The Missouri State Lady Bears (1-6) renew their rivalry with the Saint Louis Billikens (2-6) Friday (Dec. 7) evening in a 7:05 p.m. contest. Missouri State will be looking to build on a 72-61 win over Tulsa on Tuesday (Dec. 4), following six straight losses to open the season.
Saint Louis has dropped three straight games, including an 81-55 decision at Kansas on Sunday.
Friday’s game will be broadcast locally in Springfield on KTXR 101.3 FM and on the web at www.radiospringfield.com.
Last Time Out: Missouri State turned in its best offensive performance of the 2007-08 season to knock off Tulsa, 72-61, Tuesday (Dec. 4) evening in Springfield. The victory stopped a school record-tying string of 10 consecutive losses and gave Nyla Milleson her first win as head coach of the Lady Bears.
Tiffany Coppage’s three-pointer at the 9:03 mark started a 34-13 run to end the period, resulting in a 42-31 halftime lead for MSU. Maggie Dwyer scored 10 of her 12 points during that stretch, and Coppage buried three of the Lady Bears’ eight first-half treys to spark an offense that entered the game averaging 56.5 points per contest while shooting just .244 from three-point range.
Missouri State continued to have its way with the Golden Hurricane in the second stanza, extending its lead to as many as 23 points. Marisha Brown scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the second half and her three-pointer with 12:04 left to play pushed the Lady Bears’ lead to 59-36, their largest of the night.
Tulsa was able to chip away at the Missouri State lead behind the performances of Larrissa Williams and Tatum Beer. Williams scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field while tying Dwyer for game-high honors with 10 boards. Beer scored 11 of her 18 points in the second half and connected on five three-point tries in all.
The Lady Bears shot a season-best .439 (25-of-57) from the field, including .423 (11-of-26) from three-point range. They also posted season-highs for points (72), assists (13) and blocks (7) while holding Tulsa to a .333 field-goal percentage.
Dwyer notched her first double-double as a Lady Bear, while both Brown and Coppage posted career-high scoring nights. Coppage’s 11 points helped MSU finish with a decisive 33-2 advantage in bench scoring. Tahnee Balerio also finished in double figures for MSU, totaling 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go along with three assists and four rebounds.
The Billikens shot just 27 percent from the floor in their loss at Kansas on Sunday. KU shot .571 from the field to build a 43-21 halftime lead and never looked back. Katie Paganelli led all scorers with 17 points for Saint Louis.
The Coaches: Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) is 1-6 in her first season as the head coach at Missouri State and 186-42 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.
Shimmy Gray-Miller (Michigan, ’94) is 22-43 in her third year at Saint Louis and overall. A former team captain at Michigan, Gray-Miller served as an assistant coach at the University of Arizona for two seasons prior to taking over at SLU, helping guide the Wildcats to NCAA Tournament appearances in both seasons. Prior to her stint at UofA, the Flint, Mich., native was an assistant coach at the University of Washington for three years. She helped the Huskies to the postseason every season, including two NCAA Tournaments.
Series Record: Missouri State holds an 11-1 advantage in the series with Saint Louis and will be attempting to extend an eight-game win streak over the Billikens.
The Lady Bears defeated SLU 86-56 in the two teams’ last meeting on Dec. 1, 2004. MSU is a perfect 6-0 against the Billikens in Springfield and have not lost in the series since a 63-48 SLU win on Feb. 9, 1978.
Scouting Saint Louis: The Billikens are 2-6 entering Friday’s contest, with victories over Tennessee State and Morehead State sandwiched between a pair of three-game losing streaks. SLU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last year’s 13-17 squad that finished 11th in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Billiken’s top returning scorer, sophomore guard Theresa Lisch (15.0 ppg./3.1 apg.) has been sidelined by an injury and has yet to see the court in 2007-08. Another sophomore guard, Katie Paganelli has picked up the slack and leads SLU with a 16.0 ppg. average. Sophomore center Amanda Kemezys leads the club in rebounding (9.3 rpg.) and is scoring at an 11.3 ppg. clip to rank second on the team. Freshman Lauren Woods (9.1 ppg.), sophomore Maggie Hennegan (8.6 ppg.) and senior Jackie Gilbert (8.5 ppg.) each average 8.5 ppg. or more.
Saint Louis is averaging 67.0 points per contest while outrebounding the opposition by 1.0 rebound per game so far this season.
One Down: MSU’s 72-61 victory over Tulsa on Dec. 4 allowed the Lady Bears to cross a number of items off their to do list, including:
►posting their first win of the 2007-08 season after six straight losses to begin the campaign;
►giving new head coach Nyla Milleson her first win at MSU and as a Division I head coach;
►halting a school record-tying 10-game losing streak dating back to February of 2007;
►ending a four-game home losing streak, their longest since the 1985-86 season;
No Cupcakes Here: Missouri State’s first seven non-conference opponents have combined to go 33-18 (.647) in 2007-08. The Lady Bears’ schedule has produced two games against ranked opponents (#21 Texas and #17 DePaul), and all but Tulsa (2-7) of MSU’s seven opponents thus far are at the .500 mark or better.
Final Four Reunion: Missouri State will recognize its 1992 and 2001 NCAA Final Four teams Friday at halftime and during a post-game reception for Fast Break Club members.
The 1991-92 Lady Bears of Gateway Conference Coach of the Year Cheryl Burnett reeled off 21 consecutive wins en route to a school-record 31 victories and a No. 4 ranking in the final USA Today Coaches Poll. The Lady Bears finished among the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage, scoring margin, three-point field-goal percentage and scoring defense. Missouri State’s march to the 1992 Final Four in Los Angeles included a 17-1 finish in Gateway Conference play and four victories over ranked opponents. The Lady Bears bested #17 Kansas, 75-59, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament here at Hammons Student Center, before capturing a thrilling, 61-60 victory at seventh-ranked Iowa in the second round on Winkfield’s eight-foot jumper with under two seconds left on the clock in overtime. Wins over UCLA and #5 Ole Miss at the Midwest Regional in Boulder, Colo., gave Missouri State its first Final Four and catapulted the Lady Bears into the national spotlight.
Led by all-time NCAA scoring leader Jackie Stiles, the 2000-01 Lady Bears rode a late-season surge to the program’s second Final Four appearance. Stiles averaged 30.3 points per contest to earn All-America recognition and an assortment of national player of the year honors, capping a brilliant Missouri State career that saw her score 3,393 points and surpass Patricia Hoskins as the leading scorer in Division I history. Once again guided by Cheryl Burnett, the 2000-01 team’s 29 victories rank second only to the 1991-92 squad all-time at Missouri State. The Lady Bears went 16-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play to capture the regular season title, then wrapped up their fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid by winning the MVC Tournament in Springfield. Tara Mitchem stepped up for MSU in its first-round game against Toledo, scoring 40 points to lead the Lady Bears to an 89-71 victory. A 60-53 decision over #9 Rutgers on the Scarlet Knights’ home court sent Missouri State back to Sweet 16 for the first time in eight years. At the West Regional in Spokane, Wash., Stiles tallied 41 points in an 81-71 win over #5 Duke, then scored 32 in the Lady Bears’ 104-87 victory over Washington that sent MSU to the Final Four in St. Louis.
Double Trouble: A Lady Bear has finished in double figures in rebounding in each of MSU’s last five contests. Four different players have posted double-digit rebound games in that span, and three of those have registered point-rebound double-doubles, including Tiff Terwelp (vs. Arkansas State), Jacque Griggs (vs. UALR) and Maggie Dwyer (vs. Tulsa). In all, seven Lady Bears have established new single-game rebounding highs so far in 2007-08.
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 40 more points to reach Gail Beck in the No.19 spot on the chart and 75 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.
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.
On this Date in Lady Bears History: December 7, 2000 - Missouri State 101, Iowa 87 - Missouri State overwhelmed Iowa in the second half, outscoring the visiting Hawkeyes, 61-47 en route to its fourth straight victory. Jackie Stiles scored 39 points and freshman Stephanie Busbey enjoyed a breakout 18-point performance to spark the Lady Bears’ offense. MSU shot .569 from the floor and connected on 30-of-35 free-throw attempts to counter a 28-point effort from Iowa’s Lindsey Meder.
Balerio Cracks Career Top 10 Lists: Senior guard Tahnee Balerio matched Jamie Bartlett for the No. 6 spot on MSU’s career top 10 chart for three-point field-goal attempts by going 2-of-3 from behind the arc in Tuesday’s win over Tulsa (Dec. 4). She enters Friday’s game needing 50 more tries to reach the fifth spot on the chart, currently held by Sarah Klaassen.
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 105 career threes, which is 14 shy of 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.
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.
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 seven games, the Lady Bears are averaging 20.7 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 612 for her career. Terwelp also moved onto the Missouri State career scoring list when she scored her 733rd career point vs. DePaul (Dec. 2) to move past 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 127 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 1,935,871 spectators for Lady Bear games over the 32-year history of Hammons Student Center, meaning the Lady Bears must average 5,830 over their final 11 home dates this season to reach the two million mark for total attendance in the building.
Home Sweet Hammons: The Lady Bears are 320-104 (.755) 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 247-43 (.852) 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 654-442 (.597) for a total of 1,096 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.
