No. 2 Missouri State Lady Bears (19-10) at MVC Tournament
MVC Tournament Central	MVC-Sports.com
Quarterfinal	Def. #7 Bradley, 76-68 | Final Stats | Recap
Semifinal	Saturday, March 10 vs. #3 UNI, 4:02 p.m.
Championship	Sunday, March 11 vs. TBD, 2:02 p.m.
Location	Moline, Ill.
Site	TaxSlayer Center (9,200)
Radio	KTXR 101.3 FM
Listen Live	RadioSpringfield.com
Live Video - ESPN3	Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Live Stats	Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Missouri State info	Game Notes | Women's Basketball Home Page
Pep Rallies	Begin 2 hours before each game at Bierstube (415 15th St, Moline) - Free food, spirit squad, band and team send off

Missouri State (19-10, 15-3 Missouri Valley Conference) wrapped up a top-three league finish for the 19th time in 26 seasons, and begins pursuit of its 11th MVC Tournament title Friday at 6 p.m. against seventh-seeded Bradley after the Braves defeated No. 10 Evansville in Thursday's opening round.
    The Lady Bears are the No. 2 seed for the fourth time in tournament history and first since 2001, when they won the title from that slot.
    The winner moves on to Saturday's 4 p.m. semifinal round, with No. 3 UNI and sixth-seeded Illinois State completing MSU's side of the bracket. The tournament championship game will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, and all games air live on ESPN3.
    The Lady Bears went 8-0 in the regular season against their side of the bracket, and won their 10th MVC Tournament title in 2016. The Lady Bears are 43-20 all-time at the event, and head coach Kellie Harper has directed her teams to a collective 28-19 record in postseason tournaments during her 14-year career.

Tournament Tough
The Lady Bears own a league-best 43-20 (.683) all-time mark in the event since the initial Gateway Conference meet in 1983. Since 1991, Missouri State has played in 15 of the 27 tournament championship games and is the only school to win the title four straight years (1991-94). Missouri State will be trying for its 11th tourney title, with wins in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2016 to its credit. 
    Missouri State owns all-time records of 3-4 in the opening round, 15-7 in the quarterfinals, 15-4 in the semifinals and 10-5 in championship games. The Lady Bears are 15-12 in neutral-court games at the event, and 3-1 in Moline.

Scouting the Lady Bears
Missouri State finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference this season with a 19-10 overall record and 15-3 league mark. The 15 league wins are the program's most since the 2004-05 season. The Lady Bears' non-conference schedule ranks as the 13th-hardest nationally according to warrennolan.com.
     MSU is 18-4 in its last 22 games, led by first-team all-MVC selections Liza Fruendt (16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds) and Alexa Willard (11.2 points, 48 percent shooting). Aubrey Buckley adds 10.4 points and 6.1 rebounds to go with 37 steals and 25 charges drawn. Danielle Gitzen averages 8.3 points and has 50 steals on the year for MVC all-defensive team honors, and Brice Calip has handed out a team-high 76 assists.
    As a team, the Lady Bears score 70.1 points and allow 62.5 with shooting percentages of .415 overall, .325 from beyond the arc and .716 at the foul line.

This Season Against Bradley
Missouri State went 2-0 against Bradley this year, winning 71-65 on Jan. 14 in Peoria and 74-54 on Feb. 9 in Springfield. Liza Fruendt averaged 18.5 points in the two games, while Alexa Willard scored 17 per contest on 64 percent shooting. In Peoria, MSU went on a 10-0 fourth-quarter run and held the Braves to three points in the final six minutes for comeback win, as Brice Calip scored a career-high 16. In Springfield, MSU led 44-21 midway through the third quarter, Fruendt scored 22 points, and the Lady Bears were plus-10 on the glass.