Starting Five - Storylines
1) Missouri State has continued its tradition of strong defensive play. The Lady Bears currently own the fifth-best 3-point defense in the nation with a .242 percentage, while also ranking in the top 20 in scoring defense (8th - 51.4), blocks/game (15th - 5.4) and field goal percentage defense (17th - .349). MSU's defensive average is on pace to rank second in school history.
2) Missouri State has held 14 of its 16 opponents under their scoring average entering their games against the Lady Bears. Across all 16 games, the Lady Bears are holding opponents to an average of 17.7 points below their points per game mark entering the contest with MSU. Missouri State has held seven opponents to 20+ points below their scoring average prior to facing the Lady Bears.
3) Senior
Mya Bhinhar ranks 3rd nationally with a 3.20 assist-to-turnover ratio this season. Bhinhar has recorded 5+ assists with one or fewer turnovers in six games this season, including a career high-tying eight assists against Bradley on Jan. 20. She is currently on pace to break the Lady Bear single season record for assist-to-turnover ratio, which is held by
Brice Calip who had a 2.816 ratio last season.
4) Since the season-ending injury to
Jasmine Franklin, Abi Jackson has stepped into a key role for the Lady Bears. Jackson leads Missouri State in conference play with 13.3 ppg and 8.2 rpg. The fifth-year senior has recorded a double-double in three of the last five games and she set career highs with 22 points against Bradley on Jan. 20 and five blocked shots on Jan. 22 against Illinois State. She also ranks 18th in the nation with 2.44 blocks/game.
5) Missouri State is 86-14 overall since Dec. 20, 2018, tying for seventh nationally in total wins since that date and seventh in win percentage (.860). 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
Evansville is 7-10 overall on the season and 1-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Purple Aces are led by Abby Feit, who currently leads the MVC with 17.1 ppg and is second in the conference with 9.9 rpg. Evansville also has two other scorers averaging 10+ ppg in Je'Naiya Davis and Myia Clark, who are averaging 16.9 and 13.2 ppg, respectively. As a team, Evansville is averaging 70.1 ppg and 36.2 rpg. The Purple Aces are shooting .389 from the field and .295 from behind the arc, while dishing out 12.8 assists per game.
Indiana State is 9-7 so far on the season and 4-1 in the MVC. The Sycamores are led by Del'Janae Williams, who is averaging 13.4 ppg, and Adrian Folks, who is averaging 14.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg in five games played this season. As a unit, Indiana State is scoring an average of 66.5 ppg and grabbing 33.3 rpg. The Sycamores are shooting .438 from the field and .315 from three-point range, while also averaging 12.3 steals per game.
Series Histories
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Evansville, 46-13. The Lady Bears have 20 victories in 29 games on the road against the Purple Aces. MSU has won the last eight contests against Evansville, including two road victories last season by scores of 87-54 and 85-44.
MSU is 63-18 all-time against Indiana State, including a 26-12 mark in Terre Haute. Missouri State has won the last 14 matchups against the Sycamores; however, the two teams did not meet last season. Saturday's game will mark the first contest between the two teams since Feb. 23, 2020, in which the Lady Bears took home an 82-58 victory in Springfield.
