Missouri State Lady Bears (3-2, 0-0 MVC) 

vs. 

Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-2, 0-0 MAC) 

Game Overview

The Missouri State Lady Bears will look to bounce back from a Tuesday night loss to Oral Roberts Friday evening when they continue a five-game home stand with a non-conference match-up against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at JQH Arena.               

MSU began its current home stand with a 62-53 victory over Louisiana Tech last Saturday, before dropping a 75-66 decision to ORU to fall to 3-2 on the season. MSU will be attempting to avoid its second two-game home losing streak in as many years. The Lady Bears dropped their only two home decisions of the 2009-10 MVC season to Illinois State and Wichita State in succession last January. The Lady Bears will also be shooting for their second win over a Mid-American Conference foe this season, but their first-ever against the Eagles.

EMU posted its fourth win in-a-row Wednesday night at UMKC, coming away with a 64-58 victory to bring its season mark to 5-2. The Eagles knocked off Hawaii on Nov. 20 to start their win streak, then defeated Cal State Northridge and Cornell leading up to this week's action.

Quick Hits

• A victory for the Lady Bears Friday would mark the 700th win in program history and make Missouri State the 30th Division I team to reach the plateau
• 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
• Junior guard Jaleshia Roberson connected on her first four three-pointers of the season Tuesday, moving her into ninth place on MSU's all-time three-point field goals list; she needs 10 more triples to catch former teammate Melissa Busby (136) in the eighth spot and 13 more to reach Tahnee Balerio and K.C. Cowgill, who share the No. 6 slot with 139 career threes
• The Lady Bear bench has outscored the opposing bench by a combined 55-12 margin over the last two contests
• MSU leads the Missouri Valley Conference in total rebounding (45.4 rpg), three-point field goal percentage (.370) offensive rebounding (16.2 rpg) and blocks (5.8 bpg)
• Reigning MVC Player of the Year Casey Garrison sustained a right ankle injury at the 8:00 mark in the first half of Tuesday's loss to Oral Roberts and remains questionable for Friday's contest
• As a result of the injury, Garrison was limited to a career-low two points while being held without an assist for the first time in 68 career games
• 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 three points to catch Tahnee Balerio in the No. 14 spot on the chart and 17 boards to crack the top 20 list for career rebounds
• Garrison has knocked down 29-of-31 (.935) free throws and enters Friday'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 ranked among the top 10 MVC players in individual steals per game through Nov. 30; Roberts and Shorter are tied for 10th with 2.0 spg, while Garrison (2.2) is tied for sixth
• Shorter needs just one block to move into MSU's career top 10
• Freshmen Karly Buer and Hannah Wilkerson have combined to shoot .800 from the foul line and .500 from three-point range over their first five collegiate games
• Buer ranked sixth in the Valley in assist-turnover ratio (1.2) and seventh in assists (3.2) per game as of Dec. 1
• The Lady Bears surrendered a JQH Arena-record seven steals to ORU's Kevi Luper on Tuesday; Luper's 29 points also represented an all-time high for a MSU opponent in the three-year history of the arena
• Three Lady Bears ranked among the MVC's top individual three-point field goal shooters through games of Nov. 30, with Garrison pacing the circuit and all of Division I with a .750 mark, followed by Buer's .571 (second) and Wilkerson's .429 (sixth)
• As a team Missouri State ranked 11th nationally in blocks per game and 41st in three-point field goal percentage as of Nov. 30
 

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 68 games as a Lady Bear, Garrison's career scoring average of 18.2 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
• 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
• 'sJaleshia Roberson 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 Eagles

Much like the Lady Bears, Eastern Michigan enjoyed a rebound season in 2009-10 with a 22-9 campaign that marked a 14-win improvement from the preceding year. With 10 letterwinners and four starters back, the Eagles of fourth-year head coach AnnMarie Gilbert were picked to finish second in the MAC West by a vote of the league's head coaches and select members of the media. Leading the EMU attack is junior Tavelyn James, who enters Friday's game averaging a team-high 16.1 points. James was an All-MAC first-team selection as a sophomore, when she set a school record with 86 three-point field goals while averaging 20.7 points per outing.

Senior guards Sydney Huntley (12.3 ppg) and Cassie Schrock (10.1 ppg) have also contributed in big ways in EMU's first seven games of the season. Schrock leads the club in both assists (5.3) and rebounds (6.7), while Huntley has recorded a team-high 23 steals.

As a team, EMU is out-scoring the opposition by seven points per outing, coming into the contest with a 68.6 ppg. scoring average. The Eagles have also enjoyed a sizable advantage on the glass, outrebounding their opponents by 4.6 boards per contest.

The Coaches

Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, '85) is in her fourth season as the head coach at Missouri State with a 46-52 mark as the Lady Bears' mentor and an overall record of 231-88 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.      

AnnMarie Gilbert (Oberlin, '92) is in her fourth year at the helm of the EMU program, entering Friday's game with a mark of 52-44 at the school and 110-180 overall as a collegiate head coach. Gilbert led the Eagles to a 22-9 season last year-which represented a 14-game turnaround from the previous season-culminating in an appearance in the Postseason WNIT. In her first year as head coach at EMU in 2007-08, she guided her club to a 17-12 record and a share of the MAC West Division crown. Prior to taking over in Ypsilanti, Gilbert spent five years as an assistant coach at Michigan State, helping guide the Spartans to NCAA Tournament appearances each year, as well as the national championship game in 2005. Gilbert also spent eight years as head coach at Oberlin, where she ranks as her alma mater's all-time winningest coach.

Series History

Eastern Michigan took the first and only meeting in the series last November 29, with a 93-81 victory in Ypsilanti, Mich. EMU's Tavelyn James tied a Missouri State opponent record with seven three-point field goals en route to a 31-point afternoon. The Lady Bears enter Friday's contest 3-3 all-time versus the current membership of the Mid-American Conference, while EMU is 3-11 against Valley clubs.

Last Time Out

Oral Roberts used a late rally and 29 points from All-America candidate Kevi Luper to knock off the Lady Bears, 75-66, Tuesday evening at JQH Arena. Luper scored 19 points in the second half and set an arena record with seven steals to help the Golden Eagles snap a five-game losing streak.

Trailing 60-55 with just under nine minutes to play, ORU seized control of the contest by scoring 11 of the next 13 points. MSU would go three and-a-half minutes without a point and hit just two of its final 14 field goal attempts while committing seven turnovers in the final 8:35 of play.

Luper, who went 11-of-21 from the floor overall, hit on seven of 10 field goal tries after intermission to lead the ORU charge. The Golden Eagles took advantage of some Lady Bear charity, converting 24-of-28 free throw attempts on the night, including 21-of-25 in the second half to ultimately seal the outcome of the game.

Playing the majority of the game without Naismith Player of the Year candidate Casey Garrison due to injury, the Lady Bears were able to hang tough throughout the contest due in large part to some hot shooting from the perimeter. MSU was spot-on from long range in the opening half, connecting on 7-of-14 three-point attmepts to help overcome 13 turnovers in the period and take a 38-32 lead into the break.

The Lady Bears would push their lead to as many as 10 points early in the second half, again due largely to their three-point shooting. Jaleshia Roberson hit from beyond the arc on MSU's first possession of the period, and Karly Buer did likewise one minute later. MSU claimed a 46-36 lead-its biggest of the night-on a Tia Mays layup with 18:23 to play.

ORU once again clawed back, scoring 12 of the next 15 points, and pulling to within one on two different occasions before a Luper three at the 12:24 mark evened things up at 55-55.

MSU appeared to recover, reclaiming a five-point lead behind another Roberson three and an inside bucket by Whitney Edie. But the Golden Eagles surged from that point, scoring seven of the next nine points to tie it up at 62-62, then taking the lead for the first timeand for good-on two Staci Davis free throws with 4:22 left on the clock. When it was all said and done, ORU would outscore the Lady Bears 20-6 over the last 8:53.

Easy as 1-2-3

As a team, the Lady Bears lead the MVC in three-point field goal percentage (.370), blocked shots (5.8 bpg), total rebounding (45.4 rpg) and offensive rebounding (16.2 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, the Lady Bears also hold three of the top six individual percentages in the conference through games of Nov. 30. Casey Garrison leads the MVC and all of Division I with a .750 (9-of-12) mark, while Karly Buer ranks second in the MVC with a .571 (8-of-14) percentage and Hannah Wilkerson is close behind in sixth with a figure of .429 (6-of-14). Three-point shooting is one of three MVC individual statistical categories Garrison currently leads. The Bolivar, Mo., product also paces the league in scoring (20.4 ppg) and free throw percentage (.935).

700 In Sight 

Missouri State entered the week one of three Division I women's programs within one win of a substantial milestone. A victory for the Lady Bears Friday would mark the 700th win in program history and make MSU the 30th Division I team to reach the plateau. Duke notched its 700th victory Tuesday evening with a win over James Madison, and Kansas joined the 700-win club as well with a lopsided win over Maine Wednesday night.

The Lady Bears' last two milestone victories have come on the road; MSU reached the 600-win mark on Feb. 26, 2004 with a 64-47 win at Illinois State, and joined the 500-victory plateau on Jan. 8, 2000, when it defeated Drake, 81-69 in Des Moines.

Bench Marks

After being outscored in each of the first three games of the season, Missouri State's bench has outscored the last two Lady Bear opponents by a combined 55-12 margin. MSU reserves enjoyed a strong all-around performance in last Saturday's win over LA Tech, out-scoring the Lady Techster reserves, 23-7 while also outrebounding them 22-7. Tuesday's contest with ORU produced even greater returns, as MSU finished with a 32-5 advantage in bench scoring vs. the Golden Eagles.

Rolling In The WNIT 

Junior guard Casey Garrison has never had difficulty filling up a stat line, but her first six WNIT games were 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 averaged 25.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing. The Bolivar, Mo., product was 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.