on Monday night. Gonzaga, like SMS, was the top seed in their conference tournament, but lost in the first round. That loss to BYU in the West Coast Conference Tournament snapped a 23-game.
