Lady Bears Look to Get Back on Track Against UALR
December 12, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Missouri State Lady Bears (1-7) vs. UALR Trojans (7-1)
Radio: KTXR 101.3 FM
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Game Overview
The Missouri State Lady Bears close out the home portion of the non-conference season Sunday (Dec. 14) afternoon with a 2:05 p.m. contest against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. Missouri State will be looking to put an end to a five-game losing streak after its 72-57 setback to DePaul on Wednesday (Dec. 7). After a victory over Arkansas State in their inaugural game at JQH Arena, the Lady Bears have dropped three straight in their new home to fall to 1-7 on the season.
UALR enters Sunday’s game 7-1 on the season after winning for the fifth straight time Tuesday (Dec. 9) with a 63-46 victory over Tulsa. The Trojans limited the Golden Hurricane to just 16 field goals in the contest to overcome a 10-rebound deficit and improve to 6-0 at home. UALR has split its only two road contests of the season, falling at SEMO on Nov. 21 before winning at Grambling four days later. Sunday’s contest will be the eighth in the series with UALR, with MSU taking the first six games prior to last year’s 68-55 victory for the Trojans in Little Rock. Quick Hits Missouri State will be looking to stop a five-game losing streak and a three-game home skid The Lady Bears will try to continue their home-court dominance over UALR, having defeated the Trojans in each of the previous six meetings in Springfield Missouri State freshmen continue to set the pace for the Lady Bear offense, as Jasmine Malone became the third member of the 2008 recruiting class to lead MSU in scoring this season with her 18-point performance Wednesday versus DePaul; a freshman has led the club in scoring in seven of MSU’s eight games so far in 2008-09 MSU posted a season-low nine turnovers against the Blue Demons Wednesday Last Time Out DePaul awoke from its early-season slumber from beyond the arc to bury the Lady Bears with a long-range shooting display to open the second half, propelling the Blue Demons to a 72-57 victory Wednesday (Dec. 10) evening at JQH Arena. Sam Quigley sparked a cavalcade of three-pointers by knocking down four triples in the first seven minutes after intermission to help the visitors outscore MSU 20-9 and seize control of a tightly-contested game. The Lady Bears gave the Blue Demons all they could handle in the first half, absorbing the inside play of 6-3 senior Natasha Williams to build a an early four-point lead. After DePaul started the game by knocking down six of its first nine field goal attempts to grab a 14-9 edge, MSU scored 11 of the next 13 points to claim a 20-16 advantage, the last three coming on a trey from junior Melissa Busby with just under eight minutes to play in the period. DePaul reclaimed the lead on the strength of the 6-3 Williams, who tallied 10 of her 12 points in the half and held MSU’s leading scorer, freshman Casey Garrison, to just two free throws. The Blue Demons scored 11 unanswered points over a three-minute span to battle from behind to claim a 33-28 halftime edge. Traditionally one of the nation’s top three-point shooting squads, DePaul entered the game shooting just 28.6 percent from long range. But Quigley teamed up with freshman guard Deanna Ortiz to hit six trifectas in the opening minutes of the second half, the last of which gave the Blue Demons a 16-point advantage to match their largest lead of the evening. But MSU bounced back, getting five straight points from Lacey Boshe to slice the deficit to 11. Dierdre Naughton added one more triple for the Blue Demons’ already impressive showing to make it a 56-42 ballgame with 11:51 to play. The Lady Bears would claw their way back to within eight by draining eight consecutive foul shots, but MSU would go nearly 10 minutes without a field goal to seal its fate. Quigley, who finished with a game-high 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range, led four Blue Demons in double figures. DePaul, which improved to 8-2 on the season, got 14 points, six boards, five assists and four blocks from freshman Keisha Hampton, as well as a double-double from Williams (10 rebounds). DePaul enjoyed a huge advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Lady Bears by a 44-29 margin, including a 20-11 edge on the offensive boards. After connecting on just 1-of-8 attempts in the opening half, the Blue Demons ultimately knocked down 9-of-18 second-half three-point tries and shot just under 42 percent overall from the floor on the evening. The Lady Bears, who dropped their fifth straight game to fall to 1-7 on the season, shot just .313 (15-of-48) for the game, but committed a season-low nine turnovers against the Blue Demons. Missouri State was able to stay close throughout the contest despite an 0-of-7 night from the floor by Garrison, who finished with a season-low four points. The Lady Bears got a game- and career-high 18 points from freshman Jasmine Malone to spark the MSU attack. The San Antonio, Texas, product finished 6-of-13 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe, while also pulling down a team-high six boards. Boshe matched her career scoring high with a 12-point effort, while Maggie Dwyer chipped in with 10 points. The Coaches Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) is in her second season as the head coach at Missouri State with a 12-26 mark as the Lady Bears’ mentor and an overall record of 197-62 in eight-plus 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 7 for a complete bio) Joe Foley (Central Arkansas, ’79) is in his sixth season at UALR with a mark of 84-71 at the school and a career record of 540-152 in 22 seasons as a head coach. Foley has piloted the Trojans to back-to-back 20-win seasons and the most successful five-year period in the history of the program. Last year, Foley guided the Trojans to a school-record 23 victories and the first Sun Belt West Division title and postseason tournament appearance in school history. Foley won two NAIA national championships and 14 conference titles in his 16-year stint as head coach at Arkansas Tech prior to taking the UALR job in 2003. Missouri State enters Sunday’s contest with a 6-1 advantage in the series with the Trojans. MSU took the first six meetings before falling to UALR last November in the first game played by the two clubs in Little Rock. Missouri State pulled out a 54-48 in the last match-up of the two schools in Springfield (11/27/06). Trailing by one with just over one minute to play in regulation, Tahnee Balerio sank MSU’s only three-point bucket of the game, then iced the victory by knocking down four free throws in the final minute. Balerio, who went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to help the Lady Bears overcome a 12-point deficit. Scouting UALR UALR is coming off a 23-9 campaign in 2007-08 that saw the Trojans win the Sun Belt West Division title and advance to the postseason for the first time in program history. Under sixth-year head coach Joe Foley, UALR is off to a fast start in 2008-09 due largely to a defense that is limiting the opposition to just 50.8 points per game, ranking 11th nationally entering this week’s action. The Trojans are led by junior guard Anshel Cooper (16.4 ppg.), whose 64.7 percent field goal percentage is among the top figures in all of Division I basketball. As a team, UALR is shooting just over 46 percent from the floor, including a .382 mark from behind the three-point arc. Junior Kim Sitzmann (12.0 ppg.) has done more than her part to help inflate those numbers, connecting on 19-of-45 (.422) tries from three-point range. Along with Cooper, the 5-10 guard was a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection last year and her 3.5 steals per game average ranks among the national leaders as well. Sophomore Chastity Reed (13.0 ppg./8.0 rpg.) is the Trojans’ top rebounder and second-leading scorer. The 6-1 forward also averages a pair steals and just under three assists per game. Running the show for UALR is sophomore point guard Asriel Rolfe (5.8 ppg./4.3 apg.), who led the Sun Belt Conference in assist-turnover ratio as a freshman in 2007-08 and was No. 7 nationally in the same category this season entering the week. Turnaround Time Missouri State has dropped three straight home games for the third time in a two-year span and will be attempting to avoid the fifth four-game home skid in the program’s 40-year history Sunday when it faces UALR. MSU lost four straight at Hammons Student Center between Feb. 25, 2006 and Nov. 29, 2007, snapping that streak with a 72-61 decision over Tulsa (12/4/07). Bombs Away The Lady Bears have connected from three-point range a minimum of three times in seven of their eight games this season and have hit at least one triple in 26 consecutive contests dating back to a 72-42 loss at Drake on Jan. 4, 2008. Prior to their 0-of-10 showing in that game, the Lady Bears had a 36-game streak of at least one three going. Dating back to the 2001-02 season, MSU has hit at least one trifecta in 184 of 186 games, highlighted by a 129-game stretch where they connected at least once from long distance in each outing. Home Sweet Home Missouri State has won just one of its four games in JQH Arena thus far in 2008-09 but, over the past two games, the Lady Bears have shown signs that they are growing more comfortable in their new home. After averaging just 56 points per outing in their first two home dates, the Lady Bears have put up 63.5 ppg. in losses to Western Kentucky and DePaul, while cutting their turnovers from 23 per game to 14.5 per contest. MSU has found its stroke from the foul line, knocking down 44-of-55 free throw attempts (.800) after hitting just 20-of-36 (.556) in its first two games at JQH. In the 77-70 loss to WKU (Dec. 7), MSU heated up to knock down a season-high 24 field goals en route to its best offensive output of the year. Fab Frosh For the seventh time in eight games, a freshman led the Lady Bears in scoring Wednesday in MSU’s loss to DePaul. Jasmine Malone totaled a career-high 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line. The San Antonio, Texas, native also corralled a team-high six rebounds. So far this season, six freshmen have accounted for 78.7 percent of the Lady Bears’ offense in the four MSU home dates this season. Casey Garrison continues to pace the Missouri State offense, scoring at an 18.8 ppg. clip in JQH Arena, while Malone is also scoring in double figures at home with a 10.0 ppg. average. The duo has combined to knock down 30-of-34 (.882) free throw attempts, and fellow freshman Lacey Boshe has shot 51.1 percent from the floor in the four contests. Two Missouri State freshman found their way into the Lady Bears’ starting lineup to open the season Nov. 14 at SEMO, marking the third straight year MSU has started a pair of freshmen in its season opener. Garrison and Malone each drew starting assignments versus SEMO, as six Lady Bear freshmen in all made their Missouri State debuts against the Redhawks. Morgan Harrington became the seventh MSU freshman to see court time when she made her first collegiate appearance at Tulsa (Nov. 19). Harrington has seen her playing time steadily increase after missing the season opener at SEMO while recovering from a high ankle sprain. Roberson and Boshe cracked the MSU starting lineup Nov. 23 versus Arkansas State, and combined with Garrison, Malone and fellow freshman Regan Soldner to total 53 of the Lady Bears’ 61 points. Lady Bear rookies have combined to account for exactly two-thirds of MSU’s offense this season. Stealing the Show Two Missouri State freshmen are among the Missouri Valley Conference’s leaders in steals per game and key factors in Missouri State’s rise to the top of the Valley’s team steals leaderboard. Casey Garrison enters Sunday’s game tied for third in individual steals with a 2.3 spg. average, while fellow freshman guard Jasmine Malone (2.0) is sixth, just two steals behind Garrison. As a team Missouri State leads the Valley by more than two steals per game, and ranked 48th in the nation in that same category through games of Dec. 7. “Q” Rating After compiling a 325-108 record in Hammons Student Center over the last 32 seasons, the Lady Bears dedicated their new $67 million home facility, JQH Arena, Nov. 23, with a 61-52 win over The “Q” is the fourth regular home of Missouri State women’s basketball in the 40-year history of the program. The Lady Bears utilized both McDonald Arena and the Greenwood Laboratory School gym from 1969 until Hammons Student Center opened in 1976. MSU continued to play some of its home games at McDonald through the 1979-80 season. The Lady Bears dropped their first game at Hammons to Iowa State by an 81-62 score on Dec. 11, 1976. 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. Garrison Honored Freshman guard Casey Garrison was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s Newcomer of the Week for the second time in 2008-09 on Monday (Dec. 8). The Bolivar, Mo., product’s 33-point performance Sunday (Dec. 7) in MSU’s near-upset of Western Kentucky represented the second-highest point total in school history for a Lady Bear freshman. Garrison averaged team highs of 26.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.0 steals, 1.0 block in losses to Green Bay and Western Kentucky last week. Against WKU, She played a career-best 37 minutes and went 11-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Her performance also marked the best single-game offensive production for a Lady Bear since Tahnee Balerio’s 35-point effort at Bradley on February 15, 2007. The 5-11 guard also handed out four assists, registered three steals and grabbed 11 boards versus the Lady Toppers to record her first career double-double in the 77-70 loss. That effort followed a 19-point, eight-rebound showing at Green Bay Wednesday (Dec. 3) in which she was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. For the week, Garrison went 16-of-29 (.552) from the field, including 6-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc, and converted 14-of-15 (.933) free throw attempts. November Blues With their win over Arkansas State on Nov. 23, the Lady Bears stopped a seven-game losing streak in the month of November. MSU has won just nine of its 27 games in November since the start of the 2002-03 season, but maintains a 45-44 record in the month since making the move to Division I in 1982. The Lady Bears’ fortunes on the road in the first month of the season have been even direr. Missouri State has lost 17 consecutive road contests in November, dating back to an 85-47 pasting of Missouri-St. Louis on November 26, 1983. On the Road Again Missouri State has found the road to be an unfriendly place over the last four seasons. With its loss at Green Bay on Dec. 3, MSU has gone just 5-37 in road contests since 2004-05 and, including neutral court contests, has lost 41 out of its last 46 games away from home. Three of those five road wins came during a three-week span last January and February, when the Lady Bears knocked off UNI (1/17/08), Bradley (1/19/08) and Southern Illinois (2/8/08). MSU’s three road wins last year was the most recorded by a Lady Bear squad since the 2004-05 campaign. Lou on the Loose Freshman guard Jaleshia Roberson’s 13 points against SEMO in the Lady Bears’ season opener (Nov. 14) led all MSU scorers, marking the first time a Lady Bear freshman has led the team in scoring in her debut game since Sarah Klaassen scored 23 points against Tulsa on November 15, 2002. Roberson came through with an even bigger effort Nov. 23 in the Lady Bears’ win over Arkansas State. She posted career highs in a number of statistical categories, including points (16), rebounds (3), free throws (6), three-point field goals (2), assists (3) and blocks (2). Buzz Bounces Back One positive that came from MSU’s loss at Tulsa (Nov. 19) was the successful return of junior guard Melissa Busby from a torn ACL that had sidelined her since Feb. 14. Busby went 4-of-15 from the floor to lead the Lady Bears with 13 points and recorded a game-high four steals in 21 minutes of court time. In that game, the Edmond, Okla., native moved into sole possession of the No. 10 spot on MSU’s all-time three-point field goals made list. She has dialed it up successfully from long distance 77 times in 51 career games entering Sunday’s contest. Fall Harvest The Lady Bears locked up four commitments for the 2009-10 season during the NCAA’s early signing period, which ended November 19. Whitney Edie (Exeter, Mo.), Kelsey Smith (Coppell, Texas), Christiana Shorter (Tulsa, Okla.) and Alyson Stock (Nixa, Mo.) have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Missouri State women’s basketball program for the Fall 2009 semester. Edie became the fourth and final member of the Lady Bears’ fall signing class Nov. 17. The 6-1 forward has already totaled more than 1,900 points and 1,000 rebounds for her high school career at Exeter High. Last year she averaged over 26 points and 12 boards per outing in helping Exeter to its first-ever district title in girl’s basketball. Edie has failed to reach double digits in scoring in just one of 81 games as a prep. Shorter helped lead Booker T. Washington High School to a 23-4 overall record and the Oklahoma Class 5A state title in 2007-08, averaging 10 points and five rebounds per contest. At 6-2, Shorter brings the versatility to play the post or step out to a wing spot where she can exploit her athleticism and ability to run the floor. She chose the Lady Bears over the likes of Wichita State, Oklahoma State, Tulsa and New Mexico State. Smith was a first-team All-District 6-5A selection last season after averaging 16.7 points, seven boards and four assists in helping Coppell High go 20-16. A versatile athlete with the strong passing and shooting abilities, Smith can play on the block as well as the perimeter, where she has the ability to stretch defenses with her shooting range. Stock averaged just under 10 points and four boards last season in her first year playing at Nixa High. The 6-3 post helped the Lady Eagles to a 19-8 record last year. Stock originally committed to the Lady Bears during her sophomore year at Salisbury (Mo.) High School, where she was an MBCA Class 2 All-State selection in 2006-07. Bears Live and Lady Bears Gameday Guide Throughout the 2008-09 season, Lady Bear basketball will be shown on Missouri State’s on-line video channel, Bears Live -- a new, premium broadband video destination for exclusive live and on-demand Missouri State streaming video and audio content. Fans wanting to watch Bears and Lady Bears basketball through the Bears Live feature can subscribe at www.missouristatebears.com. Missouri State fans who subscribe to the Bears Live video streaming service will be able to watch 22 men’s and 20 women’s basketball games live on their computer in 2008-09. All home games will be streamed with the exception of regionally and nationally televised games. Links to live game stats (when available) and KTXR’s free, on-line broadcast of every Missouri State women’s basketball game can be found on the Lady Bears’ Gameday page located on the MSU Athletics Web site. On this Date... December 14, 2002 Missouri State 72, Western Illinois 55 The Lady Bears notched their third consecutive victory, outshooting the visiting Westerwinds from the field .532 to .379. Jenni Lingor led the way for MSU with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and Morgan Hohenberger added 18 by goinnt 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. MSU, which overcame a 36-26 rebounding deficit, was 8-of-18 (.444) from three-point range as a team, while limiting WIU to .286 shooting (6-of-21) from long range. 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. 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. On Standby The Lady Bears will have to wait until the 2009-10 season to obtain the services of junior guard Kendra Roberts, who joined the Missouri State program in June after playing her first two collegiate campaigns at the University of Arkansas. Roberts will sit out this season per NCAA transfer guidelines and have two years of eligibility remaining. 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. Missouri State is in its 40th season of women’s collegiate basketball and has an all-time record of 665-462 (.590). 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. Missouri State Postseason Run One or both of the MSU basketball teams have made postseason 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. 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.
Series Record
Arkansas State.
Missouri State All-Time
