The Missouri State Lady Bears (11-10, 7-3 Missouri Valley Conference) look to strengthen their position in the league standings with a pair of 7 p.m. home games against Southern Illinois (11-11, 5-6) on Friday and Evansville (8-14, 3-8) on Sunday.
   MSU brings a three-game winning streak into the home stand after victories at Loyola, Indiana State and Wichita State, and a full slate of events is on the docket this weekend at JQH.
   Friday is the annual Play4Kay game, with the team wearing pink uniforms and holding a silent auction in the concourse for their game-worn jerseys, with proceeds benefiting the Kay Yow Fund for the fight against women's cancers.
   Sunday begins with the 1:15 p.m. unveiling of the
Jackie Stiles statue on the south side of JQH, and continues with $1 tickets and $1 hot dogs and bottled Coke products for the 7 p.m. contest with Evansville.
Series Histories
MSU leads the all-time series with SIU 50-27, including a 28-11 record in Springfield. The Lady Bears are 10-1 in their last 11 games against the Salukis.
    The Lady Bears lead Evansville 37-12 in the all-time series, including a 20-2 record in Springfield. MSU has won 15 of the last 18 meetings.
Scouting Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois is 11-11 overall and 5-6 in league games. Rishonda Napier leads SIU
in scoring at 14.0 points per game, and her 55 3-pointers on the year rank second in the league behind teammate Kylie Giebelhausen's 56 treys. Giebelhausen (12.7) and Kim Nebo (10.4) also score in double figures for the Salukis, who average 64.8 points per game and surrender 64.7 while shooting 40.7 percent overall, 35.3 percent from long range and 69 percent from the charity stripe.
Scouting Evansville
Evansville is 8-14 overall and 3-8 in MVC play with league wins against Indiana State, Loyola and Southern Illinois. Senior Sara Dickey averages 14.7 points per game and is UE's all-time leading scorer, while Camary Williams chips in 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.2 steals per contest, good for second nationally. As a team, the Purple Aces average 61.2 points and allow 67.3 while shooting 36.8 percent overall, 27.8 percent from 3-point land and 72.7 percent from the foul line.
First Meetings This Season
Missouri State won 78-60 on Jan. 15 in Carbondale.
Liza Fruendt led MSU with 22 points,
Alexa Willard added 14 and
Lexi Hughes scored 13 as the Lady Bears trailed for less than a minute of game time, taking the lead for good with an 8-0 run capped by one of Fruendt's four treys for a 15-7 advantage, and led by double figures for the final 31:30 of the contest. Missouri State shot 43.1 percent in the game and 10-for-25 from long range while finishing with a 42-40 rebounding edge.
   Missouri State led by double digits for nearly 33 minutes of game time in a 77-41 victory at Evansville on Jan. 13. The Lady Bears held the Purple Aces to 12-for-59 (.203) shooting and owned a 57-34 rebounding advantage. MSU placed four scorers in double figures, led by 19 from
Liza Fruendt, while
Alexa Willard added 14 and
Aubrey Buckley and
Danielle Gitzen tallied 10 apiece.
Audrey Holt grabbed a season-high nine rebounds to share game-high honors with
Rachel Swartz, and
Lexi Hughes dished out seven assists.
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