MOLINE, Ill. – In a tense game that went through 14 lead changes, Lacy Stokes produced the one that counted the most.

  Stokes sank two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to lift Missouri State to a 71-70 victory over Murray State on Friday night to complete the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament.

   The 5-foot-4 senior hit the game winners after Bria Sanders-Woods made one of two free throws to give the Racers a 70-69 lead with 5.9 seconds remaining.

   Missouri State coach Beth Cunningham called a timeout to advance the ball and the inbounds pass went to Stokes, who drove to the basket and drew the foul that sent to the line, and when it was over, sent the third-seeded Lady Bears (22-8) into the Hoops in the Heartland semifinals.

  They’ll play second-seeded Belmont at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner advancing to Sunday’s championship game. Missouri State leads all Valley schools with 11 tournament titles.

   There were big performances from players on both sides in this one – the 12^th game out of 278 in the MVC tournament decided by a single point.

  Missouri State’s Indya Green was a force throughout with 22 points and 17 rebounds – her fifth double-double this season and 12^th of her career. Her 17 rebounds tied her for sixth on the tournament’s single-game list and were the most in a tourney game since 2009.

   Stokes, the league’s Newcomer of the Year after transferring in from Missouri Southern, finished 7-for-10 at the free throw line and scored 17 points to go with four assists and four steals.

   Kyrah Daniels hit a couple of big shots in scoring nine points for the Lady Bears, while Kennedy Taylor had eight points and eight rebounds.

  Also key for the Lady Bears – holding Murray State (20-11) well below its league-leading 85.6 scoring average.

   Ava Learn led the sixth-seeded Racers with 16 points and 11 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. Haven Ford hit two huge 3s and converted a three-point play to help the Racers rally from a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter and finished with 13 points.

   Murray Sate’s Katelyn Young, the Valley’s leading scorer with a 19.6 average, struggled against Missouri State’s size inside and managed just 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting before fouling out with 9 ½ minutes left. She went out two points short of passing Sheila Smith’s school career record of 2,287 points.

   Missouri State led 53-43 at that point, but the Racers put together a 14-4 run to tie the game at 57 when Ford fired a crosscourt pass to Trinity White in the left corner and White hit a 3 with 4:57 left.

   The Lady Bears regained the lead, but the Racers came back again and went up 69-67 when Ford converted her three-point play on a drive to the hoop with 23.1 seconds remaining. Missouri State went back up on Kennedy Taylor’s rebound shot with 12 seconds to go, setting the stage for the final free throws.

  Missouri State continued its success in close games, improving to 7-1 in games decided by five points or fewer.