The Missouri State Lady Bears will leave the United States for the first time since 2012 this week when they head to Bimini, Bahamas, for the Junkanoo Jam.
   The Lady Bears will face No. 8/9 Baylor at 2 p.m. (CST) on Thanksgiving Day, and play either Georgia Tech or Penn on Friday at 6:45 p.m. or Saturday at 1 p.m., depending on Thursday's results.
   MSU has historically been very good outside the United States, owning an 11-5 all-time record in international games.
   Missouri State continues its four-game road trip Nov. 29 at Wichita State and visits Little Rock on Dec. 4 before returning to JQH for a Dec. 7 rematch with WSU.
Series Histories
Missouri State is 2-2 against Baylor, winning the only two meetings since 1980. MSU won 87-86 in Waco in 1998 as
Jackie Stiles scored 52 points and converted a 4-point play with 2.6 seconds left. Missouri State won the return meeting in Springfield on Nov. 27, 1999, by an 81-42 final.
   The Lady Bears and Georgia Tech have played once, a 78-71 GT win in 2003 in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
   Missouri State has never played Penn in women's basketball. In fact, a meeting with the Quakers would be the first between MSU and any Ivy League school.
Scouting Baylor
Baylor is 3-1 after a loss at No. 7 UCLA on Saturday and ranked eighth by the AP and ninth in the coaches poll. Six-foot-7 junior center Kalani Brown is the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and averages 25.5 points and 13 rebounds per game. Lauren Cox and Kristy Wallace also earned preseason all-conference honors for the Lady Bears, who own margins of plus-30.5 in scoring and plus-20.3 in rebounding despite the UCLA loss. Baylor shoots 55.6 percent overall, 51.2 percent on 3-pointers and .670 from the foul line.
Scouting Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech (4-0) was the WNIT runner up last season and is predicted to finish sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year by the league's coaches. Sophomore guard Francesca Pan is a preseason all-conference pick after earning ACC Freshman of the Year honors last season, and is one of four Yellow Jackets averaging at least 9.5 points. As a team, GT scores 78.5 points and allows 46.2, shooting 43.1 percent overall, .343 on 3-pointers and .684 from the charity stripe.
Scouting Penn
Penn is a two-time defending Ivy League champion and picked to win the league again this season. The Quakers are 1-1 on the year with a loss at Binghamton and win against Lafayette. Penn's Michelle Nwokedi was the 2017 Ivy League Player of the Year and averages 16 points and 10 boards, and the Quakers score 63.5 points and allow 59.5 per game with shooting percentages of .343 overall, .262 from beyond the arc and .686 at the foul line.
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