The Missouri State Lady Bears (2-11, 0-2) open the home portion of their 16th Missouri Valley Conference season Thursday evening when they take on the Evansville Purple Aces (6-6, 1-1) in a 7:05 p.m. matchup at Hammons Student Center in Springfield, Mo. The Lady Bears enter in search of their first MVC win of the season, while the Purple Aces will be trying for their fourth consecutive win in the series with MSU.
Missouri State will also be attempting to end a six game losing streak against MVC opponenets and avoid their third straight 0-3 start to a conference season. The Lady Bears have not beaten a conference foe since a 70-60 win over Creighton last Feb. 23 in Springfield.
Thursday’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 started MVC play with a pair of road games last weekend, falling by a 72-42 score at Drake on Friday (Jan. 4), before dropping a heartbreaking 79-73 overtime decision to Creighton Sunday (Jan. 6) afternoon in Omaha. Drake used a 31-4 offensive outburst and some stingy defense to send the Lady Bears to their worst MVC regular-season defeat in six years. The league’s preseason favorite held MSU to 13 percent shooting from the field in the first half and just under 22 percent for the game.
Missouri State responded with perhaps its best all-around performance of the season against Creighton, leading for most of the game before the Bluejays rallied from a 13-point deficit to force overtime. In the extra period, CU’s Ally Thrall knocked down back-to-back three-pointers and scored seven of the Bluejays’ eight points to seal a hard-fought six-point win. Senior forward Tiff Terwelp led the way for MSU with a 17-point, 17-rebound performance.
The Purple Aces dropped a 75-67 decision to Illinois State last Thursday in Evansville to kick off their MVC season, but rebounded with a decisive 84-59 home win over Indiana State on Saturday. After leading the Redbirds by five points at the midway point of the second half, UE was the victim of a 22-6 ISU run that put the visitors up 68-57. The Purple Aces rallied to within three points down the stretch before the Redbirds sealed the win with four free throws in the final minute of play.
Against the Sycamores, UE took control of a tight game late in the first half and never looked back. The Purple Aces shot 48.5 percent from the field for the contest, including a 10-of-25 showing from three-point range, and led by as many as 33 points in the second half.
The Coaches: Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) is 2-11 in her first season as the head coach at Missouri State and 187-47 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.
Tricia Cullop (Purdue, 93) is in her eighth year as head coach of the Purple Aces with a 108-104 overall record. The Bicknell, Ind., native currently ranks second on the UE career coaching win list and has led Evansville to three straight winning seasons.
The former Purdue captain came to Evansville in 2000 after helping Xavier to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances during her four-year stay as an assistant coach.
Series Record: MSU leads the series with UE 21-8, but the Purple Aces have taken the last three contests between the two schools and four of their last five meetings with the Lady Bears. Last year UE posted an 82-72 win over MSU in Evansville, then pulled out two-point victory in the regular-season finale at Hammons for their first-ever win in Springfield.
Scouting Evansville: As a team the Purple Aces have shot just under 40 percent (.397) from the field, averaging 70.6 ppg., the fourth-best scoring offense in the MVC. On the defensive side, UE’s opponents have shot .454, including .357 from three-point range. However, the Purple Aces have countered those figures by forcing 21 turnovers per game and amassing 115 steals (9.6 spg.), good for second in the Valley in both categories.
Evansville is led by returning All-MVC first-teamer Rebekah Parker (14.7 ppg./5.6 rpg.), who ranks among the league’s top 10 in scoring, assists, free-throw percentage and steals. The Silver Lake, Ind., product already has five games of 20 points or more. Senior guard Courtney Felke (12.4 ppg./3.8 apg.) was an honorable mention all-conference pick a year ago and is the Purple Aces’ top three-point threat, connecting on just over 37 percent of her tries from long range. She also leads the club in assists (45) and is second in steals (20). Junior guard Ashley Austin (10.3 ppg.) is UE’s third-leading scorer, while junior center Shannon Novosel (9.4 ppg./7.7 rpg.) leads the club and ranks third in the MVC in rebounding.
Windex Woman: Senior forward Tiff Terwelp has been the Lady Bears top rebound in each of the past two seasons, averaging an MVC-high 8.7 boards per game entering Thursday’s game.
Earlier this season, 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.
The Quincy, Ill., product nearly equaled that effort on Sunday (Jan. 6) at Creighton when she pulled down 17 rebounds, her fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season.
Movin’ up the Charts: Terwelp broke into MSU’s career rebounding top 10 with her 14-board effort in last Friday’s (Jan. 4) loss at Drake. She passed LaTanya Davis (648) for the No. 10 spot on Friday, then climbed all the way to No. 8 with her 17-rebound performance in a 79-73 overtime loss at Creighton on Sunday (Jan. 6), passing both Sandy Meyer (661) and Karen Rapier (666). She needs 25 more to catch Kelly Mago (696) in the seventh position.
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 15 contests on the road and their last 16 away from Hammons Student Center overall. Over the last three seasons, Missouri State has won just two true road games and only four of its 35 games away from Hammons.
Century Mark for Terwelp, Balerio: Tiff Terwelp played in her 100th career contest for Missouri State in the loss at Oral Roberts (Dec. 15), becoming the 34th Lady Bear to top the century mark in games played. Fellow senior Tahnee Balerio also reached the 100-game plateau for her MSU career in Sunday’s (Jan. 6) loss at Creighton.
A Look At The Numbers: Several Lady Bears rank among the Missouri Valley Conference’s statistical leaders through the non-conference portion of the season. In addition to Tiff Terwelp leading the conference in rebounding, Maggie Dwyer ranks third in the MVC in offensive rebounds (2.9 rpg.), seventh in scoring (13.6) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.389). Additionally, Terwelp is second in offensive rebounding (3.0 rpg.) and Jacque Griggs ranks seventh (2.2) in that same category. Tahnee Balerio currently ranks fourth in the Valley in assists per game (4.1), sixth in minutes played per game (32.5) and ninth in steals (1.6 spg.).
As a team Missouri State leads the Valley in total rebounding at 41.8 rpg., but 10th in rebounding defense at 42.5 rpg. The Lady Bears are second in offensive rebounds (15.9 rpg.) and fourth in three-point field goals made (6.62 per game).
Missouri State ranks either last or next-to-last in 10 categories, including scoring defense, scoring margin, free-throw percentage, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage defense, assists, turnover margin, assist-to-turnover margin and rebounding defense.
Valley Openers: With their loss at Drake Friday, the Lady Bears are now 11-5 in Missouri Valley Conference openers and 18-7 overall in conference openers since formal competition began in the Gateway in 1983. The defeat was MSU’s largest loss in MVC regular-season play since an 84-47 setback at Creighton six years ago (1/6/02).With Sunday’s overtime loss at Creighton, MSU started conference play 0-2 for the third consecutive season.
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 195-73 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.
On this Date in Lady Bears History: January 10, 1991 - Missouri State 84, Illinois State 79 (OT) - The Lady Bears got 25 points from their reserves in just the second win in 28 games for a visiting team in Redbird Arena. Tina Robbins stole the ball at midcourt, drew a foul and tied the game with a free throw with just six seconds left in regulation. LaWaynta Dawson scored eight of her team-high 22 points in overtime and MSU connected on 6-of-7 field goal attempts in the extra period to secure the victory.
Instant O: After averaging just 57.8 points per game in their first eight contests of the season, the Lady Bears scored 176 points combined against Oral Roberts (Dec. 15) and Canisius (Dec. 21). That figure represents the best two-game scoring total for MSU since December 2004, when the Lady Bears knocked off Saint Louis (86-56) and Eastern Kentucky (91-81) in succession. Additionally, MSU’s 97 points vs. Canisius represented the highest point total by a Lady Bear club since a 107-53 win over Evansville on March 8, 2003.
Balerio Back in Gear: Tahnee Balerio was a driving force in the Lady Bears’ offensive in their last three non-conference games. After totaling just 14 assists in MSU’s first eight games, the Buhler, Kan., native registered a career-high 12 against Oral Roberts, then handed out 10 in both the win over Canisius and an 82-64 loss at Western Kentucky (Dec. 29). Balerio also tallied 17 points in the victory over Canisius, matching her best scoring effort since a 20-point performance in the Lady Bears’ season-opener at Texas (Nov. 11).
Busby Makes Her Mark: Sophomore guard Melissa Busby has made the most of her return to the Missouri State starting lineup, totaling 68 of her 87 points on the season in the Lady Bears’ last three non-conference contests.
In her first start of the season Busby connected on 6-of-11 three-point tries and led the Lady Bears with a career-high 24 points in a 96-79 loss at Oral Roberts (Dec. 15). She followed that up with another strong offensive showing in the Lady Bears’ win over Canisius (Dec. 21). Busby knocked down six three-pointers in the first half and finished with 23 points for the game on 7-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. She matched that shooting performance with a 7-of-11 effort against Western Kentucky. The Edmond, Okla., native knocked down six treys in the second half versus the Lady Toppers to finish with 21 points, her third 20+ point performance in a row.
Mags to Riches: Junior forward Maggie Dwyer found her shooting stroke over the Lady Bears’ last six non-conference contests. While averaging a team-high 17.8 points per game over that stretch, Dwyer shot .430 from the field, including .429 from three-point range after connecting on just 28.6 percent of her field-goal attempts in Missouri State’s first five games of the season. She averaged team highs of 32.0 minutes and 6.8 boards per contest in the Lady Bears final six games leading up to the conference season.
No Cupcakes Here: Missouri State’s 11 non-conference opponents have combined to go 93-62 (.600) in 2007-08 (through games of Jan. 7). The Lady Bears’ schedule has produced two games against ranked opponents (#22 Texas and #17 DePaul), and all but Tulsa (5-9), Saint Louis (5-10) and Canisius (6-8) are at the .500 mark or above.
For the Record Books: The Lady Bears’ 96-79 loss at Oral Roberts (Dec. 15) will be remembered for several significant individual performances that left their mark on the Missouri State record book. Busby’s six treys matched seven other performances by a Lady Bear for the 10th-most three-point field goals made in a single game. Melody Howard (twice), Tina Robbins (12/5/93 at Iowa), Jackie Stiles (twice) and Kari Koch (twice) also buried six triples in a game for MSU.
Balerio’s seven steals marked a new career high for the senior point guard and equaled the single-game efforts of 13 other Lady Bears for the seventh-best all-time performance in school history. Additionally, Balerio’s 12 assists matched her career best in that category (2/23/06 vs. Creighton) and ranks as the No. 10 single-game total, along with 11 other such performances by MSU players.
Double Trouble: A Lady Bear has finished in double figures in rebounding in nine of MSU’s last 11 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 and Creighton), Jacque Griggs (vs. UALR) and Maggie Dwyer (vs. Tulsa and Western Kentucky). In all, eight Lady Bears have established new single-game rebounding highs so far in 2007-08.
Dwyer Honored: Junior forward Maggie Dwyer received her second MVC Newcomer of the Week honor Dec. 26 following a career-high 29-point effort in MSU’s win over Canisius (Dec. 21). Dwyer was similarly honored Dec. 10 after averaging a team-best 15 points to go along with six boards as Missouri State split its two contests against Tulsa and Saint Louis.
Behind Dwyer’s 10-of-21 shooting performance against Canisius, MSU shot a season-high 50 percent from the floor, and its 97 points represented the Lady Bears’ best offensive showing since the 2002-03 season. Dwyer established a new career scoring high for the third consecutive game, pouring home 17 in the second half to help the Lady Bears turn around a one-point halftime deficit and pick up their second win of the season.
Missouri State took control of the game for good when Dwyer’s three-point play with 16:18 left in the game turned a 54-52 Lady Bear lead into a five-point advantage and sparked a 29-14 run that saw MSU stretch its lead to as many as 17 points. The Grand Haven, Mich., product accounted for 12 points during the decisive Missouri State scoring spurt and finished the night with seven rebounds and three assists.
Adams Arrives: The Lady Bears received a boost with the addition of Jamie Adams, a two-year MSU volleyball starter who began practicing with the Lady Bears the week of Dec. 10. Adams scored four points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and recorded two blocks in her Lady Bear debut vs. Oral Roberts (Dec. 15).
Adams, who will have two years of basketball eligibility, earned second-team All-MVC honors in 2006 and 2007 and helped the volleyball Bears to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Lord, Wyett Leave Lady Bears: Sophomore center Ashley Lord and junior forward Breton Wyett have elected to leave the Lady Bear program.
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.
Wyett was the Lady Bears' second-leading scorer last year, averaging 10.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per outing while shooting a team-high .462 from the field. She led the Missouri Valley Conference in blocks per game with a 1.96 average and recorded 45 blocks in all, the fourth-highest single-season total in MSU history. Wyett leaves Missouri State as the program's No. 2 all-time shot-blocker with 96 career rejections.
Balerio on Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Watch List: In recognition of her accomplishments both on and off the court, senior guard Tahnee Balerio has been selected as one of 30 initial candidates for the 2007-08 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for women’s basketball.
Lowe’s Senior CLASS (an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award recognizes college senior athletes who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
Balerio is one of 30 candidates in the running for the 2008 women’s basketball award, for which 10 finalists will be selected in early February. The winner will be announced at the Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla., during the weekend of April 5-6.
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;
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.
700/600 Club: Tiff Terwelp became 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.
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 moved by Gail Beck into the 19th spot on the chart with her 966th career point in a 79-73 loss at Creighton on Jan. 6, and needs just 25 more points to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Tiff Terwelp also broke into the top 30 when she scored her 731st career point vs. DePaul (Dec. 2) to move past Meg Tierney for the 30th spot.
Balerio Cracks Career Top 10 Lists: Senior guard Tahnee Balerio passed Jamie Bartlett for the No. 6 spot on MSU’s career top 10 chart for three-point field-goal attempts with her only attempt of the night against Saint Louis (Dec. 7). She enters Thursday’s game needing 33 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 108 career threes, which is 12 shy of Bartlett in the eighth spot on the chart.
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.
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.
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.
Personnel: The 2007-08 Lady Bears’ roster includes two seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen. The 11-member group includes four 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. Sophomore guard Melissa Busby also returns for MSU following a strong debut campaign. 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.
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.
Home Sweet Hammons: The Lady Bears are 321-105 (.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. 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.
Missouri State All-Time: Missouri State is in its 39th season of women’s collegiate basketball and has an all-time record of 655-447 (.594) for a total of 1,102 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.
