SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri State University women's basketball team will kick off the 2009-10 season with a formidable non-conference schedule that includes a potential of four opponents coming off postseason appearances in 2008. Highlighting the slate will be the Lady Bears' season-opener against Georgetown at home and MSU's trip to Manhattan, Kan., in early December for the Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic, hosted by 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Kansas State.
Head coach Nyla Milleson's squad will host five non-conference foes and 14 games in all this season at JQH Arena. The Lady Bears' will hit the road for six contests during the pre-conference portion of the season.
Including conference games, Missouri State's 2009-10 schedulecouldfeature as many as nine regular-season contests against clubs that earned postseason bids last year. The Lady Bearscould possibly playa total of three contests against a pair of NCAA Tournament qualifiers, as well as six games against teams that earned WNIT bids in 2008-09.
"I think we've got a good mix of opponents," Milleson says. "Our home opener against Georgetown will be a good challenge, and the K-State tournament will be a great experience for our kids. We've got some strong regional rivalries with Saint Louis, Arkansas State, Tulsa, Oral Roberts and SEMO, as well as acouple ofquality opponents that we haven't seen before in UTEP and Eastern Michigan. We're just excited to get the year underway and hopefully build on the experience of last season."
After exhibition games against Missouri Western (Nov. 1) and Arkansas Tech (Nov. 7), the Lady Bears will open their 41st season with a trio of home dates, beginning with a Nov. 14 match-up with Big East power Georgetown at JQH Arena. Coached by former Lady Bear assistant Terri Williams-Flournoy, the Hoyas are coming off a 20-14 campaign that ended in the quarterfinal round of the postseason WNIT. Next, MSU will take on Saint Louis (Nov. 18) before concluding the home stand against Southeast Missouri State (Nov. 21).
The Lady Bears embark on a two-game road trip over Thanksgiving weekend, meeting Arkansas State (Nov. 27) in Jonesboro, then traveling to Ypsilanti, Mich., where they will square off against Eastern Michigan (Nov. 29) for the first time in program history.
Missouri State will wrap up the road trip and begin the month of December with their appearance in the Wildcat Classic (Dec. 4-5). A solid UTEP squad that went 18-12 in 2008-09 awaits the Lady Bears in their tourney opener, followed by a match-up with eitherGrambling Stateor host Kansas State. Last year, KSU was a solid 25-8 in the ever-difficult Big 12.
Next, MSU will welcome Tulsa to JQH Arena for the first time on Dec. 8, marking the sixth consecutive season the two schools will have met. Murray State, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference champion, will come to Springfield on Dec. 16 to close the home portion of the non-conference season. The Racers are coming off a 23-9 season and WNIT appearance, their third straight postseason entry.
To put the finishing touches on the non-conference season, the Lady Bears will venture back onto the road for a pair of contests. Missouri State will continue its series with Oral Roberts with a Dec. 19 game at Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla. Finally, MSU will renew its series with SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 22) after a 26-year hiatus.
The complete 2009-10 Missouri Valley Conference schedule, which begins the first weekend of January and culminates with the State Farm MVC Tournament in mid-March, will be announced later this summer.
For information on 2009-10 Missouri State Lady Bear season ticket packages, call locally at (417) 836-7678, toll free at (888) 476-7849. When available, individual game tickets can be purchased on-line at www.MissouriStateTix.com, while team news, stats, updates, and ticket specials are available at www.MissouriStateBears.com, the official web site of Missouri State athletics.
