SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - With the announcement of the Missouri Valley Conference's women's basketball slate, the Missouri State Lady Bears finalized their 2009-10 season schedule Friday. 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 open their 41st season of varsity play on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they host Big East power Georgetown.
Including conference games, Missouri State's 2009-10 schedule could feature as many as nine regular-season contests against clubs that earned postseason bids last year. The Lady Bears could play as many as three contests against NCAA Tournament qualifiers and six games against teams that earned WNIT bids in 2008-09.
After exhibition games against Missouri Western (Nov. 1) and Arkansas Tech (Nov. 7), the Lady Bears will open the campaign with a trio of home dates at JQH Arena, beginning with the showdown against Georgetown. 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 Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic (Dec. 4-5) in Manhattan, Kan. A match-up with UTEP awaits the Lady Bears in their tourney opener, followed by a contest against either Grambling State or host Kansas State.
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.
To cap the non-conference season, the Lady Bears will venture back onto the road for a pair of contests. Missouri State will continue its rivalry with Oral Roberts with a Dec. 19 game at Mabee Center in Tulsa, Okla. Finally, MSU will head into the holiday season by renewing its series with SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 22) after a 26-year hiatus.
The Lady Bears will kick off their 18th season in the Valley with a pair of home games against Bradley (Dec. 31) and UNI (Jan. 2), before hitting the road to take on a pair of clubs in Drake (Jan. 7) and Creighton (Jan. 9) that are expected to compete for the league's top spot. MSU returns to Springfield to entertain Indiana State (Jan. 16), Illinois State (Jan. 18) and Wichita State (Jan. 23), then wraps up the first half of the conference slate with a two-game road swing that includes match-ups against Southern Illinois (Jan. 28) and defending MVC tourney champ Evansville (Jan. 30).
MSU returns home to host Creighton (Feb. 5) in the Lady Bears' lone appearance on the MVC Television Network in 2009-10, before welcoming Drake to Springfield on Feb. 7. The Lady Bears will follow the brief home stand with their longest road stretch of the conference season, taking on Indiana State (Feb. 12) and Illinois State (Feb. 14) before heading to Wichita State on Feb. 20.
Southern Illinois (Feb. 26) and Evansville (Feb. 28) will pay JQH Arena a visit the following weekend to close out the Lady Bears' home portion of the schedule. MSU concludes the regular season with games against UNI (March 4) in Cedar Falls, and Bradley (March 6) in East Peoria, Ill.
The State Farm MVC Tournament will be held at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., March 11-14.
For information on 2009-10 Missouri State Lady Bear season ticket packages, call (417) 836-7678, toll free at (888) 476-7849, or visit the Missouri State Athletics Box Office located at JQH Arena.
