Missouri State Lady Bears (4-8, 0-1 MVC) vs. Bradley Braves (10-2, 1-0 MVC)
When: Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 2:05 p.m. Where: JQH Arena, Springfield, Mo.
Radio: KTXR 101.3 FM
Live Stats: www.missouristatebears.com
Video: Bears Live

Game Overview

The Missouri State Lady Bears wrap up the opening weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play Sunday (Jan. 4) afternoon at JQH Arena against the Bradley Braves. MSU will be looking to rebound from its first loss in three weeks after dropping its Valley opener to UNI, 65-62, Friday evening. Bradley, which routed Wichita State by 20 points on the road to open its conference season, will be trying to end a two-game losing streak in the series with the Lady Bears.

    Missouri State (4-8, 0-1 MVC) will also be trying to avoid its second 0-2 conference start at home in the last three seasons. In 2006-07, the Lady Bears fell to Southern Illinois and Wichita State in its first two MVC home games en route to dropping five of its first six league contests at Hammons Student Center.

    The Braves (10-2, 1-0 MVC) have been one of the surprise teams in the Valley so far in 2008-09, equaling a school record with nine non-conference victories.

    The Lady Bears hold a commanding 40-17 lead in the series with Bradley, including a 25-6 mark at home. Last year, MSU won both meetings with the Braves after BU claimed three victories over the Lady Bears in 2006-07.

 

Quick Hits

Missouri State dropped its fourth consecutive MVC opener with its loss to UNI and will be attempting to avoid its third straight 0-2 start to a conference season on Sunday

The Lady Bears’ will also be trying to avoid their first 2-5 start at home since the 1988-89 season

Senior forward Maggie Dwyer enters Sunday’s game needing four points to reach the 500-point plateau for her Lady Bear career

 

Last Time Out

Despite a valiant comeback effort late in the second half, the Lady Bears came up on the short end of a 65-62 decision in their Missouri Valley Conference opener against UNI Friday (Jan. 2) evening at JQH Arena. Nicole Clausen’s 19-point effort led a contingent of four Panthers finishing in double figures, as UNI halted a seven-game losing streak and improved to 3-8 with the victory, while the Lady Bears saw their three-game win streak come to an end in dropping to 4-8 on the year.

    The loss for Missouri State came in spite of a second-half rally that saw the Lady Bears nearly claw their way back from a 14-point deficit in the final eight minutes of play. Lacey Boshe scored eight of her career-high 14 points during a 15-2 scoring run that ultimately pulled MSU to within 61-60 with just over one minute to play.

    But the Panthers came up big down the stretch, getting a key basket by K.K. Armstrong with 0:41 left on the clock to make it a three-point game, then stopping the Lady Bears on the defensive end of the court to preserve the win. Clausen, who was a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line, buried a pair of free throws with 17 seconds to go to seal MSU’s fate.

    For UNI, the victory was its first since a Nov. 25 win over Western Illinois, while MSU suffered its first setback since falling to DePaul at home on Dec. 10.

    Behind Clausen’s eight first-half points, UNI took a 32-25 lead into the locker room at intermission after a see-saw first half that featured six ties and seven lead changes. The junior guard converted three of her four field goal attempts, including 2-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc to pace a Panthers’ offense that shot .419 from the field and just under 43 percent from three-point range in the opening stanza. UNI took control of the game late in the period, outscoring MSU 9-2 over the final 3:15, taking its largest lead of the half on Lizzie Boeck’s three with 30 seconds left on the clock.

    UNI turned in a dominant performance on the interior, outscoring MSU 18-14 in the paint in the game’s first 20 minutes. The Panthers controlled the glass as well, finishing the first half with a 23-13 advantage on the boards.

    The Panthers kept the heat on the Lady Bears after the break, stretching their lead to as many as 13 points in the first five minutes of the half. After MSU scored the first four points of the period to pull to within three points, Armstrong drilled a three-pointer to start a 13-3 scoring spurt that would put UNI ahead 45-32 at the 15:05 mark.

    Highlighted by a pair of Morgan Harrington field goals, the Lady Bears would answer with an 8-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to five points with just under 13 minutes remaining.

    UNI responded by scoring 14 of the next 19 points to build its largest lead of the night, a 59-45 advantage with eight and-a-half minutes to go. Clausen again played a starring role, knocking down another triple with 11:50 left on the clock to push the Panther advantage to 10, then hitting another big jumper two minutes later to make it a 54-43 ballgame.

    Boshe went to work with just under three minutes to play, scoring on three straight possessions for MSU, including a lay-in with 1:07 to go that trimmed UNI’s lead to one. After Armstrong’s bucket, the Lady Bears had two chances from within five feet of the basket to cut into the Panther lead, but couldn’t covert either try.

    Casey Garrison led the Lady Bears with 18 points and five assists, while Boshe also turned in a team and career-high effort on the boards, totaling nine caroms to lead all rebounders.

 

The Coaches

Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, ’85) is in her second season as the head coach at Missouri State with a 15-27 mark as the Lady Bears’ mentor and an overall record of 200-63 in eight-plus years as a collegiate head coach. Milleson entered the 2008-09 season as the 24th-winningest active coach (.7809 win percentage) at all NCAA levels with at least five years head coaching experience. She 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)

 

Paula Buscher (Missouri State, 86) is in her ninth season at Bradley and her 12th season overall as a collegiate head coach. The Peoria, Ill., native has compiled a 149-172 career record, including a 105-134 mark as head coach of the Braves. The former Lady Bear guard (1983-85) wrapped up her Missouri State playing career near the top of MSU’s all-time assists, steals and free throw percentage leader boards before beginning her coaching career under Illinois State head coach Jill Hutchison. Buscher made head coaching stops at Minnesota State-Mankato and Nebraska-Omaha before accepting the Bradley job in 2000. In 18 games against Missouri State, Buscher’s Braves are 6-12, including a 3-7 mark in Springfield.

 

Series Record

Missouri State holds a 40-17 overall advantage in the series with Bradley and has claimed victory in 25 of the 31 games played by the two schools in Springfield.

    Last season the Lady Bears took both meetings from the Braves to snap a three-game skid in the series. In Peoria (Jan. 19), the Lady Bears limited Bradley to 29 percent second-half shooting to earn a 70-55 victory, as Maggie Dwyer scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, including eight during a 10-2 scoring run midway through the second period that gave the Lady Bears the lead for good. Dwyer and Roxy Stiles accounted for 15 of MSU’s 17 points during a critical run that saw the Lady Bears hold Bradley without a field goal for over six minutes to take control of the game. MSU held on for a 73-66 win in Springfield (Feb. 14) after racing out to a 21-point halftime advantage. Dwyer again came through for the Lady Bears, posting a game-high 20 points. The Lady Bears put the game on ice by converting all 10 of their free throw attempts in the final 2:18 of play.

 

Scouting Bradley

Bradley matched a school record with nine non-conference victories to enter MVC play 9-2, its best start since opening the 2001-02 campaign with nine straight victories. The Braves fast start, highlighted by a perfect 5-0 home mark and a neutral-court win over Illinois, has been marred only by losses at UIC and Missouri. Picked to finish eighth in the Valley’s preseason poll, the Braves return a veteran cast that includes eight letterwinners from last year’s club that went 12-18. Led by ninth-year head coach and former Lady Bear Paula Buscher, BU enter Sunday’s contest as the circuit’s top rebounding club, outperforming the opposition on the glass by an average of over 12 boards per contest. The Braves have also been the MVC’s top three-point shooting club, connecting on 38.6 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc, while ranking third in overall field goal percentage (43.1%) and second in scoring offense (69.3 ppg.).

    Leading the way for BU has been senior forward Monica Rogers (12.0 ppg./9.0 rpg.) the Valley’s third-leading rebounder. Despite missing the Braves’ 81-65 win over Air Force on Sunday with an injury, the 6-1 Forsyth, Ill., native had scored in double-digits in eight contests while posting four double-doubles in the non-conference portion of the schedule. She is joined on the frontline by a host of Braves, including 6-0 sophomore Sonya Harris (10.0 ppg./6.5 rpg.), whose .550 field goal percentage ranks third in the MVC entering Sunday’s game. Junior Jenny Van Kirk had started 11 of the Braves’ 12 contests, posting averages of 6.1 points and 5.6 boards per outing, and freshman MacKenzie Westcott has been a solid performer in her rookie campaign, chipping in 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Another freshman, Michelle Lund (11.3 ppg.), has earned the Valley’s Newcomer of the Week honor twice so far this year and entered league play as one of the conference’s top three-point treats (45.5%). Joining Lund in the Braves’ backcourt is the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Year, junior Skye Johnson (9.2 ppg./5.8 apg./2.3 spg.), who ranks among the MVC’s leaders in steals, assists and free throw percentage (.852) entering the weekend.

 

Lady Bears vs. Bradley

In MSU’s two victories over the Braves in 2007-08, the Lady Bears were successful on 43.5 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 16-of-42 (.381) showing from beyond the arc. MSU turned up the defensive pressure to force 43 turnovers and limit BU to 21.2 percent shooting from three-point range in the two games. Maggie Dwyer averaged 19.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists to lead the way in those two contests. In five career games Melissa Busby has been solid for the Lady Bears against Bradley, hitting 9-of-21 (.429) tries from long range. Fellow junior Roxy Stiles has averaged 8.8 points per outing while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor in her five games against the Braves.

 

Valley Openers

After Friday night’s three-point setback to UNI, the Lady Bears are 11-6 in Missouri Valley Conference openers and 18-8 overall in conference openers since formal competition began in the Gateway in 1983.

    Beginning with the 2005-06 season, the Lady Bears have dropped at least their first two conference games, and MSU has started 0-3 in MVC play in each of the last two seasons.

 

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.

 

200 For Milleson

MSU second-year head coach Nyla Milleson recorded her 200th career victory at the collegiate level with the Lady Bears’ 77-68 win over Chattanooga (Dec. 20) at the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico.

    Now 200-63 in her ninth year at the college level, Milleson came into the 2008-09 season as the 24th-winningest active collegiate coach at all levels with at least five years head coaching experience. Milleson also amassed a 187-77 overall record in 10 seasons as a high school coach, bringing her combined coaching record to 387-140 (.734) in 19 seasons.

 

Inside the Numbers

Missouri State and Bradley are the MVC’s top teams in terms of steals per game, with each having accumulated 115 in 12 games entering Sunday’s action. The Lady Bears rank sixth in team scoring (61.8 ppg.) and seventh in scoring defense (65.1), while the Braves come into the game second in scoring offense (69.3) and fifth in team defense (63.1). BU leads the circuit in three-point accuracy (.386), while MSU is dead last in the same category (.244).

    Among the league’s individual leaders, freshman guard Casey Garrison has wasted little time in making a name for herself. The Bolivar, Mo., product ranks in the MVC’s top 10 for scoring (third), three-point field goal percentage (sixth), free throw percentage (seventh), assist-turnover ratio (seventh), steals (seventh), offensive rebounds (eighth) and minutes played (10th). Lacey Boshe has the seventh-best field goal percentage (.521), and Jasmine Malone is tied for 10th in steals (1.75 spg.).

 

Free and Easy

After converting just 64.9 percent of their free throw attempts in the season’s first six contests, the Lady Bears have heated up from the charity stripe over their last six outings. MSU has knocked down 112-of-156 (.718) free throws, outscoring the opposition by 47 points at the foul line over the six-game stretch.

    Missouri State’s .689 team free throw percentage ranks just eighth in The Valley, but its 184 made free throws is second only to Evansville’s 188, while its 267 attempts leads the circuit. Casey Garrison has been the most proficient Valley player in getting to the line, making a league-leading 66 trips to the stripe and converting 55 of those, also tops in the conference.

 

Bombs Away

The Lady Bears have connected from three-point range a minimum of three times in nine of their 12 games this season and have hit at least one triple in 30 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 188 of 190 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 two of its six games in JQH Arena thus far in 2008-09 but, over their last four contests at home, the Lady Bears have shown signs that they are growing more comfortable in their new surroundings. After averaging just 56 points per outing in their first two home dates, the Lady Bears put up 60.5 ppg. in losses to Western Kentucky, DePaul and UNI and a 53-49 win over UALR, while cutting their turnovers from 23 per game to 14.8 per contest. MSU has found its stroke from the foul line, knocking down 78-of-109 free throw attempts (.716) after hitting just 20-of-36 (.556) in its first two games at JQH.

    The Lady Bears continue to struggle from long range, having connected on just 8-of-37 (.216) three-point attempts in the six games.

 

Fab Frosh

For the 11th time in 12 games this season, a freshman led the Lady Bears in scoring in MSU’s 65-62 loss to UNI (Jan. 2). Casey Garrison totaled a team-high 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Lacey Boshe registered career highs of 14 points and nine rebounds.

    Four of the Lady Bears’ top five scorers are freshmen and, so far this season, six Missouri State rookies have accounted for nearly two-thirds of MSU’s offense overall and 77.1 percent of the Lady Bears’ offense in the six home dates. Garrison continues to pace the Missouri State offense, scoring at an 18.0 ppg. clip in JQH Arena, while Lacey Boshe is also scoring in double figures at home with a 10.7 ppg. average. Garrison and Jasmine Malone have combined to knock down 46-of-55 (.836) free throw attempts at home.                                      

    Two Missouri State freshmen 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.

 

“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 
Arkansas State.                                     

    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 Casey Garrison was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s Newcomer of the Week for the third time in 2008-09 on Dec. 22. The 5-11 guard led Missouri State to a pair of wins and its top two offensive performances of the 2008-09 season in the Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico, Dec. 19-20.

    Garrison posted averages of 17.0 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 4.5 apg. and 1.5 spg. to help the Lady Bears close out the non-conference portion of the schedule on a three-game win streak. She led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field in a 77-68 win over Chattanooga (Dec. 20). Her three-pointer with 7:02 to play in the opening half started a 21-6 run and her second trey with 4:47 to go gave MSU a lead it would never relinquish. Garrison, who scored 18 points in the first half, would add two more baskets before the end of the period to help the Lady Bears take control of the game for good. The Bolivar, Mo., product would also finish with five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

    On Dec. 19, Garrison was one of five Lady Bears to finish in double figures with a 10-point, 5-assist, 4-rebound performance in an 82-63 victory over Stephen F. Austin.

    Garrison was previously honored by the league office on Nov. 24 and again on Dec. 8 following her 33-point performance in MSU’s near-upset of Western Kentucky (Dec. 7) that represented the second-highest point total in school history for a Lady Bear freshman.

   

On this Date...

January 4, 2001   Missouri State 98, Indiana State 48 Missouri State rebounded from a three-point loss to Drake by pounding the visiting Sycamores behind twin 24-point performances from Jackie Stiles and Kinga Kiss. Early in the second half, Stiles broke the MVC’s all-time scoring mark of 2,636 points, held by Drake’s Wanda Ford. Kiss notched a double-double, totaling 11 boards, in her first start. MSU shot nearly 56 percent from the floor, including 6-of-15 from three-point range. The victory kicked off a seven-game win streak for the Lady Bears.

 

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 82 times in 55 career games entering Sunday’s action. Busby also moved onto the Lady Bears’ career Top 10 chart for three-point attempts on Friday when she went 0-for-2 from behind the arc. She enters Sunday’s game with 239 tries from beyond the arc, which is 38 attempts shy of K.C. Cowgill’s career total in the No. 9 spot on the list.

 

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.

 

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.