Starting Five - Storylines for the Oklahoma State Game
1) Missouri State secured its first win of the
Beth Cunningham era with a 71-55 victory over Saint Louis on Tuesday. This season marks Cunningham's 10th season as a head coach after she spent nine seasons leading VCU from 2003-2012. Since then, Cunningham served as associate head coach under Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw at her alma mater, Notre Dame. She then went on to Duke, where she was as an assistant coach under Kara Lawson for two seasons before coming to Springfield.
2) Since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, MSU has compiled a 58-9 record inside Great Southern Bank Arena, while boasting a 37-3 record since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Lady Bears are 62-9 in their last 70 home games, beginning Feb. 10, 2017. Since then, MSU has averaged 73.1 points with a plus-16.3 scoring margin and plus-9.9 rebounding margin.
3) Missouri State has not lost back-to-back games in a season since 2018-19. The last time MSU suffered consecutive losses in a season was when the Lady Bears lost five in a row from Nov. 24-Dec. 16, 2018. The 2018-19 season also marked the last time MSU dropped consecutive home games (12/4/18 - South Dakota and 12/16/18 - #21 Gonzaga).
4) MSU returns one starter from last season in fifth-year senior
Sydney Wilson. With MSU's victory over Saint Louis, Wilson earned her 100th career victory as a Lady Bear. She surpassed Secelia Winkfield (1990-93) to take over sole possesion of fifth place in program history. In fourth place on the list is Jackie Stiles (1998-01) with 101 career victories.
5) Kansas transfer
Aniya Thomas is just 2 points away from 1,000 points for her career, following a five-point performance to begin the season vs. Missouri and a 14-point outing in MSU's win over Saint Louis. Thomas is averaging 9.5 points and 7 rebounds for the Lady Bears across the first two games.
Series History
Missouri State trails in the all-time series against Oklahoma State, 3-10. MSU owns a 2-3 ledger at home against the Cowgirls. Last season, the Lady Bears dropped a close contest in Stillwater, 40-44. MSU's last win over Oklahoma State came on 11/29/2000 with a 78-44 victory in Springfield.
The Opponent
Oklahoma State has started the season 3-0 with wins over UTRGV, Northwestern State and Oral Roberts under the leadership of first-year head coach Jacie Hoyt. OSU has four players averaging double figures, led by Claire Chastain with 15 ppg, while Taylen Collins is pulling down 9.3 rebounds per game.
As a unit, the Cowgirls are averaging 95.7 ppg and 47.7 rebounds per game. They are shooting .495 from the field and .447 from behind the arc, in addition to owning a 1.6 A/TO ratio.
