The Missouri State Lady Bears will play five of their final seven regular season games at JQH Arena, beginning Friday at 7 p.m. against Bradley.
   The Lady Bears (12-10, 8-3 Missouri Valley Conference) currently sit in second place in the MVC standings, one game ahead of UNI and Southern Illinois. Bradley is 11-11 overall and 5-6 in league games, and Illinois State (10-12, 4-7) will bring the nation's sixth-ranked scoring and field goal percentage defense into Sunday's 2 p.m. contest.
   It's a busy weekend at JQH Arena, as 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.Â
   MSU will also recognize its 2018 Athletics Hall of Fame class at halftime on Friday.
   Sunday is a celebration of Missouri State's rich women's sports history, with halftime recognition of alumni from numerous sports in conjunction with the 45th anniversary of Title IX and 25th anniversary of women's sports in the MVC.
Series Histories
Missouri State is 52-25 all-time against Bradley, with 30-10 mark in Springfield. The Lady Bears have won eight of the last 10 meetings, both losses coming last season.
    Missouri State leads Illinois State 42-31 in the all-time series and has won 12 of the last 15 meetings. The Lady Bears own a 23-12 series lead in Springfield.
Scouting Bradley
Bradley is 11-11 overall and 5-6 in league play. The Braves have a balanced offense with no double-figure scorers but six players averaging between 7.4 and 9.7 points per game. As a team, Bradley scores 66.5 points per game and allows 62.8 with shooting percentages of .408 overall, .326 from long range and .680 from the charity stripe.
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State is 10-12 overall and 4-7 in MVC games. Hannah Green averages 12.7 points with a league-high 43 blocked shots, while Simone Goods chips in 12.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Freshman Paige Saylor leads the Valley with 55 steals. The Redbirds lead the MVC and rank sixth nationally in scoring defense (54.4) and field goal defense (.344), but score just 53.4 points per game themselves while shooting 35.6 percent overall, 26.9 percent on 3-pointers and 68.5 percent from the foul line.
First Meeting with Bradley
The Lady Bears earned a 71-65 win in Peoria on Jan. 14, going on a 10-0 fourth-quarter run and holding Bradley to three points in the final six minutes. MSU went from a 62-58 deficit to a 68-62 lead in a just over three minutes, and
Brice Calip scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Both teams shot 46.2 percent and grabbed 36 rebounds, with MSU making six more field goals than the Braves thanks to giving away only seven turnovers.
First Meeting with Illinois State
Missouri State used an 18-2 first-half run to build enough cushion to withstand a late ISU surge for a 56-50 win in Normal on Jan. 12. The Lady Bears led 54-42 with 3:14 to play, and an 8-0 Redbird run made it close before MSU's defense held strong.
Aubrey Buckley scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds,
Liza Fruendt had 11 points and nine boards,
Brice Calip had 10 points, and
Danielle Gitzen swiped four steals.
