Starting Five - Storylines for the Lincoln Game
1) Off to a 2-1 start that includes impressive wins against Florida Gulf Coast and No. 12/11 Maryland in Florida, the No. 21/25 Missouri State Lady Bears make their home debut Monday at 7 p.m. against Lincoln. The Lady Bears went 15-0 at JQH Arena last season as one of 10 Division I teams to finish unbeaten at home, winning by an average score of 81.3-60.7 with a plus-12.6 rebound margin during the 15-game win streak, MSU's longest at JQH and the seventh-best home streak in school history.
2) The Lady Bears set a school record for regular season victories last season by finishing 26-4 overall, and are now 52-8 overall since Dec. 20, 2018, ranking fourth nationally in total wins since that date behind Baylor, UConn and Oregon.
3) MSU returns four starters and 10 players from last season, with 75% of scoring, 87% of rebounds, 89% of assists, 83% of blocked shots, 86% of steals and 81% of minutes played returning to the roster. MSU has nine players on its roster who have played in a Sweet 16 game, two more than any other team in the country.
4) Missouri State has won the rebounding battle all three games this year and 29 of the last 33, with a plus-15.7 margin this year ahead of the school-record pace (+9.9) and the .826 defensive rebounding percentage better than last season's NCAA-leading .773 mark.
5) The Lady Bears entered the season ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2000, marking the fourth time in school history that MSU earned a preseason ranking by the Associated Press and the Coaches Poll. A repeat appearance in the Dec. 8 Coaches Poll would set a new school record of 20 consecutive appearances in that ranking.
The Opponent
Lincoln is 0-2 on the year heading into its December 5 contest at Northwest Missouri, and is playing an all Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Associate schedule this season aside from the MSU game, which will count as an exhibition for the Blue Tigers. LU is picked to finish 14th in the MIAA this season after going 3-25 last year, and returns three starters for first-year head coach Andrea Mize.
Series History
Missouri State is 2-1 against Lincoln in regular season games, with meetings coming in 1981, 1982 and 1983. The Lady Bears have played the Blue Tigers in exhibition contests preceding each of the last two seasons. Missouri State won 100-54 in 2018 and 109-32 last year in the first game with head coach
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton on the sideline.
Last Game
The Lady Bears opened the season at the Gulf Coast Showcase with wins against Atlantic Sun favorite Florida Gulf Coast and No. 12/11 Maryland before a loss to Wake Forest.
   On Nov. 27 at FGCU, Missouri State jumped ahead 49-13 late in the first half and coasted to victory, with all 13 players on the roster seeing action in the first 20 minutes. MSU out-rebounded the Eagles 58-33.
   The following day,
Brice Calip scored a career-high 26 points as Missouri State rallied from a 16-point deficit for an 81-72 win over Maryland, the highest-ranked team the Lady Bears have beaten since No. 5 Duke in 2001.  Â
   MSU completed the tournament Nov. 29 with a 68-59 loss to Wake Forest, scoring below 60 points for just the second time in the last two seasons.  Â
   Calip was named the MVC Player of the Week and a member of the NCAA Starting Five for her tournament performance.
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