Starting Five - Storylines for the Indiana State Game
1) The Missouri State Lady Bears continue to have success on the boards this season. MSU ranks 7th nationally and 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with 17.4 offensive rebounds per game, while ranking 2nd in the conference and 40th in the country in total rebound average with 42.4 per game. Missouri State also owns a +10.1 rebound margin, which is second in the conference and top 25 nationally. Rebounding has been an advantage for the Lady Bears over the years, as they have won the rebounding battle 110 times in their last 133 contests.
2) Missouri State closed out its non-conference slate on a three game win streak. MSU faced a challenging non-conference schedule, as the combined record of the teams responsible for MSU's four losses this season is 38-8, 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 42 with all ranking inside the top 55 in the NET.
3) Missouri State will kick off its conference slate with a road swing to both Indiana State and Evansville. MSU is 55-12 in its last 67 MVC road games, dating back to Feb. 20, 2015. Additionally, the Lady Bears have won at least six MVC road games for eight straight seasons and 12 or more total MVC games in seven consecutive years.
4) Fifth-year senior
Sydney Wilson continues to move her way up the career victories list at MSU. With five wins so far this season, Wilson now has 104 for her Lady Bear career, which ties her with Melody Howard (1991-94) at No. 2 all-time in Lady Bear program history.
5) Sophomore and JUCO transfer
Indya Green has made an immediate impact for the Lady Bears this season. Green leads MSU with three double-doubles this season and ranks in the top five in the MVC in rebounds (8.7/game), offensive boards (3.2/game) and defensive rebounds (5.4/game).
Series History
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Indiana State, 65-18. The Lady Bears own a 27-12 record against the Sycamores in Terre Haute and have won the last 16 overall matchups. Last season, MSU defeated Indiana State 62-58 on the road and 72-65 at home. In Terre Haute last year, returner
Sydney Wilson logged a double-double (10 pts., 10 reb.), while scoring a game-high 18 points against the Sycamores in Springfield.
The Opponent
Indiana State has started the season 5-4, coming off back-to-back wins against Purdue Fort Wayne (64-56) and Detroit Mercy (72-47) in its last outing. Del'Janae Williams is Indiana State's leading scorer with 12.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Anna McKendree logs 11.3 points in addition to leading the team with 4.7 rebounds per game, 31 assists and 29 steals on the season.
As a team, the Sycamores are averaging 65.1 points and 39.1 rebounds per game. Indiana State is shooitng .397 from the field, .304 from three-point range and .673 from the free throw line while owning a +2.3 scoring and +2.4 rebounding margin.
