The Missouri State Lady Bears close out the non-conference schedule this weekend by hosting North Texas (3-6) at 2 p.m. Saturday and Middle Tennessee (2-5) at 6 p.m. Monday.
After spending the first month of the season almost exclusively on the road, the Lady Bears (3-6) opened a six-game home stand Sunday with a 64-62 win against Arkansas, and will not leave Springfield again until Jan. 13, with the six consecutive home games serving as the school's longest in-season stretch without leaving home since the end of the 1990-91 campaign.
Despite a 1-2 start to December, the Lady Bears still own a 53-30 (.639) post-November since
Kellie Harper took over in 2013, including a 40-17 (.702) in such games the last two-plus seasons.
Series Histories
Missouri State is 2-0 against North Texas, winning 78-67 in Springfield in 2011 and 85-79 in Denton in 2013 during Coach Harper's first season at MSU.
Lexi Hughes scored six points on 2-of-3 shooting as the only current Lady Bear to play in the 2013 contest.
Middle Tennessee won 70-54 in Murfreesboro last season in the only meeting between the schools.
Kellie Harper is 2-2 as a head coach against the Blue Raiders, and played AAU basketball for MT head coach Rick Insell in the 1990s.
Scouting North Texas
North Texas is 3-6 overall with wins against Arizona, Iona and Incarnate Word. MSU and the Mean Green share one common opponent, as both teams lost by 11 points to Little Rock. Terrell Bradley is the Mean Green's only double-figure scorer at 12.0 points per game, while Terra Ellison averages 9.8 points and 6.0 rebounds. As a team, North Texas scores 61.7 points per game and allows 67.8 while shooting 38.6 percent overall, 32.5 percent from beyond the arc and and 68.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Scouting Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is 2-5 on the season against a difficult schedule that includes the likes of Louisville, Kentucky and Arizona State, with a Dec. 17 game against Austin Peay still on tap before visiting Springfield. Alex Johnson leads the Blue Raiders in scoring at 15 points per game, while Ty Petty chips in 13.9 points and 5.6 assists per contest. As a team, Middle Tennessee scores 58 points and allows 68.3 per game while shooting 41.1 percent overall, 35.1 percent from long range and 73.2 percent from the foul line.
