Starting Five - Storylines for the Murray State Game
1) The Missouri State Lady Bears are continuing their tradition of dominance on the boards this season. MSU ranks 4th nationally and 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with 17.8 offensive rebounds per game, while ranking 2nd in the conference and 15th in the country in total rebound average with 43.7 per game. Missouri State also owns a +10.9 rebound margin, which is 2nd in the conference and 8th nationally. The Lady Bears are currently on pace to set the school record for rebound margin at plus-10.9. The current record is plus-10.8 which was set in 2020-21.
2) Missouri State sophomore
Kennedy Taylor has made a major impact for the Lady Bears this season, earning MVC Newcomer of the Week twice this season. She has recorded nine consecutive double-digit scoring performances and is averaging a double-double in MVC games at 14.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game on 51% shooting from the field. Taylor tops the Valley and ranks 17th nationally in offensive boards with 3.9 per game.
3)
Aniya Thomas continues to lead the way for the Lady Bears this season, leading the team with 14.2 points per game, 78 assists, 40 steals and a .761 free throw percentage. She has recorded eight consecutive games with 10+ points and has logged eight games with 5+ assists this season. Thomas also leads the team with three 20-point outings on the year and has reached double figures thirteen times.
4) Fifth-year senior
Sydney Wilson sits in second place all-time in career wins with 108 as a Lady Bear, trailing only
Brice Calip (2017-22) who owns 122 career wins. In MSU's last outing, Wilson became the 31st Lady Bear in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points and moved into 30th all-time in scoring (1,005 pts.).
5) Missouri State is 7-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 points or less and the Lady Bears are 6-0 when scoring 70+ points and making more free throws than their opponents.
Series History
Missouri State leads the all-time series against new Missouri Valley Conference member Murray State, 2-1. The Lady Bears own an 0-1 record on the road against the Racers. The last meeting between the two teams came on 12/16/09 as Missouri State took home a 76-60 victory in Springfield.
The Opponent
Murray State is 11-5 to start the season and is 4-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Racers are led by Katelyn Young who is averaging 21.4 points per game, 8.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 55% from the field. Macey Turley joins Young in double figures, averaging 11.1 points/game and leads the team with 49 assists.
As a team, Murray State is averaging 68.1 points and 38.3 rebounds per game, while owning a +8.2 rebounding and +8.1 scoring margin. Collectively, the Racers shoot .440 from the field, .362 from three and .788 from the free throw line.
