SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Saint Louis forced 27 Missouri State turnovers, but the Lady Bears shot 47 percent from the field and outrebounded the Billikens by 26 in a 71-55 MSU win Tuesday night at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Mo.

The Billikens fell to 1-3 on the season, while MSU picked up its first win and moved to 1-1.

"We really feel like Missouri State came after our toughness on the glass," head coach Rebecca Tillett said. "52 rebounds for them, 26 for us, that's something that we have to quickly remedy because it's really difficult to be successful when that happens."

SLU pulled down 16 offensive boards but had just 10 on the defensive glass.

After trailing 39-23 at the half, the Billikens found a spark in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Bears 19-12 in the frame.

"We were just tired of being the ones getting the pressure," senior guard Kyla McMakin said. "We wanted to be the ones who were pushing the other team. We talked at halftime and the only thing they were doing was outworking us. All we had to do was come out and do hard work."

McMakin poured in a team-best 17 points, including 11 in the second half.

Brooke Flowers came into the game with an average of 10.0 rebounds. She finished the night with 11 points and five boards.

"These are the types of teams you want to play in the nonconference," Flowers said. "You learn a lot about yourself and a lot about your team, and those are the type of experiences that you need and will eventually make us better."

Camree Clegg remains perfect from the free throw line on the season (14-14), going 4-4 in the game. She finished with nine points and four assists.

The Billikens are home for two this weekend at Chaifetz Arena, beginning Friday night against Green Bay.