Women's Hoops Hosts Little Rock to Close Non-Conference Action

Missouri State Lady Bears (4-4) vs. Little Rock Trojans (3-7)
Date and Time	Wednesday, December 21 \| 1 p.m. CT
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) \| Springfield, Mo.
Tickets	Tickets \| (417) 836-7678 \| Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Promotions	Wear a Holiday Sweater
Fan Info.	Digital Game Program
Radio	KWTO 93.3 FM (Tom Ladd, Lynne Miller) \| Listen Live \| Varsity Network
TV	ESPN+ (Corey Riggs, Carly Stubblefield) \| Watch
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes \| Women's Basketball Home Page
Little Rock	Women's Basketball Home Page
Up Next	Thursday, Dec. 29 at Indiana State, 3 p.m. \| Tickets

Starting Five - Storylines for the Little Rock Game
1) The Missouri State Lady Bears continue to have success on the boards this season. MSU ranks 9th nationally and 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with 17.2 offensive rebounds per game, while ranking 2nd in the conference and 39th in the country in total rebound average with 42.6 per game. Missouri State also owns a +9.4 rebound margin, which is third in the conference and top 35 nationally. Rebounding has been an advantage for the Lady Bears over the years, as they have won the rebounding battle 109 times in their last 132 contests.

2) Missouri State closes out its non-conference slate against Little Rock. MSU has faced a tough challenge in non-conference play. The combined record of the teams responsible for MSU's four losses this season own a combined record of 35-8, including two wins over Top 20 teams (Middle Tennessee defeated #18 Louisville, Toledo defeated #14 Michigan). The average NET ranking of those four teams is 41 with all ranking inside the top 60 in the NET.

3) Since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, MSU has compiled a 59-10 record inside Great Southern Bank Arena, while boasting a 38-4 record since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Lady Bears are 63-10 in their last 73 home games, beginning Feb. 10, 2017. Since then, MSU has averaged 72.7 points with a plus-15.7 scoring margin and plus-10.0 rebounding margin.

4) Fifth-year senior Sydney Wilson continues to move her way up the career victories list at MSU. With four wins so far this season, Wilson now has 103 for her Lady Bear career which puts her in third place.Melody Howard (1991-94) is next on the list at No. 2 with 104 career victories.

5) Missouri State has collected back-to-back MVC Newcomer of the Week honors (Indya Green & Kennedy Taylor). Taylor had a career-best performance with 23 points (8-13 FG, 7-10 FT) and 3 steals in MSU's last outing, a win against UT Martin. Taylor also became MSU's first 20-point scorer on the season.

Series History
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Little Rock, 13-4. The Lady Bears own a 10-1 advantage against the Trojans in Springfield. MSU has won the last two matchups, including a 76-62 win at Little Rock last season to open the year. Sydney Wilson scored five points and grabbed four rebounds in last year's contest.

The Opponent
Little Rock is off to a 3-7 start to the season, but the Trojans enter Wednesday's matchup fresh off a 60-44 win against Arkansas State. Little Rock is led by Faith Lee, who is averaging a team-high 10.1 points per game and also grabbing 3.1 rebounds per game. Jaiyah Harris-Smith is the leading rebounder for the Trojans at 6.8 boards per game, while also leading her squad with 51 assists.
As a unit, the Trojans are averaging 47.9 points and 34.2 boards per game. They enter the matchup shooting .343 from the field, .159 from three-point range and .578 from the charity stripe. Little Rock currently owns a -12.4 scoring margin and -6.7 rebounding margin.

Women's Hoops Hosts Little Rock to Close Non-Conference Action

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Players Mentioned

Indya Green

Kennedy Taylor

Sydney Wilson

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