The Missouri State Lady Bears (0-6) will attempt to put their early-season struggles behind them when they welcome the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (2-6) to Hammons Student Center Tuesday (Dec. 4) evening in a 7:05 p.m. contest.
After Sunday’s 80-48 setback at #17 DePaul, the Lady Bears have dropped their first six games of the 2007-08 season to start 0-6 for the first time in school history. Tulsa has also gotten off to a sluggish start, with just two victories in its first eight games.
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast locally in Springfield on KTXR 101.3 FM and on the web at www. radiospringfield.com.
Last Time Out: DePaul used a second-half offensive barrage to run away with an 80-48 victory over the Lady Bears Sunday (Dec. 2) afternoon in Chicago.
Keyed by a pair of Deirdre Naughton three-pointers, the 17th-ranked Blue Demons used a 19-0 run early in the second half to turn an eight-point lead into a 49-24 advantage with just under 15 minutes to play. Naughton would score 10 of her game high 20 points and DePaul outscored the Lady Bears 28-7 in the first nine minutes of the second half to take control of the game.
After holding just a four-rebound edge after the first 20 minutes of the contest, DePaul took control of the boards in the second period as well. The Blue Demons grabbed 26 offensive rebounds in all and finished with a 61-43 advantage on the boards.
Naughton led DePaul’s shooting efforts, going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Blue Demons shot just .354 for the game, but knocked down 11 three-point tries to bury the Lady Bears.
DePaul jumped out to an early 14-point lead behind the shooting of Naughton and Allie Quigley. The duo combined for 12 of the Blue Demons’ first 18 points, as the home team used a 9-0 scoring run to build a 20-6 advantage.The Lady Bears answered with 10 straight points, the last two coming on a Marisha Brown 10-foot jumper with 6:52 left in the half to trim the deficit to 20-16. But Naughton and Missy Mitidiero hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead back to 10 with just over five minutes to go.
Naughton tallied 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the first half as the Blue Demons took a 30-22 advantage into the lockerroom. The Lady Bears shot just .310 from the field, including 0-of-13 from three-point range in the first stanza.
The Lady Bears’ early-season shooting woes continued Sunday, as MSU missed its first 18 tries from three-point range and shot just .262 from the field (16-of-61) for the game.
Tulsa stopped a two-game losing streak with a decisive 78-56 win over UTSA on Saturday (Dec. 1). The Golden Hurricane held the Roadrunners to just 20.8 percent shooting from the floor and got double-doubles from Teka Brooks (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Larrissa Williams (15 points, 11 rebounds) to earn the win.
The Coaches: Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) is 0-6 in her first season as the head coach at Missouri State and 185-42 overall. The Goodland, Kan., native led Drury University to a 185-36 mark in seven seasons, highlighted by a national runner-up finish in 2003-04. In all, the Lady Panthers made five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and advanced to the Sweet 16 in four of those years. Milleson was honored as Heartland Conference Coach of the Year four times, as Drury won five conference titles in all.
Charlene Thomas-Swinson (Auburn, ’92) is in her third season leading the Tulsa program and her sixth season overall as a collegiate head coach. The former Auburn University standout was named Conference USA Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Hurricane to their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament and a school-record 26 wins in 2005-06. Thomas-Swinson has compiled a career record of 63-92, having served as head coach at St. John’s from 1996-98.
Series Record: Missouri State holds a slim 6-5 advantage over Tulsa in the series history, but has lost three of the last four meetings between the two schools.
Last year, the Golden Hurricane ran awaywith a 70-51 victory in Tulsa, as Jillian Robbins grabbed 14 rebounds and led all scorers with 23 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Tiff Terwelp recorded a then-career-best 16 rebounds in the loss for the Lady Bears.
Scouting Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane has played with a short bench so far in 2007-08, as TU returned just three letterwinners and one starter, sophomore forward Larrissa Williams, from last year’s 11-19 team. Of the 10 players on Tulsa’s roster, nine are either freshmen or sophomores. Williams leads Tulsa with a 9.8 rebound per game average while contributing 9.4 points per contest to the Golden Hurricane offensive attack. Sophomore forward Teka Brooks (10.9 ppg/7.8 rpg.), freshman guard Tatum Beer (9.6 ppg./4.4 rpg.) and junior forward Chanel Johnson (8.8 ppg./7.3 rpg.) each average over eight points per game. Johnson has blocked 25 shots on the season, good for an average of 3.1 bpg., which ranks eighth nationally. As a team, the Golden Hurricane ranks fourth in all of Division I with 7.1 blocks per contest.
Tulsa has shot .354 from the floor in its first eight games, including just over 27 percent from three-point range. The Golden Hurricane has been strong on the glass, outrebounding its opponents by seven boards per outing.
In Search of a W: Including four straight losses to close the 2006-07 season, Missouri State’s current 10-game losing streak matches two previous streaks for the longest in school history. The Lady Bears dropped 10 straight contests from Dec. 8, 1979 through Jan. 14, 1980, then equaled that streak during the 1985-86 season when they lost 10 in a row from Nov. 30, 1985 to Jan. 9, 1986.
MSU’s 0-6 start is the worst in the 39-year history of the program. Additionally, the Lady Bears 1-18 mark over their last 19 games represents the worst such stretch in the program’s history.
No Cupcakes Here: Missouri State’s six non-conference opponents to date have combined to go 30-11 (.732) in 2007-08. The Lady Bears’ schedule has produced two games against ranked opponents (#21 Texas and #17 DePaul), and each of MSU’s six opponents thus far are at the .500 mark or better.
Climbing the Charts: With her 17-point effort versus UTSA (Nov. 29), Tahnee Balerio topped the 900 career point mark and moved up to the No. 20 spot on the Lady Bears’ career scoring chart. Balerio’s first field goal of the night against the Roadrunners with 17:04 to play in the first half pushed her past Lynne Miller and Kimberly Scoggin, who previously shared the 20th spot at 891 career points. Balerio needs 53 more points to reach Gail Beck in the No.19 spot on the chart and 88 points to become the 19th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
MSU vs. Ranked Opponents: With its 80-48 loss at #17 DePaul on Dec. 2, Missouri State dropped to 0-2 vs. ranked opponents on the season. The Lady Bears are now 19-36 all-time versus ranked opponents and have lost 10 straight against top 25 teams.
Missouri State’s last win over a ranked foe came against Gail Goestenkors’ fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils in the 2001 NCAA West Regional semifinal (3/24/01).
MSU’s season opener at #22 Texas was the Lady Bears’ first opener versus a ranked opponent since the 2000-01 season when they defeated #10 LSU, 85-75. MSU is 2-2 all-time versus ranked teams in season openers.
Final Four Reunion Coming Friday: Missouri State will recognize its 1992 and 2001 NCAA Final Four teams Friday, December 7, when the Lady Bears take on Saint Louis at 7:05 p.m. Currently, 17 former Lady Bears, coaches and staff members have committed to attending, as the two teams will be honored at halftime and during a post-game reception for Fast Break Club members.
A limited number of free posters commemorating the two teams’ historic seasons will be available to fans as they enter the arena.
On the Road Again: Since snapping a seven-game road losing streak with an 83-76 win over Indiana State in Terre Haute last January, the Lady Bears have dropped their last 11 contests on the road and their last 12 away from Hammons Student Center overall. Over the last two years, Missouri State has won just two true road games and only four of its 31 games away from Hammons.
Adventures in Free-Throw Shooting: Missouri State hit just 5-of-17 free throws in its 74-54 loss at Arkansas State (Nov. 20), marking its lowest single-game percentage since Jan. 26, 1991 when the Lady Bears shot .267 (4-of-15) from the line.
In its next game, MSU responded by converting 16-of-19 (.842) foul shots, its best performance from the line since shooting .875 (7-of-8) at Creighton last January.
The Lady Bears have shot better than 72 percent in each of their last three games and have topped 84 percent twice in that span.
On this Date in Lady Bears History: December 4, 1990 - Missouri State 87, Kansas State 76 - Missouri State got its first win in 11 tries against Kansas State, as the Lady Bears’ front line combined for 51 points to offset a brilliant 31-point, nine-steal effort by K-State’s Nadira Hazim. Trailing early, the Lady Bears took control of the game with a 15-2 run to take a 14-point lead into the lockerroom at halftime. The Wildcats would get no closer than 10 points in the second half, as Karen Rapier scored 21 points and LaWaynta Dawson added 20 points and nine boards for MSU.
Balerio Cracks Career Top 10 Lists: Senior guard Tahnee Balerio moved up to the No. 7 spot on MSU’s career top 10 chart for three-point field-goal attempts by going 2-of-10 from behind the arc against Green Bay (Nov. 17). She surpassed Tina Robbins (317) and enters Tuesday’s game with 342 attempts for her MSU career.
Balerio also moved past current Lady Bear assistant coach Carly (Deer) Stubblefield for the No. 9 slot on MSU’s all-time three-point field goals list last season with her 72nd career trey in a 68-65 loss at Wichita State (2/3/07). Balerio now has 104 career threes, which is 16 shy of Jamie Bartlett in the eighth spot on the chart.
Windex Woman: Senior forward Tiff Terwelp cleaned the glass to the tune of 18 rebounds in the loss at ASU. That effort matched single-game performances by Lynn Strubberg (1/28/83 at Northwest Missouri St.) and Roshonda Reed (1/16/99 at Indiana St.) for the third-highest rebound total in MSU history. Terwelp’s previous career-high of 16 boards came in a 70-51 loss at Tulsa last December.
Lord Leaves Lady Bears: Sophomore center Ashley Lord has elected to leave the Lady Bear program for personal reasons and will seek a transfer from MSU at the conclusion of the fall semester with the intention of continuing her basketball career at another academic institution.
Lord played in all 28 games for the Lady Bears as a freshman in 2006-07, starting 18 contests while averaging 3.3 points and 3.7 rebounds. This season, the Moran, Kan., native saw action in each of MSU's first three contests, averaging 0.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in just 6.7 minutes of playing time per game.
Welcome Wagon: Milleson and her staff have received four commitments to join the Lady Bears in 2008 during the November early signing period. Local products Lacey Boshe (Marshfield, Mo.) and Casey Garrison (Bolivar, Mo.) will be joined by a pair of Texas prep standouts, Jasmine Malone (San Antonio) and Regan Soldner (Southlake) in the class of 2008.
New Look Lady Bears: For the second consecutive season, two Missouri State freshman found their way into the starting lineup in a season opener. Marisha Brown and Jacque Griggs each drew starting assignments versus Texas, as six players in all made their MSU debuts against the Longhorns.
Turnover Troubles: In their convincing 92-55 victory over MSU, Texas forced 29 Lady Bear turnovers, the most committed by a Missouri State squad since Nov. 26, 2002, when the Lady Bears turned the ball over 32 times in an 85-76 win over Southeast Missouri State.
Through their first six games, the Lady Bears are averaging 21.2 giveaways per contest.
700/600 Club: Tiff Terwelp become the 12th Lady Bear to reach the career 700-point, 600-rebound plateau when she grabbed a team-high 10 boards in MSU’s loss to UTSA (Nov. 29). The Quincy, Ill., native surpassed the 700-point mark with a nine-point effort vs. Green Bay on Nov. 17.
She is now 12th all-time on the school’s rebounding list with 608 for her career. Terwelp also moved onto the Missouri State career scoring list when she scored her 731st career point vs. DePaul (Dec. 2) to match Meg Tierney for the 30th spot.
For Openers: With their 92-55 loss at #22 Texas, the Lady Bears are now 20-19 all-time in season openers and have dropped their last four contests on opening night. The 37-point setback is the largest margin of defeat in a MSU season opener since the Lady Bears lost a 43-point decision (94-51) at Arkansas to start the 1985-86 season. It is also MSU’s worst loss since Jan. 6, 2002, when it fell by an 84-47 score at Creighton.
This season marks the fifth year in a row Missouri State has played its first game away from Hammons Student Center. Last year, MSU lost to Iowa, 79-70, in its season opener in Kansas City after dropping the first game of 2005-06 at Arkansas State and its 2004-05 opener at Richmond.
Missouri State Postseason Run: One or both of the MSU basketball teams have made postseason appearances in each of the last 22 years.
With last year’s 7-21 finish, the Lady Bears missed the postseason for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The MSU women have seen postseason action in nine of the past 10 years and in 15 out of the last 17 seasons, dating back to the 1990-91 campaign.
Wyett Moves to No. 2: Junior forward Breton Wyett blocked three shots in the Lady Bears’ loss at SIU (3/1/07) to move into second place on the MSU career blocks list. The Edmond, Okla., native passed Kelly Mago (84) for the second spot in just 51 career games as a Lady Bear.
Wyett needs 128 more blocks to reach Sharon Zeilmann’s school record of 221, and with two blocks against Arkansas State (Nov. 20), Wyett moved onto the MVC’s career top 20 list.
Wyett cracked the MSU top 10 list for single- season blocks for the second straight year in 2006-07. She completed the campaign with 45 blocks, good for the fourth-highest total in school history. In all, Wyett posted 10 games of three blocks or more last season and led the Valley in blocks per game with a 1.96 average.
If You Build It They Will Come: The Lady Bears are playing their 32nd and final season in Hammons Student Center in 2007-08. Missouri State broke ground on the $67 million JQH Arena on Dec. 21, 2006 in the east parking lot adjacent to Hammons. The new 11,000-seat arena is slated for completion in time for the start of the 2008-09 basketball season. Last year the Lady Bears drew 81,349 fans, or an average of 5,424 per contest, good for 18th in the nation. Missouri State has ranked in the top 20 nationally in average attendance in each of the last 17 seasons, including 1992-93 when the Lady Bears led all of Division I in that category.
In all, MSU has drawn a total of 1,931,148 spectators for Lady Bear games over the 32-year history of Hammons Student Center, meaning the Lady Bears must average 5,738 over their final 12 home dates this season to reach the two million mark for total attendance in the building.
Home Sweet Hammons: The Lady Bears are 319-104 (.754) at home since HSC opened in 1976-77. MSU has had 24 winning seasons, four losing campaigns and three seasons at .500 at HSC. The Lady Bears have gone undefeated at HSC six times (1989-90, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1995-96, 2000-01, 2003-04). From Dec. 18, 1990 to Dec. 27, 1992 the Lady Bears won 30 consecutive games at Hammons Student Center. MSU also had a 24-game winning streak dating from Feb. 15, 2003 before falling at home to #1 LSU in December of 2004. Since 1989-90, the Lady Bears have a 246-43 (.851) record at HSC. Over the last 18 seasons, Missouri State has averaged more than 13 wins per season and fewer than three losses in that same time. Missouri State has ranked in the top 15 nationally in attendance for 15 of the last 17 seasons and has been in the top 10 in 11 of those years.
Personnel: The 2007-08 Lady Bears’ roster includes two seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen. The 12-member group includes five returning letterwinners and seven newcomers. The Lady Bears return three starters from last season, including All-MVC first team guard Tahnee Balerio. Also returning are 2006-07 starters Tiff Terwelp and Roxy Stiles. Other returnees include Melissa Busby and Breton Wyett. Newcomers include Jamie Adams, Marisha Brown, Tiffany Coppage, Maggie Dwyer, Jacque Griggs, Janette Jackson and Jasmyne Watson.
Lady Bear Captains: Senior Tahnee Balerio, senior Tiff Terwelp and junior Tiffany Coppage will serve as tri-captains for the 2007-08 season. This marks the second year in a row Balerio and Terwelp have been selected Lady Bear captains.
Preseason Picks: Missouri State was picked to finish seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll of coaches, media and sports information directors. The Lady Bears received 136 points, while preseason favorite Drake received 24 of 40 first-place votes and 348 total points.
MSU Peaks in The Valley: The Lady Bears are 195-71 all-time against Valley opponents with a 115-20 home record against league foes. Since joining the MVC in 1992, the Lady Bears have won at least a share of eight regular-season titles and seven conference tournaments. Missouri State has played in 10 of the 15 Valley tournament championship games.
Missouri State All-Time: Missouri State is in its 39th season of women’s collegiate basketball and has an all-time record of 653-442 (.596) for a total of 1,095 games. MSU began formal competition in 1969 and has now posted 26 winning seasons and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Lady Bears advanced to the Final Four in 1992 and 2001 and the Sweet Sixteen in 1993.
Affiliation: Missouri State is in its 26th NCAA Division I season and 16th MVC year. MSU was in AIAW competition on the state, regional and national levels through the 1981-82 season, moved to Division I and Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference play in 1982-83 and started MVC competition in 1992-93.
More Milestones for Balerio: Balerio hit five three pointers in a game for the fourth time in her MSU career in the Lady Bears’ season-opening loss at Texas (11/11/07). Her final trey of the afternoon with 6:29 left to play represented the 100th three-point field goal of her career.
Balerio also grabbed five boards against the Longhorns to top the 200-rebound plateau for her career. In doing so, she became just the ninth Lady Bear to record 800 points, 200 rebounds and 200 assists since assists have been recorded. Balerio joined Lisa Davies, Melody Howard, Jenni Lingor, Kari Koch, Jessie McVay, Tina Robbins, Jackie Stiles and Secilia Winkfield as the only MSU players to accomplish the feat.
