Starting Five - Storylines for the 2021-22 Season
1) Missouri State begins its 53rd season of varsity competition with a trip to Little Rock to tip off the 2021-22 regular season. The Lady Bears are receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll, receiving 112 points in the Coaches and 18 in the AP Poll. MSU ended last season ranked 14th in the Coaches Poll.
2) Missouri State is 73-10 overall since Dec. 20, 2018, ranking seventh nationally in total wins since that date and fourth in win percentage (.880), trailing only Baylor, UConn and FGCU. Five teams ahead of the Lady Bears on the wins list have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll over that span.
3) MSU head coach
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton enters year three at the helm with a 49-7 record, and the Lady Bears' next victory will likely put her in elite company. Only four coaches in Division I history have reached 50 victories in less than 60 games to begin their careers at the D-1 level – Leon Barmore (Louisiana Tech, 53 games); Pokey Chatman (LSU, 54 games); Kurt Budke (Louisiana Tech, 55 games) and Bart Brooks (Belmont, 59 games).
4) Sixth-year senior and reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year
Brice Calip has played in 130 career games, which is just one game shy of tying the MIssouri State program record. The current record is 131 career games played, which was set by Lacey Boshe from 2008-2012.Â
5) Senior forward
Jasmine Franklin enters the 2021-22 season just 42 points shy of 1,000 career points, as she currently sits at No. 32 on the career scoring list with 958 points in her MSU career. Franklin also needs just six blocks this season to move to No. 2 on the MSU all-time career blocks list. She owns 104 career blocks, which is currently good for No. 4 in program history.
The Opponent
Little Rock was selected to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference in this year's preseason poll, behind Troy, Louisiana, UTA and Texas State.Â
   The Trojans finished 15-11 overall last season and placed third in the SBC West Division. Little Rock returns third-team all-conference selection Mayra Caicedo, who finished the 2020-21 season ranked third nationally in assists (175) and assists per game (6.7).Â
   Little Rock's non-conference schedule is loaded with talented teams, as it features five NCAA Tournament teams from last season and three squads that were ranked at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Series History
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Little Rock, 12-4. MSU holds a 10-1 series advantage at home against the Trojans, but is just 2-3 against Little Rock on the road.
   The Lady Bears and Trojans will face off for the first time since the 2018-19 season, which saw MSU take home a 48-44 victory in Springfield.Â
