SPRINGFIELD -- The Missouri State Lady Bears held their first practice of the 2015-16 season Monday afternoon at JQH Arena. Now in her third season leading the Lady Bears, head coach Kellie Harper was thrilled to get in the gym with this year's squad.

"It was exciting to get the team on the court to start the season," Harper said. "We had good energy and focus and we want to maintain those levels. We have a long way to go and a lot to work on, but I'm happy to be on that journey with this team."

The Lady Bears finished the 2014-15 season with an 18-15 overall record and 13-5 mark in MVC play for a third-place finish. After an 0-6 start and 8-13 record in mid-February, Missouri State reeled off 10 consecutive victories to advance to the MVC Tournament championship game and earn an at-large bid to the WNIT. MSU returns four starters and all but one scholarship player to the 2015-16 roster.

Missouri State's freshman class includes Danielle Gitzen (5-10, G, Victoria, Minn., Chanhassen High), Riley Rose (5-8, G, Searcy, Ark., Harding Academy), and Grace Vander Weide (5-11, G, West Des Moines, Iowa, Valley High).

The season's first chance to see the Lady Bears in action on the court will be Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m. inside JQH Arena. Both the men's and women's teams will conduct 30-minute intrasquad scrimmages, starting with Lady Bears' warm-up and introductions by Coach Harper at 5:30 p.m. Harper, who will be mic'd up for the women's scrimmage, will also lead fan interaction and games during the women's warm-up. The team will be signing autographs on the west end of the arena following their scrimmage, at approximately 6:15.

The Lady Bears begin exhibition play Nov. 2 at 12:05 p.m. with Lyon College and tip off the regular season Nov. 13 against Missouri at 7:05 p.m. in JQH Arena.

For season ticket information, please contact Duane Miller at (417) 836-8899. Single-game tickets are on sale now at MissouriStateBears.com/tickets, by phone at (417) 836-7678 or in person at the JQH Arena box office. Tickets for all conference games will be available to the public via the same ticket outlets on Monday, Nov. 30.