The Missouri State Lady Bears (8-15 overall, 6-6 MVC) will be looking to pick up their third season sweep of a Missouri Valley Conference foe in 2007-08 when they take on the University of Northern Iowa Panthers (10-13, 6-6) Saturday (Feb. 16) at Hammons Student Center in a 1:05 p.m. tilt.
The Lady Bears and Panthers enter the matchup in a tie for fifth place in the Valley standings. Missouri State knocked off Bradley by a 73-66 score Thursday night in Springfield, while UNI logged a 10-point road win against Wichita State.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast locally in Springfield on KTXR 101.3 FM. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.missouristatebears.com.
Last Time Out: The Lady Bears raced out of the gate to a 21-point halftime lead, then withstood the Bradley Braves’ second-half rally to earn a 73-66 win Thursday at Hammons Student Center. Junior forward Maggie Dwyer’s 20-point night led all scorers, and Tiff Terwelp nearly completed a triple-double in helping the Lady Bears sweep the Braves for the first time since 2003-04.
Despite playing without the services of two starters for nearly the entire second half, MSU forced 25 turnovers and limited BU to 35 percent shooting from the floor to improve to 8-15 overall and 6-6 in the Valley. Senior guard Tahnee Balerio went down midway through the first half with an injury and did not return, and sophomore guard Melissa Busby was lost to injury early in the second stanza after knocking down a pair of key three-pointers in the first half.
After a dismal first-half effort, Bradley hit 45 percent of its second-half shots to outscore MSU 41-27 after the break and turn a lopsided contest into a tightly-contested game.
Missouri State was able to hold off the BU comeback bid thanks in large part to a sparkling first-half effort that saw the Lady Bears shoot over 51 percent from the field. MSU knocked down its first three shots and 11 of its first 19 field goal attempts to jump out to leads of 8-0 and 29-12. Busby buried a three-pointer just five seconds into the contest and the Lady Bears caught fire from there, connecting on 17-of-33 first-half field goal tries in building a 46-25 halftime advantage.MSU’s defense flustered Bradley throughout the period, forcing the Braves to commit 14 turnovers while shooting just 26.5 percent from the field.
Missouri State maintained its double-digit advantage over the first 15 minutes of the second half, allowing the visitors to get no closer than 15 points until Skye Johnson’s three-point play with 5:47 left on the clock cut the margin to 61-47.
BU’s Jenny Van Kirk then scored five straight points to cap a 15-4 run that sliced the MSU lead to nine points with 4:48 to play.
The Lady Bears put the game on ice by knocking down all 10 of their free throw attempts over the final 2:18. Missouri State committed a season-high 29 turnovers, but also recorded 17 steals, their best single-game effort of the year.
The Coaches: Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) is 8-15 in her first season as the head coach at Missouri State and 193-51 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.
Milleson is 1-0 against UNI following the Lady Bears’ 78-55 victory in Cedar Falls on Jan. 17.
Tanya Warren (Creighton, 88) is 10-13 in her first season as both coach of the Panthers and overall as a collegiate head coach. A Des Moines, Iowa, native, Warren came back to UNI last spring after spending the previous three seasons as associate head coach at her alma mater. She served as an assistant on Tony DiCecco’s UNI staff from 1995-2001, then spent three seasons at Missouri before returning to Creighton in 2004.
Series Record: The Lady Bears hold a 42-13 advantage in the series with the Panthers and have won four of their last 10 meetings with UNI. Missouri State has won 25 of the 27 games played between the two schools in Springfield, including a 72-70 decision last January at Hammons.
The Lady Bears recorded their first road victory of the season and snapped a 15-game road losing streak on Jan. 17 with a 78-55 win at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. MSU used a 16-0 second-half scoring run to take control of a tight ballgame and cruised to victory. The Lady Bears got key second-half performances from Tahnee Balerio and Marisha Brown to earn their third consecutive win. Brown scored all 11 of her points after intermission and Balerio matched that effort to lead a Lady Bear offense that shot 60 percent (18-of-30) from the floor, including 5-of-8 from beyond the three-point line in the second period.
Scouting UNI: The Panthers’ roster has undergone an extensive overhaul with the loss of four starters and eight letterwinners from last year’s 17-13 squad that finished fourth in the Valley under Tony DiCecco. Seven newcomers have seen action so far and 10 players are averaging double-digits in minutes per game. The Panthers are led by freshmen in the categories of scoring, rebounding, assists, minutes played and both field goal and free throw percentages. Heading UNI’s pack of talented underclassmen is point guard Jacqui Kalin (13.3 ppg./4.0 apg.), who ranks fifth overall in the Valley in assists per game, while leading the circuit in free throw percentage (.932) and ranking sixth in scoring (15.1 ppg.) during MVC play. UNI ranks 35th in the nation in three-point field goals made, averaging 6.6 per game, and the Panthers’ lineup features two of the Valley’s top long range threats in senior Traci Ollendieck (8.6 ppg./43 3FG made) and sophomore Nicole Clausen (10.1 ppg/.411 3FG%). Clausen ranks fourth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage. Another returner, sophomore forward Danielle Wubbens (6.0 ppg/.341 3FG%) is the only Panther besides Kalin to have started all 23 contests for UNI, while freshman Lizzie Boeck (8.0 ppg/3.7 rpg.) has made 13 starts and is second on the club with a .463 field goal percentage. Another freshman, Erin Brocka (4.3 ppg./5.5 rpg.), shares the team lead in rebounding with Ollendieck and ranks 10th in the Valley in blocks (0.7 bpg.).
As a team, UNI has struggled to generate a consistent offensive attack, averaging just 59.3 points per game. On the defensive end of the floor, the Panthers have held their opponents to 62.4 ppg. and .394 shooting from the field, the latter good for third in the Valley. UNI ranks ninth in the conference in total rebounding (34.8 rpg.) and last in offensive rebounds (10.2 rpg.).
Busby Sidelined: Sophommore guard Melissa Busby will be forced to miss the remainder of the 2007-08 season with a knee injury. The Edmond, Okla., product sustained ligament damage to her right knee early in the second half of Thursday night’s 73-66 win over Bradley. The Lady Bears’ fourth-leading scorer, Busby had seen action in all 23 contests this season, starting the last 15. She was averaging 7.6 points per game while shooting .354 from three-point range.
Lady Bears Ready to Think Pink: The Missouri State men’s and women’s basketball programs will take part in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s 2008 "Think Pink" campaign during both MSU home games Saturday. The Lady Bears will don pink apparel provided by Nike to commemorate the occasion and all fans wearing pink to either Missouri State game will be able to purchase reserved bleacher seats at half price ($5.00 for the women’s game and $5.25 for the men’s contest). The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks (BCFO) will be on hand to distribute pink ribbons and rubber wrist bands, and will also provide fans the opportunity to purchase pink ribbon honoraria and memory cards that will be displayed in the lobby areas of Hammons Student Center. Basketballs autographed by the coaching staffs of both MSU basketball programs will be auctioned at each game with the proceeds going to the BCFO. Additionally, all in attendance who have been impacted by breast cancer will be recognized at both contests.
The WBCA’s "Think Pink" initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA’s nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. More than 800 schools have pledged support to make this year of "Think Pink" a success.
The BCFO is a local organization that keeps every dollar raised in the community to provide practical assistance to families facing breast cancer.
200 in the Valley: The Lady Bears 78-58 win at Southern Illinois (Feb. 8) represented their 200th Missouri Valley Conference regular-season victory. Since joining the MVC in 1992, the Lady Bears now have a league-best 201-77 record in conference play and have won at least a share of eight regular-season titles and seven conference tournaments. MSU’s conference win total is 16 victories better than Drake’s 185 wins, which is the second-highest count in the circuit.
Winkfield part of 2008 Hall of Fame Class: Six new members of the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame will be inducted this weekend, including former Lady Bear Secilia Winkfield, who was an integral part of Missouri State’s extended NCAA tournament run in the early 1990s under coach Cheryl Burnett. A native of the Kansas City area, Winkfield was the eighth player in Lady Bears’ history to record 1,000 career points, and, 15 years later, she remains in 13th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,333 points. Winkfield remains in the Missouri State all-time top 10 in games played (123), field goals (547), attempts (1,119) and is still fourth in assists (455) and third in steals (302). She led the team in rebounding and assists one year each and in steals twice. Winkfield played on teams which reached the NCAA second round in 1991, the NCAA Final Four in 1992 and the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1993. She was a Kodak all-district choice and Kodak All-America honorable mention as a senior, a two-time all-Gateway selection, and Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year her final season. She was in the Pan American games in 1991 and was one of nine Missouri State players selected to the MVC all-centennial team in 2007.
Six different sports are represented in the group which will step into the shrine in the 10th year in which Missouri State has honored its men’s and women’s standout participants together. In addition to Winkfield, the 2008 Hall of Fame induction class includes soccer player Jamie Hautzinger Steinmetz (1996-99), men’s tennis coach Jim Klousia (1979-05), baseball player Evan Pratte (1988-91), field hockey player Kathy Schubert Daniels (1977-80), and footballer Adrion Smith (1990-93).
The six new inductees will bring the total membership in the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame to 313. The original Hall of Fame for men’s sports was established in 1975 by director of athletics Aldo Sebben with 179 people enshrined in the first 22 induction classes. Director of women’s athletics Dr. Mary Jo Wynn established in 1981 a shrine to honor participants in women’s sports, and the 18 subsequent induction classes into that hall of fame saw 76 people enshrined. The two previous groups were combined into a single shrine in 1999 and this year’s induction is the 10th for the combined hall.
A Look At The Numbers: Several Lady Bears rank among the Missouri Valley Conference’s statistical leaders through the first 23 games of the season. In addition to Tiff Terwelp (9.3 rpg.) being the league’s leading rebounder, Maggie Dwyer (14.7 ppg.) ranks third in scoring. Balerio leads the circuit in assists (4.8 apg.), ranks fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.426), ninth in minutes played (32.6 per game) overall and is ninth in scoring (14.3 ppg.) during MVC play. Through games of Feb. 14, Terwelp ranked 38th nationally in rebounding.
As a team Missouri State is third in the Valley in scoring offense (68.7 ppg.), third in free throw percentage (.752), total rebounds (40.1) and steals (7.9) during MVC play. Overall, MSU is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.336) and first in three-pointers made (6.8) per game, the latter figure good for 25th nationally.
Century Mark for Terwelp, Balerio: Senior Tiff Terwelp played in her 100th career contest for Missouri State at Oral Roberts (Dec. 15). In Sunday’s 82-74 loss at Evansville, the Quincy, Ill., product made the 100th start of her Lady Bear career. Terwelp has started 41 consecutive games for MSU, dating back to January of last year.
Fellow senior Tahnee Balerio also reached the 100-game plateau for her MSU career in the Lady Bears’ Jan. 6 loss at Creighton, becoming the 35th player in MSU history to top the century mark in games played.
Double Trouble: Terwelp notched her fourth-straight point-rebound double-double in Sunday’s loss at Evansville with an 11-point, 11-rebound performance. The Valley’s leading rebounder, Terwelp is averaging a double-double in conference play (11.4 ppg./10.9 rpg.). This marks the second time in Terwelp’s MSU career that she has posted four double-doubles in-a-row. Last season she also accomplished the feat as part of a stretch where she recorded doubles in six of eight contests. Terwelp just missed her fifth straight double-double Thursday against Bradley when she pulled down 13 boards and tallied nine points. She fell one point and three steals short of recording just the second triple-double in the history of the MSU program in the 73-66 victory.
A Lady Bear has finished in double figures in rebounding in 17 of MSU’s last 21 contests. Four different players have posted double-digit rebound games in that span, and three of those have registered point-rebound double-doubles, including Terwelp (vs. Arkansas State, Creighton, Southern Illinois (twice), Bradley, Indiana State, Wichita State and Evansville), Jacque Griggs (vs. UALR) and Maggie Dwyer (vs. Tulsa and Western Kentucky). In all, nine Lady Bears have established new single-game rebounding highs so far in 2007-08.
Climbing the Charts: Balerio topped the 1,100-point mark and moved past Tina Robbins into the No. 15 spot on MSU’s career scoring chart with her 18-point effort at Southern Illinois (Feb. 8). She currently needs 13 more points to catch Tara Mitchem (1,139) for the No. 14 spot. 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. Terwelp surpassed the 800-point mark for her MSU career in the Lady Bears’ win over Southern Illinois (Jan. 12) and passed four former MSU standouts with her nine-point effort vs. Bradley (Feb. 14) to move into sole possession of the No. 21 spot on the chart. She needs just eight points to surpass the 900 career scoring mark.
Balerio moved onto yet another Missouri State career top 10 list with her two free throw attempts at SIU. She enters Saturday’s game with 370 career attempts from the charity stripe. She also continued her ascent up the MSU all-time assist and three-point field goal lists against Bradley; she handed out her 380th and 381st career assists to climb within five of Jenni Lingor in the fifth spot. Against Evansville, she went 3-of-6 from three-point range to move into seventh on the three-point field gols made chart (126) and reached the No. 5 spot on the three-point field goal attempts chart, eclipsing Sarah Klaassen with her 400th career try. After going 1-of-2 Thursday against Bradley, Balerio needs 12 more treys to catch K.C. Cowgill in the sixth spot with 139 career threes.
Balerio Tops 1,000-Point Plateau: Balerio became the 19th player in school history to join the 1,000-point club with her 16-point performance Jan. 12 vs. Southern Illinois, knocking down a pair of free throws with 9:26 left in the game to reach the 1,000 career scoring mark. Sarah Klaassen was the last Lady Bear to accomplish the feat, surpassing the mark in MSU’s win over Drake in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 State Farm MVC Tournament.
More Charting: Terwelp broke into MSU’s career rebounding top 10 with her 14-board effort in MSU’s Jan. 4 loss at Drake. She passed LaTanya Davis (648) for the No. 10 spot on, then climbed all the way to No. 8 with her 17-rebound performance in a 79-73 overtime loss at Creighton (Jan. 6), passing both Sandy Meyer (661) and Karen Rapier (666). With her 14 rebounds at Bradley Jan. 19, Terwelp passed Kelly Mago (696) and Jenni Lingor (699) to become just the sixth Lady Bear to score 800 points and grab 700 rebounds. With her lone block of the game, she also moved into MSU’s top 10 for career blocks, grabbing sole possession of eighth place with her 46th and 47th rejections Jan. 25 vs. Illinois State.
On this Date in Lady Bears History: February 16, 1991 - Missouri State 102, Drake 61 - Missouri State made its first eight shots, jumped out to a 21-8 lead and never looked back. The Lady Bears couldn’t miss in the first half, making 22-of-26 (.846) from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line to build a 53-32 halftime advantage. Six Lady Bears finished in double digits as MSU notched its biggest scoring output in seven years. In all, the Lady Bears connected on a school-record 73.6 percent (39-of-53) from the floor.
Five Spot: The Lady Bears’ loss at Wichita State Feb. 2 represented their fifth consecutive setback in the series with the Shockers. The streak is an all-time high for Wichita State versus MSU, which still owns a 41-20 edge in the series with WSU. Prior to sweeping the Lady Bears in 2005-06 to start the win streak, the Shockers had not beaten MSU in back-to-back games since 1998. Wichita State had never won more than three games in-a-row in the series before sweeping the Lady Bears last season to pick up its third and fourth straight wins.
Streak’s Over: MSU’s 78-55 win over UNI on Jan. 17 put the brakes on a school-record 15-game road losing streak that included nine road losses in-a-row in regular season conference play, dating back to January of last season. The Lady Bears’ four-game MVC win streak was their first during regular-season conference play since the 2004-05 season. Also, MSU’s two-game road win streak was its first in conference play since winning at Creighton and Drake in February 2005.
Getting Offensive: Missouri State scored 70 points or more in five straight contests, beginning with its overtime loss at Creighton (Jan. 6). The last time the Lady Bears accomplished that feat was during a seven-game win streak in January 2005. Over its four-game win streak (Jan. 8-19), the Lady Bears shot just under 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range and averaged 75.2 points per contest. MSU outscored its opponents from the foul line by a 57-25 margin, connecting on 79.2 percent of their attempts in the second half.
On the Record: Illinois State’s Maggie Krick added another update to the Missouri State record book (Jan. 25), tying the single-game record for three-point field goals made by a Lady Bear opponent with seven triples. She matched the mark shared by Texas’s Danielle Viglione (3/16/96) and Canisius’s Amanda Cavo, who equaled the mark just over one month ago in MSU’s 97-89 win over the Griffins in Springfield.
In the Crunch: The Lady Bears’ came away with victories over Evansville (1/10) and Southern Illinois (1/12) thanks in large part to big second-half efforts in each contest. As a team Missouri State shot just under 52 percent from the floor (27-of-52) in the combined second periods of the two games to outscore the Purple Aces and Salukis by a +12.5 margin. MSU also came through with solid defensive efforts in each game, holding its two opponents to identical 8-of-29 (.276) shooting performances from three-point range that included a combined second-half showing of 7-of-30 (.233) from beyond the arc.
Dwyer Honored Again: After leading the Missouri State Lady Bears to back-to-back road victories over UNI and Bradley, junior forward Maggie Dwyer has earned her second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week honor and her fourth overall in 2007-08, the league office announced Jan. 21.
A 6-1 forward from Grand Haven, Mich., Dwyer played a pivotal role in Missouri State wins over UNI and Bradley, converting 69 percent of her second-half field goal attempts and shooting .538 from the field in all, while averaging 16.5 points to help the Lady Bears pick up their first two road victories of the season. Against UNI on Jan. 17, the Grand Haven, Mich., native went 4-of-4 from the floor in the second half and totaled 14 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 78-55 MSU win that snapped a 15-game road losing streak.
With the score knotted at 42-42 Jan. 19 at Bradley, Dwyer scored eight of the next 10 MSU points to help spark a 28-10 scoring run that ultimately netted the Lady Bears’ fourth win in-a-row. She scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, grabbed two boards and handed out a pair of assists in the 70-55 victory.
Dwyer, who was also tabbed for the same honor on Dec. 10, Dec. 26 and Jan. 14, became the first Lady Bear to earn four weekly awards in a single season since Jackie Stiles was named MVC Player of the Week a conference-record seven times in 2000-01.
Windex Woman: Tiff Terwelp has been the Lady Bears top rebounder in each of the past two seasons, and currently leads the Valley in rebounding with an average of 9.3 boards per game. Over the first 12 games of the conference season, Terwelp has recorded nine double-figure rebound games and averaged a point-rebound double-double (11.4 ppg./10.9 rpg.).
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 in December 2006.
The Quincy, Ill., product nearly equaled that effort at Creighton (Jan. 6) when she pulled down 17 rebounds.
Holding Aces: Missouri State’s first Missouri Valley Conference win of the season, a 76-65 victory over Evansville on Jan. 10, snapped a streak of five straight losses in MVC regular-season play and six in a row against Valley opponents, including last season’s loss to Bradley in the State Farm MVC Tournament.
The victory over the Purple Aces gave head coach Nyla Milleson her first career MVC win and was the Lady Bears’ first victory in an MVC home opener since defeating Evansville (1/6/05) at the start of the 2004-05 conference season. It also prevented the third straight 0-3 start to an MVC season for Missouri State.
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.
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
Valley Openers: With their loss at Drake on Jan. 4, 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 its Jan. 6 overtime loss at Creighton, MSU started conference play 0-2 for the third consecutive season.
For the History 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. Melissa 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.
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.
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 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.
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 324-107 (.752) 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 661-451 (.594) for a total of 1,112 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.
