Missouri State Lady Bears (11-4, 2-1 MVC) 

vs. 

Bradley Braves (8-6, 1-2 MVC) 

Game Overview

After dropping their first Missouri Valley Conference contest of the season Thursday, the Missouri State Lady Bears will look to get back on track Saturday (Jan. 8) evening when they take on the Bradley Braves in a 7:05 p.m. contest at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria, Ill.

For the sixth straight year, the Lady Bears lost their road game of the conference season, falling at UNI by an 80-69 score. The Panthers closed the game with a 12-2 scoring run during which they held MSU without a field goal over the final 5:47 to turn the tide for good in a nip-and-tuck contest. The Lady Bears were seeking their first 3-0 Valley start in seven years, but still have an opportunity to post their second straight 3-1 start with a win over the Braves.

Bradley posted a convincing 68-49 victory over Wichita State Thursday in its MVC home debut to improve to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in the Valley. The Braves had lost three consecutive games, including setbacks to Illinois State and Indiana State over opening weekend of conference play, coming into the week..

Quick Hits

► Missouri State's 11-4 start matches its best in four seasons under Nyla Milleson; the Lady Bears' 11 wins in their first 14 games was their best since 2003-04, when they started 20-1

► The Lady Bears came in at No. 59 in this week's RPI ratings, second only to Creighton (55) among Valley schools; Illinois State (67) was also listed among the top 70 teams in the country 

► Missouri State dropped its first game of the season when shooting above .400 from the floor Thursday, MSU had won its first seven such games of the season

► Following last weekend's sweep of Southern Illinois and Evansville, MSU has won six straight MVC home games dating back to February 5 and is a combined 12-2 with nine consecutive victories vs. SIU and UE under Milleson

► The Lady Bears' win over SIU (Dec. 31) gave them a school-record seven wins in the month of December; MSU's 7-1 mark in December represents its best in any month since going 8-1 in January of 2005; the Lady Bears have won 16 of their last 18 December games over the last three years

► Reigning MVC Player of the Year Casey Garrison moved past Karen Rapier into 11th place on the Lady Bears' career scoring chart with her 19-point performance Thursday at UNI; she needs nine more points to catch Cindy Henderson (1,392) and move into the top 10

► Garrison and fellow junior Jasmine Malone have combined to hit 50 of their last 51 free throw attempts, dating back to Nov. 17; Malone has connected on 10 straight attempts at the line after seeing her streak of 15 straight makes come to an end Dec. 19 at Georgetown, while Garrison went 6-of-6 Thursday to stretch her streak to a career-high 25 straight makes; she needs to convert six more throws in succession to match Lisa Davies school record, set in January 1998

► Garrison has knocked down 63-of-68 (.926) free throws on the season to lead the MVC; she has four different streaks of at least nine consecutive makes from the foul line this season and two of at least 13 straight conversions

► With nine rebounds vs. Evansville (Jan. 2) Garrison became just the third player in program history to record 1,300 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists for her career, joining Secelia Winkfield and Jenni Lingor in the exclusive club

► MSU leads The Valley in scoring defense (59.7 ppg), scoring margin (+9.2), total rebounding (46.9 rpg), field goal percentage defense (.321), three-point field goal percentage defense (.265), defensive rebounding (31.4 rpg), offensive rebounding (15.5 rpg) and blocked shots (6.5)

► Tia Mays leads the MVC in blocked shots (3.3 bpg), moving up to third on the MSU single-season top 10 blocks list with three rejections Thursday; she has at least five blocks in five of her last nine games and at least five boards in 12 straight contests

► Jaleshia Roberson moved into sole possession of sixth place on MSU's all-time three-point field goals list Sunday vs. Evansville; she needs six more threes to catch Sarah Klaassen in the No. 5 spot after passing Tahnee Balerio and K.C. Cowgill (139) with her 2-of-9 effort from beyond the arc against the Purple Aces

► Christiana Shorter ranks among the Valley's top 10 in five individual statistical categories, including rebounding, field goal percentage, offensive rebounding, blocks and defensive rebounding

Scouting the Lady Bears

With 10 letterwinners and four starters back from last year's 22-11 team that finished tied for third in the Missouri Valley Conference to secure the program's first postseason bid in four years, the Lady Bears enter the 2010-11 season as the MVC's preseason favorite. Leading the way for Nyla Milleson's fourth MSU team 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 entered 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 the first 15 games of the new season, Garrison is once again among the league leaders in a number of statistical categories, including free throw percentage (1st), three-point field goal percentage (3rd), scoring (2nd), assist-turnover ratio (3rd), assists (6th) and steals (9th).

Garrison has received help in the back court from fellow junior Jasmine Malone, who has scored in double figures in seven of her last eight games and ranks second on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (5.8 rpg). Freshman Karly Buer, who enters the weekend fifth on the team with a 6.5 point per game average, has also been a key cog in the Lady Bear attack. A Concordia, Kan., native, Buer is second on the team in assists (32) after registering three straight games of at least 10 points and four assists (Nov. 20-30).

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 leads the Valley in field goal percentage (.554), while her 11.5 ppg average is third on the squad and her 8.2 rebounds per outing is second in the league. Sophomore Tia Mays (4.6 ppg/7.1 rpg) has also played a significant role for MSU, leading the Lady Bears' defensive resurgence with a league-high 3.3 blocks per game average.

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' 83 points vs. Lamar represented their highest opening-day offensive output since beating LSU, 85-75 to open the 2000-01 campaign

► After going winless on the road in November for over 26 years, Missouri State has claimed victory in two of its last three true road games over the last two seasons, but is still just 13-21 in the first month of the season since 2002-03

► The Lady Bears secured their second straight +.500 November with their win over Louisiana Tech (Nov. 27); MSU opened 3-2 last year following three consecutive losing Novembers from 2006-08

► SIU Edwardsville's 39 points marked the lowest point total for a Lady Bear opponent since Jan. 1, 2004, when MSU held SLU to 33 points

► The Lady Bears set or matched five JQH Arena records Dec. 9 vs. SIU Edwardsville, including fewest points allowed (39), fewest points in a half (17), fewest field goals allowed (13), lowest field goal percentage allowed (.210) and widest margin of victory (+29)

► The Lady Bear defense limited Morgan State (Dec. 21) to just 14-of-72 (.194) shooting, marking the second-lowest single-game field goal percentage on record for a Missouri State opponent; that performance followed a similar effort vs. SIU Edwardsville (.210) on Dec. 9 which matched MSU's Jan. 22, 2004 performance vs. Texas-Pan American for the third-lowest single-game percentage

► Missouri State became the 30th Division I program to reach the 700-win mark with its Dec. 3 win over Eastern Michigan

► 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

► 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

► 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

► 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 was named MVC Player of the Week for the second straight week and the sixth time of her career on Nov. 22

► Tia Mays's nine blocked shots against Arkansas State (Dec. 5) broke the Missouri State single-game record established by Sharon Zeilmann on two separate occasions; her effort also matched the all-time MVC mark held by UNI's Cassie Hager

► 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 Braves

Picked sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference's preseason poll, Bradley is off to an 8-6 start under  11th-year head coach Paula Buscher following Thursday's 68-49 victory over Wichita State. The Braves return nine letterwinners and three starters from last year's club that went 17-14 and tied the Lady Bears for third in the MVC regular-season standings before advancing to the school's first-ever postseason appearance (WBI). This year's version of the Braves is led by a pair of veteran guards in senior Raisa Taylor and sophomore Katie Yohn. Taylor's 13.2 ppg average paces BU's attack, while her 3.4 assists per game ranks fifth in the conference. Yohn (12.8 ppg) is second on the squad in scoring, and her 2.3 three-pointers made per outing is third overall in the Valley. In the paint, junior center Latasha Hollingshed averages a team-high 8.2 boards per contest to pace the MVC's top rebounding club (+6.6 rpg) while contributing 8.4 points to the Braves' offensive attack. Junior  forward MacKenzie Westcott has also played a significant role for BU, entering Saturday's game averaging  7.6 points and 6.5 caroms per game.

The Coaches

Nyla Milleson (Kansas State, '85) is in her fourth season as the head coach at Missouri State with a 54-54 mark as the Lady Bears' mentor and an overall record of 239-90 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.      

Paula Buscher (Missouri State, '86) is in her 11th season at Bradley and her 14th season overall as a collegiate head coach. The Peoria, Ill., native has compiled a 185-200 career record, including a 142-162 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 before last year's BU squad went 17-14 en route to earning the school's first-ever postseason bid to the WBI. Buscher made head coaching stops at Minnesota State-Mankato and Nebraska-Omaha before accepting the Bradley job in 2000.  

Series History

Saturday's game will be Missouri State's 61st in its series with Bradley. MSU enters with a commanding 41-20 advantage, including a 15-12 mark against the Braves on their home court.

Bradley has enjoyed some recent success against the Lady Bears, having taken six of the last nine contests. Last year, the two clubs split their season series, with MSU claiming a 72-67 decision in Springfield, before bowing to BU, 65-64, in the return trip in East Peoria.

Last Time Out

UNI closed both halves of Thursday's Missouri Valley Conference matchup against the Lady Bears with 12-2 scoring runs to turn the tide in a tight game and pull out an 80-69 victory at the McLeod Center. Lizzie Boeck scored 19 points to lead four Panthers in double figures and combined with Rachel Madrigal to go 5-of-5 from three-point range.

Leading 68-67 with just under two minutes to play, Madrigal hit what would prove to be the biggest shot of the night when she drained a trey from the left wing. The Panthers would go on to score three more points before MSU would answer, then salt the game away at the foul line by going 9-of-10 at the stripe over the final 1:43 to effectively seal their second MVC win of the season, while sending the Lady Bears to their first loss in three Valley contests.

UNI would come up big on the defensive end in the final minutes as well, holding the Lady Bears without a field goal for the last 5:47 of the game after MSU had pulled to within 64-63 on a Lacey Boshe layup.

The Panthers' late run to a final double-digit margin of victory overshadowed what had been a nip-and-tuck battle throughout, with neither team leading by more than six points at any point in the second half up until UNI's late charge. UNI took a 40-38 lead into intermission after erasing an eight-point MSU advantage over the final 4:17 of the period.

Missouri State used the combination of stingy defense and a balanced scoring attack to grab the upper hand early in the game. After UNI got a three-pointer from Erin Brocka at the 17:25 mark to take a 5-4 lead, the Lady Bears went on a 16-5 to seize a double-digit lead. Tia Mays initiated the spurt with a steal and layup, and Jaleshia Roberson sandwiched a Casey Garrison jumper with a pair of threes, then knocked down another shot with 11:09 to play to cap the run and make it a 20-10 contest.

UNI would bounce back behind the play of Boeck, who would score five of the next nine points for the Panthers over the course of just one minute and 39 seconds to pull the home team to within three points. UNI would continue to chip away, drawing to within 26-24 on a pair of K.K. Armstrong free throws with 6:27 to play in the period.

But MSU would recover, getting back-to-back threes from Karly Buer and Jasmine Malone to stretch its lead back to six. Another Buer jumper and two Garrison foul shots extended the cushion to 36-28.

But Mercedees Morgan started the Panthers' late run with a wide open shot in the lane, and Kalin followed suit at the 3:43 mark to make it a 36-32 game. Madrigal then canned her second triple of the half, and Kalin hit from long range as well to pull UNI even at 38-38 with 1:22 to play. Boeck capped the run and gave the Panthers their first lead since the 17:25 mark with a lay-in with 47 seconds to go.

The two clubs combined to convert 11-of-26 three-point field goal attempts in the first half, and the Lady Bears hit on 42.9 percent of their field goal attempts in the period.

MSU would tie the score on a Christiana Shorter bucket on their first possession of the second half, but Katelin Oney answered for UNI with a jumper of her own to give the Panthers the lead once again. Armstrong's three-point play at the 13:29 mark gave UNI a 50-44 lead, but the Lady Bears battled back again, scoring five of the next seven points to draw to within two points.

The two clubs traded blows for the ensuing nine minutes, with Garrison carrying the load for MSU by scoring eight of the Lady Bears' final 12 points of the contest.

UNI took advantage of Missouri State's charity by converting 25-of-29 (.862) free throw attempts and connected on 9-of-19 (.474) three-point tries.

Garrison shared high-scoring honors with Boeck, totaling 19 points to go along with team-highs of seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Preseason Picks

For the first time in six seasons, the Lady Bears began a season as the Missouri Valley Conference's preseason favorite, as 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 represented 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.

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.

Homeland Defense

Missouri State's current five-game home win streak has been fueled by a relentless defense that has held the opposition to an average of just 49.4 points per game. The Lady Bears have limited their five opponents to a combined .260 (83-of-319) field goal percentage and outrebounded them by a 259 to 196 margin over the stretch.

Opening Statement

With 11 wins in its first 14 games, Missouri State registered its best start under fourth-year head coach Nyla Milleson. The Lady Bears' current 11-4 mark matches last year's mark for their best start to a season since 2003-04, when they began the season with victories in 20 of their first 21 games en route to a 28-4 campaign. Missouri State has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the five seasons it has started with at least eight wins in its first 10 games since moving to Division I status in 1982.

The Defense Never Rests

Missouri State's defense has been one of the biggest surprises of the young season, entering  the weekend with the eighth-best field goal percentage defense in the country. The Lady Bears held four straight opponents under .300 from the field from Dec. 3 through Dec. 12, a first in the 42-year history of the program. MSU has posted two of the best defensive efforts in school history, including a .194 effort at Morgan State that ranked as the second-lowest field goal percentage ever for a Lady Bear opponent. The Lady Bears lead The Valley in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, three-point field goal percentage defense and blocked shots, ranking fifth in the nation in the latter category.

Easy As 1-2-3

As a team, the Lady Bears lead the MVC in scoring defense (59.7 ppg), scoring margin (+9.2), field goal percentage defense (.321), three-point field goal percentage defense (.265), blocked shots (6.5 bpg), total rebounding (46.9 rpg), offensive rebounding (15.5 rpg) and defensive rebounding (31.4 rpg), and rank first, second or third in 12 different team statistical categories.

Strength In Numbers

The Lady Bears ranked 59th in this week's College Basketball News RPI Report (Jan. 3), making them the second-highest rated Valley team in the report. Creighton (55) tops the list of MVC clubs in the report, and Illinois State (67) also ranked among the top 70 teams, while the Valley was the 10th-highest rated conference.

Missouri State is also drawing recognition in several mid-major polls, including the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 (Jan. 4), which ranked the Lady Bears No. 8, making them the highest rated Valley squad in the poll, one spot ahead of Illinois State.

High-Octane 'O'

The Lady Bears recorded three straight victories of 20 points or more for the first time in seven years, Dec. 21-Jan. 2. MSU outscored Morgan State, Southern Illinois and Evansville by an average of 26.7 points, with its 82-50 MVC season-opening win over SIU representing the Lady Bears' largest margin of victory under Nyla Milleson. The last time the Lady Bears turned in three consecutive wins by margins greater than 20 points was January 2004, when they knocked off Oral Roberts, SEMO and Saint Louis by an average of 40 points.

Most Valuable Lady Bear                      

Casey Garrison became the sixth Missouri State player to receive Valley MVP recognition when she was named the 2009-10 Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year on March 11.

Garrison joins an impressive list of former Lady Bears to earn the league's top honor, including Secelia Winkfield, Melody Howard, Kari Koch, Jenni Lingor and three-time honoree and the award's namesake, Jackie Stiles. Garrison is the third MSU sophomore to be named conference MVP, joining Stiles and Kari Koch. She is also joins Stiles and Koch as the only Lady Bears to be named MVC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in successive years. Additionally, Garrison became the 12th player in MSU history to be named first-team all-conference for a second time, and picked up MVC All-Defensive Team honors for the first time in her career.

Garrison also became the first Lady Bear since Kari Koch (2004) to receive all-region recognition from the WBCA when she was named a finalist for the State Farm All-America Team.

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 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.

700 Club

With its victory over Eastern Michigan (Dec. 3), Missouri State became one of three Division I women's programs to reach a substantial milestone the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 5. The Lady Bears 72-57 win represented the 700th win in program history, making MSU the 30th Division I team to reach the plateau. Duke notched its 700th victory on Nov. 30 with a win over James Madison, and Kansas joined the 700-win club as well the following night with a lopsided win over Maine.

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

All-American Rejects

Through the first 15 games of her Missouri State career, sophomore transfer Tia Mays has already made an imprint in the Lady Bear record book. The 6-1 forward, who ranks ninth nationally in blocks per game, rejected nine shots in MSU's 58-47 win over Arkansas State (Dec. 5), breaking the school record and matching the all-time Missouri Valley Conference mark for blocks in a single game, held by UNI's Cassie Hager. Mays eclipsed the MSU single-game record held by Sharon Zeilmann for nearly a quarter of a century. Zeilmann swatted away eight shots on two separate occasions during the 1986-87 season.

Mays followed up that effort with a six-block night against SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 9), and climbed to No. 3 on the MSU single-season top 10 blocks list with three rejections Thursday at UNI. The Des Moines native became the fastest Missouri State player to reach 50 career blocks and needs just 25 more to equal Zeilmann's Lady Bear record. Mays has also been dominant on the glass for MSU, recording 12 straight games of five boards or more.

Home Cooking

The Lady Bears wrapped up their longest regular-season home stand in 32 years with three straight wins and a 4-1 mark overall from Nov. 27-Dec. 9. Over the five-game stretch, Missouri State held the opposition to a collective .279 shooting percentage and an average of just 54.2 points per contest. In their final non-conference home game of the season against SIU Edwardsville (Dec. 9), the Lady Bears matched or eclipsed five different JQH Arena team single-game records, including fewest points allowed (39), fewest points in a half (17), fewest field goals allowed (13), lowest field goal percentage allowed (.210) and widest margin of victory (+29).

Rolling in the WNIT

Junior guard Casey Garrison has never had difficulty filling up a stat line, but her first six games in the WNIT 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.

Bench Marks

After being outscored in each of the first three games of the season, Missouri State's bench has outscored the last 12 Lady Bear opponents by a combined 226-140 margin. MSU reserves enjoyed a strong all-around performance in the Lady Bears' win over LA Tech (Nov. 27), out-scoring the Lady Techster reserves, 23-7 while also outrebounding them 22-7. MSU's contest against ORU (Nov. 30) produced even greater returns, as MSU finished with a 32-5 advantage in bench scoring vs. the Golden Eagles.

Double Your Trouble

The combined efforts of Jasmine Malone and Christiana Shorter vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 3) represented the first time MSU teammates have finished with double-doubles in the same game since January 2009, when Casey Garrison and Maggie Dwyer accomplished the feat in back-to-back games against Wichita State (Jan. 24) and Evansville (Jan. 27). Malone, who finished with a team-high 18 points, pulled down 10 rebounds to match a career high and record her first career double-double. Shorter turned in her best all-around effort of the season with a 15-point, 15-board night, good for the ninth double of her MSU career. Garrison just missed joining the duo in what would have been the first triple double-double on record at Missouri State, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds in her return from an ankle injury that limited her to just 11 minutes in MSU's Nov. 30 loss to Oral Roberts.

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.