The Missouri State Lady Bears (7-14 overall, 5-5 MVC) will wrap up their longest road swing of the season Sunday (Feb. 10) afternoon when they take on the Evansville Purple Aces (14-7 overall, 8-2 MVC) at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind. The Lady Bears knocked off Southern Illinois Friday night in Carbondale to end a three-game losing streak, while Evansville topped Wichita State at home to move into a tie for the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
Missouri State bested the Purple Aces by a 76-65 score in the two schools’ first meeting of the season in Springfield (Jan. 10). Since that time UE has won eight straight games to move to 8-2 in the Valley.
Sunday’s game will be broadcast locally in Springfield on KTXR 101.3 FM. Live stats for the contest will be available at Evansville’s athletics website, www.gopurpleaces.com.
Last Time Out: The Lady Bears turned in perhaps their best all-around performance of the season to defeat Southern Illinois (Feb. 8) evening in Carbondale. MSU shot 49 percent from the field while holding SIU to just .328 shooting to earn a season sweep of the Salukis.
Maggie Dwyer and Tahnee Balerio led four Lady Bears in double figures with 18 points apiece. Dwyer went 9-of-10 from the foul line and hauled in six boards, while Balerio went 7-of-8 from the floor, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists to lead the MSU charge.
Missouri State connected on 27-of-55 field goal attempts and converted 16-of-17 tries from the free throw line, including 10-of-10 in the second half. The Lady Bears pushed their lead to 20 points five different times in the second half to snap a three-game losing streak with their third win in their last four road contests. The victory was the Lady Bears’ 21st in the last 23 meetings between the two schools.
Missouri State got off to a quick start, thanks in large part to a strong defensive effort. Southern Illinois hit just two of their first 20 shots to allow MSU to build an early double-digit lead. The Lady Bears pushed their lead to 15 points on two separate occasions before SIU cut its deficit to 32-21 on a pair of Ellen Young free throws with two and-a-half minutes to go in the half. But MSU reeled off six unanswered points to close the half with a 17-point advantage.
The Lady Bears kept the pressure on at the onset of the second half, as Tiff Terwelp converted a three-point play on MSU’s first possession of the second half to push the MSU advantage to 41-21.
The Salukis made a run behind eight straight points from Erica Smith to draw to within 10 points with 7:44 to play. But Missouri State responded by outscoring SIU 16-6 over the ensuing three and-a-half minutes to make it a 20-point affair once again. Tiffany Coppage drained two of her three treys on the night during the run to help MSU put the game out of reach.
Terwelp recorded her seventh double-double of the season with a 15-point, 11-rebound effort and Coppage chipped in a career-best 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Coaches: Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) is 7-14 in her first season as the head coach at Missouri State and 192-50 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 116-105 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.
Under Cullop, UE is 5-10 vs. Missouri State but has won four of the seven contests played in Evansville during her tenure.
Series Record: MSU leads the series with UE 22-8, but the Purple Aces have taken three of the last four meetings. 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.
In the first meeting of 2007-08 between UE and MSU, the Lady Bears notched their first MVC win with a 76-65 victory in Springfield on Jan. 10. Melissa Busby knocked down three critical second-half three-pointers, and Missouri State connected on 9-of-10 free throw attempts down the stretch. Busby, who scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half, buried three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to turn a four-point MSU lead into a 56-46 ballgame with just over six minutes left in the game. Maggie Dwyer led MSU with 17 points, while Tahnee Balerio added 16 to go along with six assists.
Scouting Evansville: As a team the Purple Aces have shot 40 percent from the field, averaging 71.1 ppg., the second-best scoring offense in the MVC. On the defensive side, UE’s opponents have shot .427, including .341 from three-point range. However, the Purple Aces have countered those figures by forcing 21 turnovers per game and amassing 218 steals (10.4 spg.), both the top marks in the Valley..
Evansville is led by returning All-MVC first-teamer Rebekah Parker (14.5 ppg./5.6 rpg.), who ranks among the league’s top 10 in scoring (fifth), assist/turnover ratio (sixth), assists (eighth), free-throw percentage (ninth), steals (ninth) and minutes played (10th). Senior guard Courtney Felke (11.2 ppg./3.3 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 is also second on the club in both assists (69) and steals (20). Junior guard Ashley Austin (9.8 ppg.) is UE’s fourth-leading scorer, while junior center Shannon Novosel (11.2 ppg./7.0 rpg.) leads the club in rebounding while ranking fourth in the MVC in that category.
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 have a league-best 200-76 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 184 wins, which is the second-highest count in the circuit.
Evansville also picked up a milestone victory on Friday with its 94-60 win over Wichita State. The Purple Aces, in their 14th season in the league, earned their 100th regular-season MVC victory.
Tale of Two Halves: Missouri State limited Wichita State to just 32 percent (8-of-25) shooting from the field in building a 35-25 halftime lead Feb. 2. But the Shockers’ offense clicked in the second half, outscoring MSU 48-34 while torching the Lady Bears’ defense to the tune of .548 (17-of-31) shooting from the floor. WSU’s second-half performance marked the third-straight game an MSU opponent had shot better than 50 percent in the second half.
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.
Century Mark for Terwelp, Balerio: Tiff Terwelp played in her 100th career contest for Missouri State in the loss at Oral Roberts (Dec. 15) and is expected to make the 100th start of her Lady Bear career Sunday afternoon.
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.
Balerio on the Move: Tahnee Balerio moved onto yet another Missouri State career top 10 list with her two free throw attempts at Southern Illinois (Feb. 8). She enters Sunday’s game with 370 career attempts from the charity stripe.
Balerio also continued her ascent up the MSU all-time assist and three-point field goal lists. With her four-assist effort, Balerio (373) climbed to within 13 of Jenni Lingor in the fifth spot. She went 2-of-3 from three-point range to move within one long-range attempt of Sarah Klaassen in the No. 5 spot on the three-point field goal attempt chart.
On this Date in Lady Bears History: February 10,2004 - #23 Missouri State 65, Bradley 45 - A focused defense made up for lackluster offensive work as the No. 23 Lady Bears posted their 18th consecutive victory. MSU limited the Braves to just 25.9 percent shooting from the floor and outboarded BU by a 47-34 margin. Kari Koch scored 15 points to lead three Lady Bears in double figures.
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 33 more points to catch Tara Mitchem (1,139) for the No. 14 spot.
Senior forward 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. Terwelp surpassed the 800-point mark for her MSU career in the Lady Bears’ win over Southern Illinois (Jan. 12) and moved past Cindy Hauter and La Waynta Dawson into the No. 25 position on the list with her 15-point game at Southern Illinois (Feb. 8). She enters Sunday’s game 11 points shy of Charitee Longstreth at No. 24 on the list.
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.
Red-Hot Redbirds: Illinois State’s decisive 95-59 win on Jan. 25 represented the largest home loss for MSU as a Division I program and their biggest margin of defeat since the 1979-80 season, when they fell by a 77-32 score to Iowa State (11/17/79). It was also the most points allowed by MSU at home since a 107-101 quadruple overtime loss to Indiana State on Jan. 28, 1989.
Battle on the Boards: Illinois State showed why it has been the Valley’s top rebounding team this season, dominating the glass to the tune of a 55-30 total rebound advantage (Jan. 25). The 25 rebound deficit represents the widest margin a Lady Bear team has been outrebounded in a single game since Dec. 2, 1988, when Washington posted a 55-25 advantage on the boards in a 95-57 win over MSU.
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.
Balerio Tops 1,000-Point Plateau: Senior guard Tahnee 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 Saturday, 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.
Windex Woman: 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 9.0 boards per game. Over the first half of the conference season, Terwelp recorded seven double-figure rebound games and averaged a point-rebound double-double (11.3 ppg./10.7 rpg.). With her 15-point, 11-rebound effort vs. Southern Illinois (2/8), Terwelp notched her third straight double-double and her seventh of the season.
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 at Creighton (Jan. 6) when she pulled down 17 rebounds, her fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season.
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.
Balerio Back in Gear: 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 points 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 hit 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 150-95 (.612) in 2007-08 (through games of Feb. 8). The Lady Bears’ schedule has produced two games against ranked opponents (#22 Texas and #17 DePaul), and all but Canisius (10-13), Tulsa (9-13) and Saint Louis (9-14) are at the .500 mark or above.
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.
Double Trouble: A Lady Bear has finished in double figures in rebounding in 15 of MSU’s last 19 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, Creighton, Southern Illinois (twice), Bradley, Indiana State and Wichita State), 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.
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.
Balerio named to Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Watch List: In recognition of her accomplishments both on and off the court, senior guard Tahnee Balerio was 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 athletes who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
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.
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.
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.
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 323-107 (.751) 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 660-450 (.595) for a total of 1,110 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.
