Starting Five - Storylines
1) Missouri State has continued its tradition of strong defensive play. The Lady Bears currently own the fourth-best 3-point defense in the nation with a .234 percentage, while also ranking in the top 20 in scoring defense (8th - 51.7), blocks/game (14th - 5.5) and field goal percentage defense (10th - .344). MSU's defensive average is on pace to rank second in school history.
2) The Lady Bears are currently on an 18-game home win streak against Missouri Valley Conference opponents. Their last loss at home in conference play was on March 3, 2019 against No. 23 Drake. The program record for consecutive conference wins at home is 66, which was set from 3/3/89 to 1/20/97, while the second-longest streak is 19 games set from 3/2/03 to 2/27/05. The Lady Bears are also riding a 14-game home win streak overall, dating back to last season.
3) Seniors
Mya Bhinhar and Abi Jackson are among the top 30 nationally in three categories. Bhinhar currently ranks 5th in the nation with a 2.89 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Jackson is 24th in blocks/game with 2.21 and 30th in blocks with 31 on the season.
4) With the Lady Bear victory against Valparaiso on Jan. 2, Missouri State head coach
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton became just the fourth head coach in Division I history to reach 60 victories in less than 70 games to begin their careers at the Division I level (Leon Barmore – Louisiana Tech, 64 games), (Pokey Chatman – LSU, 65 games), (Kurt Budke – Louisiana Tech, 65 games) and (
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton – Missouri State, 69 games).
5) Missouri State is 85-13 overall since Dec. 20, 2018, ranking seventh nationally in total wins since that date and sixth in win percentage (.867), trailing only Baylor, UConn, Louisville, FGCU and South Carolina. Five teams ahead of the Lady Bears on the wins list have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll over that span.
The Opponents
Bradley currently sits at 3-11 on the season and is 0-5 to start Missouri Valley Conference play. Following a season-ending knee injury to preseason all-MVC selection Gabi Haack, Bradley is led by Caroline Waite, who is averaging 13.3 ppg. Sierra Morrow leads the Braves with 5.2 rpg, while Tatum Koenig has a team high 44 assists. The Braves are averaging 61.9 ppg and 36.5 rpg, while shooting .386 from the field as a team.
Illinois State is 9-7 overall on the season, but the Redbirds top the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 5-0 conference mark. The Redbirds are led by DeAnna Wilson, who averages a team-high 14.8 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Juliunn Redmond and Mary Crompton are also averaging more than 10 points per game, with 13.7 and 10.5 ppg, respectively. Illinois State is averaging 68.1 ppg and 32.0 rpg, while shooting .466 from the field and .365 from behind the arc as a unit.
Series Histories
The Lady Bears hold the overall series lead against Bradley, 60-25. At home, the Lady Bears are 35-10 against the Braves, with their last home loss to Bradley coming on Jan. 22, 2017. Missouri State has won the last nine matchups against Bradley, including two victories (62-56 and 75-62) at home against the Braves last season.
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Illinois State, 47-33. The Lady Bears are 25-13 against the Redbirds in Springfield and will be welcoming Illinois State to JQH Arena for the first time since Feb. 2, 2020. Last season, the Lady Bears defeated the Redbirds twice (69-52 and 73-72) on the road in Normal.
