Starting Five - Storylines for the Illinois State Series
1) The 23rd-ranked Missouri State Lady Bears return to action this week with 4 p.m. games at Illinois State on Feb. 12 and 13. MSU is 7-0 in Valley play for the fifth time in school history, reaching 10-0 the previous four, most recently in 2019. The Lady Bears have trailed for a total of 24 minutes, 51 seconds in Valley play, and are one of 10 teams nationally with 5+ NET top-50 wins and two or fewer losses.
2) Missouri State is 61-9 overall since Dec. 20, 2018, ranking ninth nationally in total wins since that date and sixth in win percentage (.871), while only Baylor, UConn and FGCU have fewer losses. Six teams ahead of the Lady Bears on the wins list have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll over that span.
3) The Lady Bears are 27-4 in their last 31 true road games, 34-6 in the last 40 games away from home, and 20-2 in the last 22 MVC road contests. Missouri State is 6-0 on the road this season as one of four Division I teams with at least six road wins and no losses, and MSU's current seven-game road win streak is the sixth-longest nationally dating to last season's Feb. 27 loss at Illinois State.
4) Missouri State has won the rebounding battle in 10 of 13 games this year and 36 of the last 43, with a plus-9.1 margin this season on pace for third in school history and a .776 defensive rebounding percentage that ranks fourth nationally after leading the NCAA last year with a .773 mark.
5) No team has scored more than 73 points against MSU this season and 12 of 13 teams have scored below their season average entering the game. Missouri State ranks in the top 50 nationally in scoring defense (58.4), field goal defense (.358) and 3-point defense (.271), and has faced top-45 scoring offenses in Maryland (1st - 91.5), FGCU (12th - 82.2, Drake (25th - 78.1) and Missouri (45th - 74.9). MSU has held five opponents under 29 percent shooting.
The Opponent
Illinois State is 10-4 overall and 7-4 in MVC play. The Redbirds boast three double-figure scorers in Juju Redmond (14.5), Mary Crompton (11.2) and Terrion Moore (10.2), and average 69.4 points per game with shooting percentages of .434 overall, .359 from 3-point range and .688 at the foul line. ISU owns the league's top scoring (56.7) and field goal percentage (.351) defense and is plus-5.4 on the glass.
Series History
Missouri State leads Illinois State 45-33 in the all-time series with a 19-19 road record. The Lady Bears had won six in a row in Redbird Arena before last season.
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