Missouri State Lady Bears (0-0) vs. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (0-0)

Game Overview
The Missouri State Lady Bears will open their 40th season of varsity competition with a 7 p.m. road tilt against Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, Mo., Friday, Nov. 14. MSU went 11-19 and finished fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2007-08 under then-first-year head coach Nyla Milleson.
Friday’s contest will also be the 2008-09 season-opener for SEMO, which is coming off a 23-9 season highlighted by an Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship.

The Lady Bears return two starters including 2007-08 MVC Newcomer of the Year Maggie Dwyer, MSU’s top returning scorer (13.6), rebounder (5.2) and assister (1.5). Senior guard Tiffany Coppage, who led MSU in scoring (21.5 ppg.) in its two exhibition games, also cracked the Lady Bears’ starting lineup in her first year in the program, averaging 4.3 points per outing while knocking down 33 three-point field goals last year. Also back are juniors Melissa Busby and Roxy Stiles, as well as sophomore Jacque Griggs. Each contributed significantly last year and will be asked to play even bigger roles this season as veterans on a roster that includes six talented freshmen.

Quick Hits
Missouri State will open on the road for the fifth consecutive season
The Lady Bears and Redhawks will renew their rivalry with their first meeting since the 2004-05 season
MSU will be seeking its 10th win in 11 games against SEMO
Missouri State is 34-20 all-time against the state of Missouri’s other four Division I women’s basketball programs

Last Time Out
Behind the torrid three-point shooting of senior guard Tiffany Coppage, the Lady Bears charged out of the gate to build a 27-point first-half lead over Arkansas Tech Sunday (Nov. 9) in their final exhibition tune-up in Springfield. Coppage totaled 23 of her game-high 25 points in the opening half, and the Lady Bears clamped down on defense to force 27 Golden Suns’ turnovers in a 91-57 victory to close out the preseason portion of their schedule.

Coppage connected on 5-of-7 tries from behind the arc and 7-of-10 total field goal attempts in the opening stanza to lead MSU’s offensive outburst. The Kansas City native got the Lady Bears going with her first trey of the game just 32 seconds into the contest, then added a layup off of a Jacque Griggs steal at the 18:10 mark to stake MSU to an early 8-0 lead.

The Lady Bears used another 8-0 scoring run, capped by a Jaleshia Roberson three with 13:39 go in the period, to extend their advantage to 19-4 before delivering the knockout blow by scoring 14 unanswered points over a five and-a-half minute stretch. Coppage again led the MSU charge, totaling seven of those points, then caught fire right before the break, hitting three consecutive triples, the last of which gave the Lady Bears a 47-20 cushion.

Key in Missouri State’s fast start was its defense, as the Lady Bears limited the Golden Suns to just .241 (7-of-29) shooting from the field while forcing 14 turnovers in the opening half. MSU, on the other hand, hit on 15-of-32 (.469) field goal attempts, including 9-of-15 from long range, to take a 24-point lead into the locker room.

MSU kept the pressure on after intermission, pushing its lead to as many as 38 behind Roberson’s 12 second-half points. Her 18 points on the afternoon led a trio of Missouri State freshmen who finished in double figures. Lacey Boshe scored 12 points to go along with five boards and four steals, while Casey Garrison totaled 15 points, four steals and game-highs of 10 assists and seven rebounds.

Coppage, who played just nine minutes in the second half, would finish the game 8-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-10 from three-point range.

The Lady Bears recorded 17 steals as a team leading to a 36-8 scoring advantage on points off of turnovers. For the second consecutive game MSU handed out more than 20 assists, totaling 21 on the afternoon, while outrebounding the Golden Suns 50-33.

The Coaches
Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) begins her second season as the head coach at Missouri State with an overall record of 196-55 in eight years as a collegiate head coach. Milleson led the Lady Bears to an 11-19 mark and a fifth-place Missouri Valley Conference finish in 2007-08. Prior to taking the reins of the MSU program, the Goodland, Kan., native guided Drury University to a 185-36 record 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, advancing 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. (See page 6 for a complete bio)

John Ishee (Southern Mississippi, ’86) is 76-38 in his third season at SEMO and his fifth season overall as a collegiate head coach. Ishee has guided the Redhawks to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles and a 47-17 overall record in his first two seasons at the helm. SEMO’s 2006-07 season culminated in the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, while the Redhawks capped the 2007-08 season with a trip to the WNIT. Prior to landing the head job at SEMO, Ishee had a successful stint as head coach at Life University, where he led the Runnin’ Eagles to an NAIA Division I Sweet 16 appearance in 2001-02. He also served as head coach at New Mexico Highlands University in 2005-06 before accepting an assistant coaching job at SEMO shortly before being named interim coach of the Redhawks in November 2006.

Series History
Friday’s match-up will be the two schools’ first meeting since a 73-64 MSU win in Springfield on December 22, 2004. The Lady Bears have come away victorious in nine of the 10 meetings in the series with SEMO, including three straight wins, beginning with a November 26, 2002 victory at Hammons Student Center.

The two teams have not met in Cape Girardeau since the 1981-82 season when the Redhawks posted an 84-68 win, their most recent victory in the series. Overall, MSU is 3-1 versus SEMO in Cape, including a 57-51 decision in February 1980, following a pair of lopsided wins--95-44 (2/1/76) and 73-49 (1/28/78)--in the first two games of the series at SEMO.

The Lady Bears are 24-16 all-time versus members of the Ohio Valley Conference, while the Redhawks are 11-39 against Missouri Valley Conference teams. Friday’s game will be SEMO’s second straight match-up against an MVC foe after falling to Evansville in the opening round of last year’s WNIT.

Scouting SEMO
The Redhawks return three starters and 10 letterwinners from last year’s 23-9 club that won the OVC regular-season title to earn the program’s first WNIT berth. Two of those returners were selected to the preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team by the league’s coaches and sports information directors. Senior guard Tarina Nixon has started 83 games in her Redhawks career and ranks among the program’s all-time leaders in steals and three-point field goals. The 5-6 Gilbert, Ariz., native was a second-team all-OVC pick in 2007-08, averaging 9.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals per contest. Nixon’s partner in the backcourt, Sonya Daugherty, was the club’s second-leading scorer a year ago after earning 2007 OVC Tournament MVP honors in helping the Redhawks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance. A third returning senior starter, Rachel Blunt, chipped in 7.8 ppg. and 3.6 boards per outing last year and, along with junior forward Crysta Glen (6.3 ppg./6.0 rpg.), will once again anchor SEMO’s front line.

SEMO was picked to finish third in the OVC this season behind preseason favorite Eastern Illinois and last year’s league tournament champion Murray State. The Redhawks breezed by Maryville, 84-65 in their only exhibition contest of the preseason. After a competitive first half, SEMO used a 20-5 run at the beginning of the second period to run away with the win. Glenn and Daugherty led the Redhawks with 16 points apiece, while freshman Bianca Beck finished with 12 points and six boards.

For Openers
The Lady Bears are 20-19 all-time in season openers and have dropped their last four contests and five of their last six games on opening night. Last year, MSU lost to 22nd-ranked Texas 92-55 in Austin in its first game of the campaign.

This season will mark the fifth year in a row the Lady Bears will open away from home. MSU is just 1-8 on the road in season openers, with its lone victory coming against crosstown rival Evangel (11/16/82) to start the 1982-83 season. The Lady Bears’ only win outside of the city of Springfield in a season opener came five years ago when they topped West Virginia (11/27/03) on a neutral court at the Virgin Islands Jam in St. Thomas.

Friday’s game will also mark the second time Southeast Missouri State has served as the Lady Bears’ opening night opponent. MSU knocked off the Redhawks by an 84-69 score in Springfield (11/18/80) to kick off the 1980-81 season.

On This Date...
November 14, 1981 Missouri State 73, SIU-Edwardsville 56 In one of only two previous Lady Bear regular-season games held on Nov. 14, Missouri State got 22 points from Cindy Castillon and 10 rebounds from All-American Lynn Strubberg en route to a 17-point road win over SIU-Edwardsville. Strubberg would go on to accumulate a school-record 301 rebounds during the 1981-82 season, a mark that would stand for 17 seasons until Roshonda Reed eclipsed it in 1999. The Lady Bears would finish 19-14 in 1981-82, their final AIAW season before making the transition to Division I play.

Roster Refresh
The 2008-09 Lady Bears’ roster includes three seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and six freshmen. The 12-member group includes six returning letterwinners and six newcomers. The Lady Bears return two starters from last season, including All-MVC second-team forward Maggie Dwyer. Junior guard Melissa Busby and senior guard Tiffany Coppage also spent some time in MSU’s starting lineup in 2007-08. Other returnees include senior forward Jamie Adams, junior guard Roxy Stiles and sophomore forward Jacque Griggs. Newcomers include Lacey Boshe, Casey Garrison, Morgan Harrington, Jasmine Malone, Jaleshia Roberson and Regan Soldner. Junior guard Kendra Roberts will sit out the upcoming season after transferring to MSU from Arkansas.

Lady Bear Captains
Seniors Jamie Adams, Tiffany Coppage and Maggie Dwyer will serve as tri-captains for the 2008-09 season. Coppage is a repeat choice to lead the team after filling the same role last year alongside seniors Tahnee Balerio and Tiff Terwelp.

Preseason Picks
Missouri State was picked to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll of coaches, media and sports information directors. The Lady Bears received 215 points to finish behind Illinois State, Creighton, Drake, Evansville and UNI.

Illinois State became the fourth team in MVC history to be a unanimous selection as the preseason No. 1 team and the first since 2001-02 when Drake received all 37 votes from the panel. The other two unanimous choices were the 1986-87 and 1987-88 Southern Illinois squads.

Senior forward Maggie Dwyer was named to the league’s preseason all-conference team after earning second-team honors last season. The Grand Haven, Mich., native was also named MVC Newcomer of the Year in 2007-08, her first with MSU after transferring from Michigan State.

Back In Business
In going 9-9 in the MVC last season, the Lady Bears posted their first .500 finish in conference play since the 2004-05 campaign. Missouri State won at least 11 conference games in each of its first 13 years in the league, capturing eight regular-season crowns before falling to 7-11 in 2005-06 and finishing 10th at 3-15 in 2006-07.

Missouri State All-Time
Missouri State is in its 40th season of women’s collegiate basketball and has an all-time record of 664-455 (.593). 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 27th NCAA Division I season and 17th 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 when the Gateway underwent a rebranding initiative.

Missouri State Postseason Run
One or both of the MSU basketball teams have made post-season appearances in all but one of the last 23 years.

With last year’s 11-19 finish, the Lady Bears missed the postseason for just the second time since the 1996-97 season. The MSU women have seen postseason action in nine of the past 11 years and in 15 out of the last 18 seasons, dating back to the 1990-91 campaign.

If You Build It They Will Come
The Lady Bears will open their new $67 million home facility, JQH Arena, on Nov. 23 when they host Arkansas State. Missouri State will be looking to add to its streak of 18 consecutive seasons ranked in the top 20 nationally in average attendance, which includes the 1992-93 campaign when the Lady Bears led all of Division I in that category. Last year, MSU averaged 5,158 fans per home game, good for 20th in the nation.

The Lady Bears’ new home was made possible by a $30 million gift from MSU alumnus John Q. Hammons and will feature seating for more than 11,000 fans, 24 suites, the PRIME Overtime Club and the Missouri State University Hall of Fame and Legacy of Competition.

In all, Missouri State will host 14 home games in its inaugural season in JQH Arena.