Missouri State Lady Bears (8-3, 0-0 MVC) vs. Bradley Braves (3-6, 0-0 MVC) 

Game Overview
After concluding their most successful non-conference season in six years, the Missouri State Lady Bears (8-3, 0-0 MVC) return home to kick-off the Missouri Valley Conference season against the Bradley Braves (3-6, 0-0 MVC) Thursday (Dec. 31) with a 1:05 p.m., contest.

Missouri State will be seeking its fifth consecutive victory following a 76-60 win at SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 22)-its third road win of the season-to close the non-conference season. Bradley, which will travel to Saint Louis for a Tuesday (Dec. 29) match-up with SLU, stopped a three-game slide with a 17-point road win over Air Force last week. The Braves have dropped five of their last seven games entering the week, however.

Quick Hits
► The Lady Bears will be seeking their fifth straight home victory and their first five-game win streak overall since March 2005
► Missouri State will be looking to stop a string of four consecutive losses in MVC openers
► All five Lady Bear starters averaged at least 7.8 points per game through the non-conference season
► MSU is 18-8 all-time in conference openers, including an 11-6 mark since joining the Valley in 1992-93; the Lady Bears are 21-5 overall in conference home openers
► Missouri State leads the Valley in scoring (75.9 ppg.), assists (16.6), field goal percentage (.446) and offensive rebounding (15.4) coming into the week
► Casey Garrison leads the MVC in scoring (18.6), assists (6.2), assist-turnover ratio (1.9) and offensive rebounding (3.8)
► Sophomore guard Jaleshia Roberson enters the conference season as one of the MVC's hottest players, averaging 17.6 ppg. while shooting just under 53 percent from three-point range in MSU's last seven contests

On the Mend
► Junior guard Kendra Roberts could see her first game action this week after missing the non-conference season with a knee inury; the Arkansas transfer underwent reconstructive knee surgery in July after sustaining a torn ACL in an offseason basketball game
► Freshman guard Whitney Edie will be sidelined for the next 2-4 weeks after injuring her left foot prior to MSU's Dec. 22 game at SIU Edwardsville; Edie suffered a fracture of her third metatarsal during the team's shootaround and was limited to just three minutes of playing time in the Lady Bears' 76-60 win over SIUE

Series History
Thursday's meeting will be the 60th in the series with Bradley. Missouri State enters with a commanding 40-19 advantage, including a 25-7 mark against the Braves at home.

Bradley has enjoyed some recent success against the Lady Bears, having taken five of the last seven contests. Last year, the Braves swept the season series from MSU for just the third time ever. BU claimed a 68-59 win at JQH Arena and a 10-point win in East Peoria.   

The Coaches
Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, '85) is in her third season as the head coach at Missouri State with a 29-42 mark as the Lady Bears' mentor and an overall record of 214-78 in 10 years as a collegiate head coach. 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. Milleson is a perfect 5-0 against SIUE, with all five wins coming during her time at Drury. Including her 187 wins at the high school level, Milleson notched her 400th career coaching victory with MSU's win at Oral Roberts on Dec. 19.

Paula Buscher (Missouri State, '86) is in her 10th season at Bradley and her 13th season overall as a collegiate head coach. The Peoria, Ill., native has compiled a 163-186 career record, including a 120-148 mark as head coach of the Braves. The former Lady Bear guard (1983-85) led the Braves to a school-record 21 victories in 2008-09 en route to being named Rawling's MVC Coach of the Year. Buscher made head coaching stops at Minnesota State-Mankato and Nebraska-Omaha before accepting the Bradley job in 2000. In 20 games against Missouri State, Buscher's Braves are 8-12, including a 3-7 mark in Springfield.

Scouting the Lady Bears
Missouri State entered the season looking for its first winning campaign in four years. Last year's edition of the Lady Bears went 10-20 overall and finished seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference behind a deep freshman class that accounted for 68 percent of the club's offensive production.

The Lady Bears have gotten balanced contributions across the board, as all five starters are averaging better than 7.8 points per game coming into Thursday's contest. Sophomore Casey Garrison has picked up right where she left off a year ago when she led all Division I true freshman in total scoring. So far, the Bolivar, Mo., native is the top scorer (18.6 ppg.) and assister in the MVC, ranking 13th nationally in assists per game (6.2) as of Dec. 21. Garrison leads the league in assist-turnover ratio (1.9) and is also among the circuit's leaders in rebounding (3rd-8.0 rpg.), steals (3rd-2.8 spg.) and field goal percentage (5th-.504). Her backcourt mate Jasmine Malone has been a consistent performer on both ends of the court, chipping in 10.0 points and 5.7 boards per outing, as well as 16 steals to rate among the MVC's individual leaders. Sophomore Lacey Boshe is MSU's fourth-leading scorer, averaging 8.7 ppg., while her .507 field goal percentage leads the club and ranks fourth in the conference. Sophomore Jaleshia Roberson enters the week on a hot streak, having scored a career-high 32 points in MSU's win at Oral Roberts on Dec. 19. Roberson has connected on 27 of her last 51 (.529) three-point attempts and has amassed the second-highest assist (32) and steal totals (17) on the club. Senior Melissa Busby is another MSU threat from long range, coming into the week shooting .326 from beyond the three-point arc. The Edmond, Okla., native also ranks 10th on the Lady Bears' career three-point field goals chart with 112 makes.

As a team, MSU is outscoring the opposition by 6.5 points per contest and shooting .446, while its defense has forced 215 turnovers in 11 games this season. The Lady Bears have also been strong on the glass, outrebounding the opposition by an average of 2.6 boards per game.

Scouting the Braves
Bradley retuned 10 letterwinners and three starters from last year's 21-10 squad that set a school record for victories in a season and advanced to the semifinal round of the State Farm MVC Tournament for the first time ever. BU is off to a 3-6 start this year behind a balanced cast that features six players averaging better than six points per outing. Leading the way is junior forward Sonya Harris, a second-team All-MVC selection in 2008-09. Harris's 11.2 boards per game lead the Valley, while her 1.9 blocks per contest is the second-best mark in the league. Freshman Katie Yohn (9.6 ppg./2.1 apg.) is the Braves leading scorer and top three-point threat, while junior guard Raisa Taylor (6.9 ppg./3.6 rpg.) has the top field goal percentage (.523) on the club. Two more freshmen, Olivia Allen (6.9 ppg.) and Brooke Bisping (6.1 ppg.), are also playing key roles for BU, entering the week as the Braves' fourth and fifth-leading scorers, respectively. Senior Jenny Van Kirk and sophomore Leah Kassing give BU a solid inside presence, combining for nearly 12 points and eight rebounds per game.

As a team, Bradley leads the Valley in total rebounding (43.0 rpg.) and blocked shots (4.9 bpg.) and ranks second in the league in assists (14.6 apg.). BU has struggled at the foul line, converting only 57.3 percent of its attempts, as well as in the turnover department, entering the week averaging over 24 giveaways per outing.

So Far, So Good
MSU's 8-3 start is its best since the 2003-04 season, when it won 10 of its first 11 games en route to a 28-4 finish and the school's 12th NCAA Tournament appearance. In each of the Lady Bears' last eight starts that included at least seven wins in their first 10 games, they have gone on to earn a bid to the Big Dance. With their win at SIUE on Dec. 22,  the Lady Bears recorded their eighth victory, marking the earliest date they have done so in 11 years. In fact, this season is the first in which MSU has amassed eight wins before the turn of the calendar year since the same 1998-99 campaign.

Streaking Along
Over the course of their current four-game win streak, the Lady Bears have compiled some impressive offensive numbers. Missouri State is shooting .486 from the floor, including .451 from beyond the arc, and has outscored the opposition at the foul line by a 59-36 margin while hitting nearly 75 percent of their free throw attempts. MSU has outscored its four opponents by an average of 13.8 points and has recorded a whopping 19.8 assists per contest.

On an individual level, Jaleshia Roberson is averaging 19.5 points per game, while Casey Garrison has been red-hot in all phases of the game. Garrison has connected on 55.8 percent of her field goal tries and 15-of-16 (.938) of her free throw attempts, while averaging 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per outing during the four-game stretch.

Turning Up the Heat
At Oral Roberts (Dec. 19), the Lady Bears posted their best single-game shooting performance (.544) since hitting 57.6 percent of their field goal attempts against Texas A&M on March 24, 2005. MSU's 99 points at ORU also represented its top offensive showing since March 8, 2003, when it recorded a 107-53 win over Evansville, and its best offensive effort on the road in nearly 18 years, dating back to a 109-45 win at Western Illinois on Feb. 13, 1992.

Valley Openers
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.

Thursday's matchup will be the third time Missouri State and Bradley have opened a conference season against one another, with the Lady Bears taking the previous two such meetings. MSU claimed an 87-74 road win over the Braves (1/1/05) to open the 2004-05 MVC slate, as well as an 82-77 victory (12/29/01) at Hammons Student Center to kick-off the 2001-02 conference season.

Dial It Up
After shooting just under 27 percent from long range through their first three games of the season, the Lady Bears have heated up from three-point land over the last eight games. MSU has shot .418 (56-of-134) from beyond the arc over its last eight outings and its 13 three-pointers at Oral Roberts represented its best single-game total since Feb. 16, 2008, when it went 13-of-24 in a home win over UNI.

Additionally, the Lady Bears' eight threes vs. Tulsa (Dec. 8) represented a Missouri State high in JQH Arena. The Lady Bears had not hit more than six treys in any of their previous 17 contests in their new home. MSU has connected at least once from long range in 59 straight games and in 265 of its last 267 games dating back to the 2000-01 season.

Board Games
Through the first 11 games of the season, the Lady Bears are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 2.6 boards per contest, finishing with the edge in total rebounds in all but two of their 11 contests. While it may be too early to draw any conclusions, those figures lie in stark contrast to last season when MSU was outperformed on the boards by an average of 2.5 rebounds per game. Furthermore, the Lady Bears finished with an advantage in total rebounds in just nine of their 30 games last year.

Hand it Over
Missouri State is leading the Valley pack when it comes to team assists, coming into Thursday's game with a 16.6 apg. average. The Lady Bears are handing out an average of nearly two assists more per outing than Bradley, which enters the week second in the league in the same category. Casey Garrison's 6.2 assist per-game average is tops in the circuit, while Jaleshia Roberson ranks seventh among all Valley players with a 2.9 apg. average.

Garrison's 13-assist performance vs. Tulsa not only represented a new career high, but also set a JQH Arena record and helped the Lady Bears post their highest single-game assist total (25) in four seasons. Her total tied four others for the sixth-highest in school history and was the most recorded by a Missouri State player since March 8, 2003, when Kari Koch handed out 13 assists against Evansville.

Stealing the Show
Paced by the performance of sophomore guard Casey Garrison, Missouri State ranks second in the Missouri Valley Conference in team steals. The Lady Bears are averaging 10.2 steals per outing, while Garrison is one of three Lady Bears to rank among the circuit's top performers in individual steals. The Bolivar, Mo., product is averaging 2.8 takeaways per game to rank third in the league and is on pace to challenge the MSU single-season record for total steals, set in 1993-94 by Tina Robbins (108). Jasmine Malone and Jaleshia Roberson also rank among the league's top 13 in steals coming into the week. Roberson ranks 12th with a 1.55 spg. average, while Malone is right on her heels in 13th with an average of 1.45 steals per game.

As a team, Missouri State is ahead of its 2008-09 pace for team steals after leading the Valley with a 9.4 spg. average a year ago. 

In Rare Company
Twice this season sophomore guard Casey Garrison has achieved feats only one previous player in Missouri State history had accomplished prior to the 2009-10 campaign. With her 35-point, 17-rebound performance at Arkansas State (Nov. 27), the sophomore guard joined Cindy Henderson (37 points/24 rebounds on Jan. 20, 1975) as the only other Lady Bear on record to score at least 35 points and record at least 15 rebounds in a single game. It was Garrison's second career double-double consisting of 30 points or more, making her only the fourth MSU player on record (along with Henderson, Jeanette Tendai and Jenni Lingor) to record more than one such game in her career.

Garrison quite possibly topped that effort on Dec. 8 vs. Tulsa when she became the second Lady Bear to record a triple-double with an 11-point, 11-rebound, 13-assist performance against the Golden Hurricane. MSU assistant coach Carly (Deer) Stubblefield was the only other Lady Bear to accomplish the feat (Jan. 23, 1998).

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 188 points to finish behind Creighton, Illinois State, Drake, UNI, Indiana State and Bradley.    

Creighton (393 points) was the pick of the Valley's coaches, sports information directors and media affiliates for the top spot in the preseason poll. The Bluejays return three starters, including preseason Player of the Year pick Megan Neuvirth and 2008-09 All-MVC honoree Chevelle Herring.

Creighton narrowly edged Illinois State (340), which returns four starters, in the preseason poll and Drake (296), last year's third-place finisher. Fourth-place pick UNI (253) brings back all five starters from last year's sixth-place MVC squad, while this year's fifth-place pick, Indiana State will be looking to build on a 10-8 conference mark that included wins over every conference team except the Lady Bears.

Rounding out the order of finish were defending MVC Tournament champ Evansville (108 points) in eighth, with Wichita State (97) close behind in ninth, followed by Southern Illinois (61).

Illinois State's Maggie Krick joined Garrison on the MVC's preseason all-conference team, along with fellow 2008-09 first-team all-league picks Neuvirth, Jordann Plummer of Drake and Kelsey Luna of Indiana State.

Missouri State All-Time
Missouri State is in its 41st season of women's collegiate basketball and has an all-time record of 682-478 (.588). 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. The Lady Bears are in their 28th NCAA Division I season and 18th 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 merged with The Valley.

Bears Live and Lady Bears Gameday Guide
Throughout the 2009-10 season, Lady Bear basketball will be featured on Missouri State's online video channel, Bears Live -- Missouri State's premium broadband video destination for exclusive live and on-demand streaming video and audio content. Fans can also keep tabs on the Lady Bears through the Women's Basketball Gameday Guide, which features links to live game stats (when available) and KTXR's free, online broadcast of every Missouri State women's basketball game.