Missouri State Lady Bears (3-1, 0-0 MVC) 

vs. 

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (2-5, 0-0 Summit) 

Game Overview

The Missouri State Lady Bears continue their longest home stretch of the 2010-11 season Tuesday evening with a non-conference match-up against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at JQH Arena. MSU, which began its current home stand by knocking off Louisiana Tech Saturday afternoon, will be looking for its third straight win versus ORU. Last year, the Lady Bears dropped ORU, 99-81, in Tulsa (Dec. 19, 2009), then ended the Golden Eagles' season with a 75-53 decision at JQH Arena (March 19, 2010) in the opening round of the WNIT.    

Missouri State is in the midst of a home stand that will see it play five games in a 13-day span. The Lady Bears will welcome Eastern Michigan to JQH Arena for the first time on Friday (Dec. 3), before wrapping up the stretch with games against Arkansas State (Dec. 5) and SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 9).

Quick Hits

• A victory for the Lady Bears Tuesday would mark the 700th win in program history, making Missouri State either the 28th or 29th Division I team to reach the plateau; Duke also enters its Tuesday contest at James Madison with 699 all-time victories
• The Lady Bears secured their second straight +.500 November with Saturday's win over Louisiana Tech; MSU went 3-2 in November last year following three consecutive losing Novembers from 2006-08
• MSU's 62-43 win over Louisiana Tech Saturday marked the first time it has posted a victory when scoring less than 65 points since Feb. 14, 2009, when they defeated Indiana State by a 53-40 score in Terre Haute
• After being out-scored in each of the first three games of the season, MSU's bench came through with a big collective performance Saturday, finishing with a 23-7 scoring advantage over LA Tech's bench; Lady Bear reserves also out-rebounded the Lady Techster reserves by a 22-7 margin
• MSU leads the Missouri Valley Conference in total rebounding (45.8 rpg), three-point field goal percentage (.367), blocks (6.0 bpg) and steals (11.0 spg)
• Reigning MVC Player of the Year Casey Garrison moved past Tara Mitchem into 15th place on the Lady Bears' career scoring chart with her 33-point effort Nov. 12 vs. Lamar; she needs five points to catch Tahnee Balerio in the No. 14 spot on the chart and 20 boards to crack the top 20 list for career rebounds
• Garrison has knocked down 29-of-31 (.935) free throws and enters Tuesday's game with a streak of nine straight conversions at the stripe; she has three different streaks of at least nine consecutive makes this season, including a career-long string of 13 successful tries in-a-row
• Along with senior Kendra Roberts and Christiana Shorter, Garrison ranks among the top six MVC players in individual steals per game; Roberts and Shorter are tied for third with 2.3 spg, while Garrison (2.8) is tied for third
• Freshmen Karly Buer and Hannah Wilkerson have combined to shoot .826 from the foul line and .563 from three-point range over their first four collegiate games
• The Lady Bears rank 1-2-3 in the MVC in individual three-point field goal percentage, with Garrison pacing the circuit with a .750 mark, followed by Wilkerson's .571 and Buer's .556
• Sophomore Tia Mays ranks second overall in the Valley in blocks per game (2.0)

Scouting The Lady Bears        

For the first time in six seasons, the Lady Bears were selected as the Missouri Valley Conference's preseason favorite by the league's head coaches, media representatives and sports information directors. The Lady Bears appear poised for another deep run in the postseason with 10 letterwinners and four starters back from last year's breakthrough 22-11 campaign that saw them finish tied for third in the Valley and return to the postseason for the first time in four seasons.

Leading the way will be returning All-MVC performers Casey Garrison and Jaleshia Roberson, who were named to the league's preseason all-conference team. The junior duo formed arguably the deadliest one-two punch in the MVC-particularly during conference play-in 2009-10. In MSU's 18 Valley games, they combined for 36.1 points per outing, with Garrison's 20.4 ppg, average pacing all scorers by more than three points per game. They enter the 2010-11 season as two of the conference's top three returning scorers. The reigning Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year, Garrison spearheaded MSU's potent offense last year, finishing as the MVC's top scorer and steals leader. She became the first Lady Bear since Kari Koch in 2004 to receive all-region recognition from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association when she was named a Region 6 finalist for the organization's State Farm All-America Team.            

Through 67 games as a Lady Bear, Garrison's career scoring average of 18.4 ppg, is the second-highest mark in school history behind Stiles's 26.1 career average.

As a sophomore, Roberson was a second-team All-MVC pick and MSU's second-leading scorer (14.2 ppg.). The Kansas City native led the Valley in three-point field goals, finishing with 91 triples in all to rank second all-time at MSU in single-season.

Also returning is the Valley's 2010 Freshman of the Year, Christiana Shorter. A Tulsa, Okla., native, Shorter finished her rookie campaign on a high note, registering five double-doubles in the Lady Bears' final six contests. Shorter's 37 blocks last year ranks second all-time among MSU freshmen, and the 6-1 forward finished the season among the conference's top 10 individual performers in offensive rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage, total rebounds, scoring and steals in MVC play.

Lady Bear Notables

• Missouri State opened the season at JQH Arena for the second straight year after lifting the lid on the road in each of the preceding six seasons; MSU snapped a six-game opening-night losing streak with its 83-60 win over Lamar
• The Lady Bears entered the 2010-11 season as the Missouri Valley Conference favorite for the first time in six years and the ninth time overall; MSU has gone on to capture the league crown in seven of the eight previous instances in which it has been the preseason pick to win the MVC race
• Missouri State's 591 free throws made in 2009-10 was more than four Valley teams attempted on the season and represented the fifth-highest team total in MVC history
• The Lady Bears went 13-4 at JQH Arena last season, marking their best performance at home since the 2005-06 season, when they went 14-4 at Hammons Student Center
• MSU outscored its two exhibition opponents by an average of 27.5 ppg
• The Lady Bears shot a blistering .500 (16-of-32) from three-point range and .741 (43-of-58) as a team from the foul line in their preseason exhibition wins
• MSU was one of 17 Division I women's basketball programs to post a turnaround of at least +10 games or more last season coming into the week; the Lady Bears' 12-game improvement was tied for the seventh-best in the nation
• MSU was 14th nationally in team scoring, 17th in FT percentage, 22nd in 3-FG percentage, 29th in steals, 37th in FG percentage and 47th in assists per game last year
• The Lady Bears' win at UNI (March 4) marked their eighth road win of the season; that total represented MSU's best since the 2004-05 season, when it went 9-6 on the road
• Casey Garrison ranked 13th nationally in scoring and was the only NCAA Division I player in the country to rank among the top 35 in individual points, assists and steals per game last year
• Garrison's 658 points on the season was the fifth-highest all-time total at MSU and 11th on the Valley's single-season scoring list
• Garrison was named MVC Player of the Week for the second straight week and the fifth time of her career on Nov. 22; she leads the MVC with a 25.0 ppg average and .750 (9-of-12) three-point field goal percentage through four games With her 27-point performance vs. Evansville (Feb. 28, 2010),
• Garrison became the 20th player in Missouri State history to top the 1,000-point plateau and the second-quickest Valley player ever to reach the mark, doing so in just 57 career games
• Through 67 career games, Garrison already ranks among the top 20 in MSU history in scoring, assists, steals, free throws made and field goals made
• MVC Freshman of the Year Christiana Shorter's string of four consecutive double-doubles (March 4-19) was the first such streak for a Lady Bear since Tiff Terwelp strung together four straight doubles from Feb. 24 through March 8, 2008
• Jaleshia Roberson's 91 three-point field goals last season was the second-highest total all-time at MSU and tied for third all-time in the Valley in a single season; Roberson moved past Jenni Lingor (2005) and Kari Koch (2006) by going 5-of-9 vs. Wichita State (March 12), and fell just 14 triples shy of Melody Howard's MSU record, set in 1994

Scouting The Golden Eagles

After opening the season with victories over North Texas and UT-Arlington, ORU has dropped five straight games coming into Tuesday's tilt. The Golden Eagles, who are 0-1 in true road games this season, fell at home to Houston, 93-89, on Saturday.

Led by the nation's highest-scoring offense, ORU enjoyed a banner 2009-10 campaign, finishing 23-10 after capturing the Summit League's regular-season title with a 15-3 conference mark. Head coach Jerry Finkbeiner welcomes back four starters and eight letterwinners from that squad, led by All-America candidate Kevi Luper. A sophomore guard, Luper averaged 24.4 points last year in her rookie season en route to earning Summit League Player of the Year honors. She'll receive help from fellow sophomore guard, Jaci Bigham, who dazzled in her own right last year as a freshman. Bigham averaged 17.1 points and 5.3 assists and was named All-Summit League First Team at the conclusion of the season. Another returner on the perimeter, junior Georgia Jones, will be looking to improve on her 8.1 ppg average from a year ago, when she was limited to just 16 games due to injury.

In the front court, ORU is led by junior Jordan Pyle, who is coming off a year that saw her contribute 11.8 points and 7.2 boards per outing while setting a single-season school record for field goal percentage (.623).

The Coaches

Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, '85) is in her fourth season as the head coach at Missouri State with a 46-51 mark as the Lady Bears' mentor and an overall record of 231-87 in 11 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 three of those years. Milleson was honored as Heartland Conference Coach of the Year three times, as Drury won six conference titles in all.      

Jerry Finkbeiner (Southern Nazarene, '80) is the Golden Eagles' all-time winningest coach, entering Tuesday's contest with a 234-191 mark in his 15th year at Oral Roberts and a 433-226 overall record in 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Finkbeiner was named Summit League Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Eagles' 10-game turnaround en route to the conference's regular-season title last season. During his tenure, the Golden Eagles have made five NCAA Tournament appearances and posted four 20-win seasons. Prior to taking over at ORU, Finkbeiner led Southern Nazarene to the NAIA national title three straight years and a combined 99-4 record from 1994 to 1996. Finkbeiner is 2-4 vs. the Lady Bears in his career.

Series History

Oral Roberts enters Tuesday's game with a slight 7-5 edge over Missouri State in a series that dates back to the 1977-78 season. The Golden Eagles also hold a 4-3 advantage in games played in Springfield, but have dropped their last two contests to the Lady Bears overall. MSU posted its best offensive performance in recent memory last Dec. 19 in a 99-81 win in Tulsa. Jaleshia Roberson torched the Mabee Center nets, hitting 8-of-12 three-point attempts en route to a 32-point afternoon. In the return trip to Springfield on March 19, the Lady Bears turned in a convincing 75-53 victory in the opening round of the Postseason WNIT. Casey Garrison totaled 19 of her 26 points in the second half to help the Lady Bears overcome a slow start.

The Golden Eagles posted a 56-51 win in their last regular-season visit to JQH Arena on Nov. 26, 2008.

MSU enters the contest 31-13 all-time versus the current membership of the Summit League.

Last Time Out

Missouri State dominated the interior and limited Louisiana Tech to just 31.8 percent shooting to come away with a 62-53 victory over the Lady Techsters Saturday afternoon at JQH Arena. MSU out-rebounded LA Tech, 54-41, and outscored the visitors by 32-16 margin in the paint to post its third win of the season over a 2010 postseason qualifier.

Casey Garrison led the Lady Bears with 15 points, and Regan Soldner pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds off the MSU bench. Lady Bear reserves would play a key role all afternoon, combining for 26 boards and out-scoring LA Tech's bench, 23-7.

The contest's defining moments came as the Lady Bears turned a six-point deficit into a nine-point lead with a 21-6 offensive spurt encompassing the final 5:47 of the first half and the first 3:58 of the second. Karly Buer scored the final five points of the first half and the first two for MSU coming out of the break to put the Lady Bears ahead for good. In all, the freshman accounted for 10 points during the key run and totaled a team-high four assists for the game.

Missouri State twice expanded its lead to 11 in the second period, but the Lady Techsters wouldn't go quietly. After a Whitney Edie layup at the 6:58 mark stretched the Lady Bear lead to 51-40, LA Tech went on a 10-2 run of its own. Jasmine Bendolph drained a three-pointer to start the run, and Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey hit another to end it, drawing LTU to within 53-50 with 3:25 left on the clock.

But MSU came right back with a Kendra Roberts fast-break bucket, and a pair of free throws from Garrison to create a little breathing room. Another three-this time by Angie Felton-cut the Lady Bear lead back to four points with 48 seconds to go. But those would prove to be the last points of the afternoon for the Lady Techsters. MSU would salt away the victory by going 5-of-6 from the foul line in the last 44 seconds of play.

The victory was made possible by a staunch MSU defense that held LA Tech to just 21-of-66 shooting from the field, including a 7-of-26 (.269) showing from beyond the arc. The Lady Bears also enjoyed a solid performance on the offensive glass, turning 16 offensive caroms into a 21-10 edge in second-chance points.

Easy as 1-2-3

As a team, the Lady Bears lead the MVC in three-point field goal percentage (.367), blocked shots (6.0 bpg), steals (tie-11.0 spg), total rebounding (45.8 rpg), offensive rebounding (15.5 rpg) and defensive rebounding (30.3 rpg) and rank first, second or third in 11 different categories.

Missouri State not only leads the Valley in team three-point field goal percentage (.367), the Lady Bears also hold the top three individual percentages through games of Nov. 28. Casey Garrison leads the conference with a .750 (9-of-12) mark, while Hannah Wilkerson ranks second with a .571 (4-of-7) percentage and Karly Buer is right on her heels with a figure of .556 (5-of-9). Three-point shooting is one of four MVC individual statistical categories Garrison currently leads. The Bolivar, Mo., product also paces the league in scoring (25.0 ppg), free throw percentage (.935) and assist-turnover ratio (1.8), while ranking in the top 10 in 11 total categories.

Fab Frosh

Lady Bear rookies Karly Buer and Hannah Wilkerson have been two of MSU's most-consistent shooters through the first four games of the season. The duo has combined to go 19-of-23 (.826) from the free throw line and 9-of-16 (.563) from beyond the three-point arc. Buer is the Lady Bears' second-leading scorer (10.8 ppg) and assister (3.0 apg), has started all four contests, while Wilkerson has made the most of her 14.5 mpg, posting a 5.8 ppg average and ranking second in the Valley in three-point field goal percentage (.571) and third in free throw percentage (.900).

That's A Wrap

Missouri State concluded play in the Preseason WNIT with a 73-69 victory over Toledo last Saturday, bringing to a close a successful appearance in the tournament. The Lady Bears notched two wins over 2010 postseason participants (Lamar, Toledo), bringing their all-time mark in the event to 5-4. MSU's victory over the Rockets also ended a 14-game home win streak for the MAC West Division favorite.  

Rolling In The WNIT 

Junior guard Casey Garrison has never had difficulty filling up a stat line, but her last six games have been particularly noteworthy in that department. Over Missouri State's three games in last spring's Postseason WNIT and its three games in this year's Preseason WNIT, Garrison has averaged 25.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing. The Bolivar, Mo., product has been on fire from long range, connecting on 15-of-20 (.750) three-point attempts, while hitting 38-of-42 (.905) foul shots over the same stretch.

For Openers

With their win vs. Lamar (Nov. 12), the Lady Bears are 21-21 all time in season openers. The 83-60 victory stopped a string of six consecutive opening-day losses. MSU won 10 straight lid-lifters from 1992-2001.

The contest also marked the second straight season opener at home for the Lady Bears. Last year, MSU dropped a 79-55 decision to Georgetown at JQH Arena. The Lady Bears are now 19-6 at home in season openers since the 1973-74 season and have won 15 of their last 17 such contests.

Preseason Picks

For the first time in six seasons, the Lady Bears will begin a season as the Missouri Valley Conference's preseason favorite. MSU was tabbed to win the conference title by the league's head coaches, media representatives and sports information directors. Additionally, junior guard Casey Garrison was the panel's unanimous choice for preseason MVC player of the year, while junior guard Jaleshia Roberson was also selected to the preseason All-MVC team.

With 10 letterwinners and four starters back from last year's breakthrough 22-11 campaign that saw them finish tied for third in the Valley and return to the postseason for the first time in four seasons, Missouri State garnered 27 of 40 first-place votes and 385 total points to outpace No. 2 UNI in the poll. The Panthers (329 points) grabbed three first-place votes, edging third-place Creighton - which picked up seven first-place nods - by just one point.

Missouri State's selection represents the ninth time in the last two decades the Lady Bears have been the preseason choice to win the conference's regular-season title, and its first since the 2004-05 campaign. The Lady Bears have captured the regular-season crown on seven of the previous eight occasions they have been picked to win the MVC race (see table at right).

Joining Garrison and Roberson on the preseason All-Valley squad were UNI's Jacqui Kalin and Lizzie Boeck and Creighton's Sam Schuett.

Three-time defending league champion Illinois State (258) finished fourth in the polling, while Wichita State (226) came home fifth. Bradley (204) registered a sixth-place finish, while Drake (180), Indiana State (150), Southern Illinois (83) and Evansville (57) rounded out the field.

Watching No. 5

Casey Garrison has been named to the prestigious 2010-11 Naismith preseason watch list, the Atlanta Tip Off Club announced Nov. 9. Garrison, the unanimous preseason choice to repeat as Valley player of the year, was the lone MVC player chosen for the 50-player list.

The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2010-11 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded on April 4, 2011 at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Indianapolis.

Garrison led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring (19.9 ppg) and steals (2.7 spg) and ranked second in assists (5.1 apg), spearheading the Lady Bears' turnaround from a 10-20 season in 2008-09 to a 22-11 overall mark and third-place Valley finish last year. The 6-0 guard was the only Division I women's basketball player in the nation to rank among the top 35 individuals in those same three categories this season.

Since 2005, presenting sponsor AT&T has set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining the trophy winner. Through the power and ease of text messaging fan voting will account for 25 percent of all of the final results - more than any other national college basketball award.

In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation. Then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists.

The Naismith Trophy is the most prestigious national award presented annually to college basketball's player of the year. For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

Sign 'Em Up

Nyla Millesonand her staff welcomed two new members of the Lady Bear family Nov. 10, when Nijay Gaines (Des Moines, Iowa) and Kenzie Williams (Mt. Vernon, Mo.) signed National Letters of Intent to join the Missouri State women's basketball program for the Fall 2011 semester.

A 5-11 guard/forward, Gaines is a former teammate of current Lady Bear at Des Moines East High School. As a junior, Gaines helped the Lady Scarlets to a 25-1 record and 4A runner-up finish in the Iowa state tournament, averaging 10 points and six rebounds en route to earning first-team all-conference and all-region honors. One of three Division I signees on her high school team this fall, she has played a key role in East's 61-9 combined record and three conference titles over her first three prep seasons. Additionally, she has competed in AAU ball for the All Iowa Attack.Tia Mays

Williams is the latest local product to commit to the Lady Bears, joining the likes of Casey Garrison, Lacey Boshe, Whitney Edie, Aly Stock and Hannah Wilkerson, who chose to stay close to home in recent years and don the Maroon and White for Milleson's program. A 5-11 guard, Williams averaged 17.6 points, 5.2 boards and 2.9 assists as a junior, guiding the Mountaineers to a 30-3 season that culminated in a Missouri Class 4 state championship. Williams was named first-team all-state by the Associated Press and Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and was chosen by the Springfield News-Leader for its annual All-Ozarks team. Williams also competed in track and field and earned second-team all-state honors competing in volleyball this fall for Mt. Vernon.  

Lady Bears On The Air

For the 26th consecutive year, Lady Bear basketball will be broadcast by Meyer Communications, which operates Springfield radio station KTXR (101.3 FM). All games will air live on either KTXR or "The Jock" 98.7 FM, and can also be heard over the internet at RadioSpringfield.com.

Rob Evans is back for his fourth season calling the action for Missouri State, and former Lady Bear Dr. Lynne Miller will provide color commentary. Evans will also host "The Nyla Milleson Radio Show" which will originate from one of the two Springfield Houlihan's locations and air primarily on  "The Jock" 98.7 FM (KWTO) once a week during the regular season.

Over the next four years, 17 Missouri State University basketball games will be carried annually by KY3, Inc., the parent company of local broadcast stations KYTV and Ozarks CW (KCZ), as part of the two-tier television rights package negotiated Nelligan Sports Marketing (NSM).

The agreement includes eight women's games per season. Each contest will be carried live over the air, on cable, and on satellite carriers Dish Network and Direct TV within the KY3 and Ozarks CW footprints, which cover 31 counties in two states. Network affiliates already secured include Metro Sports in Kansas City and Charter Communications in St. Louis.

Additionally, at least two regular-season Lady Bear games this season will be broadcast live locally on Fox Sports Midwest as part of  the MVC Television Network.