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Starting Five - Storylines for the UNI Game
1) The Missouri State Lady Bears are continuing their tradition of dominance on the boards this season. MSU ranks 5th nationally and 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with 17.4 offensive rebounds per game, while ranking 2nd in the conference and 14th in the country in total rebound average with 43.5 per game. Missouri State also owns a +11.4 rebound margin, which is 2nd in the conference and 7th nationally. The Lady Bears are currently on pace to set the school record for rebound margin at plus-11.4. The current record is plus-10.8 which was set in 2020-21.
2) Missouri State sophomore
Kennedy Taylor continues to impress as a first-year Lady Bear. She has recorded 10 consecutive double-digit scoring performances and is averaging a double-double in MVC games at 13.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game on 52% shooting from the field. Taylor tops the Valley and ranks 19th nationally in offensive boards with 3.8 per game and has earned MVC Newcomer of the Week honors twice this season.
3)
Aniya Thomas continues to do it all for the Lady Bears this season, as she leads the team with 14.1 points per game, 80 assists, 41 steals and a .761 free throw percentage. She has recorded nine 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 14 times.
4) Head coach
Beth Cunningham will be coaching her 300th career game on Thursday. She owns a 177-122 career record in her 10th season as a head coach. She compiled a 167-115 record in nine seasons at the helm at VCU (2003-2012) before once again stepping into the lead role at MSU in March 2022.
5) Missouri State is 7-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 points or less and the Lady Bears are 7-0 when scoring 70+ points. They also own a 6-0 record when making more free throws than their opponent.
Series History
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Northern Iowa, 59-30. The Lady Bears own a 33-8 advantage in Springfield, including the last four consecutive games at home against the Panthers. Last season, UNI defeated MSU twice, once in Cedar Falls (74-65) and in the last meeting between the teams in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament (63-57). Missouri State picked up one win against the Panthers last season with a 66-57 win at home.
The Opponent
UNI is 12-5 so far on the season as they sit tied atop the Valley with a 7-1 conference record. The Panthers are paced by Grace Boffeli, who averages a team-high 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Maya McDermott also contributes 14.2 points/game and leads the team with 58 assists, while shooting 88% from the charity stripe. As a team, UNI averages 74.8 points and 37.5 boards per game. The Panthers shoot .440 from the field, .342 from three and .630 from the free throw line, while racking up 4.2 blocks/game.
