Starting Five - Storylines for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Game
1) After a season-opening win at 23rd-ranked Minnesota - MSU's fourth win in the last game of a five-game stretch against top-25 competition - the Missouri State Lady Bears make their JQH Arena debut at 7 p.m. Friday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the Preseason WNIT. MSU has played in the Preseason WNIT four times previously: 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010. The Lady Bears are 5-4 in the event, with all but one game coming in Springfield.
2) Head Coach
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton became the third MSU coach to win her first game on the sideline, joining Reba Sims (1969) and Cheryl Burnett (1987). Coach Mox, who spent the previous six seasons on the staff at Michigan State, returned to Big Ten country for a big win in her opener as the Lady Bears' eighth head coach.
3) Missouri State set a school record for free throw accuracy at Minnesota, going 17-for-17 at the foul line. MSU's previous record was a 16-for-16 performance against Drake in 2001.
4) The Lady Bears return 12 players from last season's roster with one newcomer, freshman
Trinity Knapp. MSU closed last year with 24 wins in 27 games, and returns at least 73 percent of its production in every statistical category.
5) Missouri State has won the rebounding battle 30 times in the last 36 games, out-rebounding Minnesota by 20 in the season opening win after posting the second-best margin in school history last season at plus-8.3 per game.
WNIT Format
With a win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Lady Bears advance to play the winner of Boise State/Portland State, with a host site to be determined after the two games. The other two match-ups on MSU's side of the bracket are Oklahoma vs. Prairie View A&M and UAB vs. South Alabama. The opposite side of the bracket includes Oregon State, UC Irvine, Pacific, Kansas Ciy, DePaul, Miami (Ohio), Drexel and Davidson.
   The event features a three-game guarantee format. All games are hosted by participating schools at their home facility, determined on a round-by-round basis.
   Eight first-round winners will continue on in traditional bracket play. Only the two teams in the championship game will play four games in the tournament.
   The eight teams that lose first-round games will be re-grouped into two four-team pools. The teams may be re-shuffled from their original sides of the bracket. One team in each pool is selected to host the other three teams.
   The four second-round losers will pair off for a third and final game at separate campus sites. The teams may be re-shuffled from their original sides of the bracket.
Series History
Missouri State has never played the Islanders in women's basketball. The Lady Bears are 6-3 against current Southland Conference membership, with only two of those games happening since 1989 - a 71-57 home win versus Northwestern State in 1999, and an 82-63 victory over Stephen F. Austin in 2008 in Cancun, Mexico.
Scouting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is 1-0 after a 75-55 opening-night victory over the University of St. Thomas. The Islanders went 17-16 last season, 8-10 in Southland Conference play, and lost the SLC title game by one point. A&M-CC is picked to finish fourth in the Southland this season and received one first place vote in the poll.
Last Game
Missouri State bolted to an 18-4 lead and never trailed 23rd-ranked Minnesota to earn a
77-69 victory in Tuesday's season opener in Minneapolis.
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Brice Calip posted career highs of 21 points and five steals to go along with six assists,
Jasmine Franklin tallied a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the Lady Bears set a school record by going 17-for-17 at the foul line.
   Missouri State extended its school record with its 11th consecutive road win and picked up its fourth victory during a stretch of five consecutive games against AP Top-25 opponents.
    Calip's traditional 3-point play 86 seconds into the contest began the scoring, and she had seven points in an 11-2 start before scoring again for the 18-4 lead at the 3:51 mark.
   It was 26-13 after the first period, and the Gophers rallied in the second frame, opening with back-to-back 3-pointers and getting as close as 32-28 before Lady Bears closed the half on a 5-0 run.
   MSU led by 13 points in the third quarter before the Gophers closed to 50-47, and a Calip 3-pointer had the Lady Bears up by double digits again at 61-51 with 8:26 remaining in the game. After the Gophers countered with another trey, the Lady Bears rattled off a 10-2 run to 71-56 with 4:19 left and led by as many as 16 before one final offensive flurry by Minnesota.
   Missouri State shot 55 percent for the game and owned a 41-21 rebounding lead to overcome 26 turnovers.
