The Lady Bear NecessitiesÂ
- Missouri State women's basketball (3-2) is back on the road for a Wednesday night (6 p.m.) showdown versus in-state rival Missouri (6-3). The Lady Bears will be looking for their second consecutive road victory in the series and their fourth win in the last five meetings against the Tigers.Â
- In their last outing, the Lady Bears defeated Tulane, 70-60, behind a career night from Indya Green (Jr., Springfield, Mo.). Missouri State had its best performance of the season at the free throw line (.750) and held the Green Wave to 2-for-15 from long range, including 0-for-9 from three in the second half.
- Green set a new career high with 26 points against Tulane on Friday, marking the first 20-point performance of her career. She also added 13 rebounds, a season-high three assists and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe as she recorded her eighth career double-double. She is also the only player in The Valley this season to post a stat line of at least 25 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists and she is one of just 10 players nationally with that stat line so far in 2023-24.
- Lacy Stokes (Jr., Mount Vernon, Mo.) was named the MVC's Newcomer of the Week on Monday. The DII transfer logged her fourth double-figure scoring performance in five games this season with 12 points against Tulane. She also set season-highs in rebounds (5), assists (6) and three-point field goals (3).Â
- In the Beth Cunningham era, the Lady Bears are 16-1 when scoring 70+ points and are 12-0 when holding opponents to under 60 points.Â
- Paige Rocca (Sr., Iowa City, Iowa) ranks 17th nationally and 3rd in the MVC with a .929 free throw percentage (13-for-14). The Lady Bears rank 24th nationally and 3rd in the Missouri Valley Conference in free throw attempts per game at 23.4. MSU makes an average of 14.8 free throws per game and is shooting 63.2 percent from the charity stripe.Â
- Missouri State's junior class (Green, Scott, Stokes, Taylor) is accounting for 64% of the Lady Bears' scoring this season. The combination of two returners and two transfers has scored 202 of MSU's 314 points on the year.Â
- Jade Masogayo (So., Fort Worth, Texas) has won all four of her opening tipoff opportunities this season and is a perfect 7-for-7 in winning opening tips for her career.Â
- MSU returns 61% of its rebounding from a year ago, including its top three rebounders in Kennedy Taylor (Jr., Shawnee Mission, Kan.), Green and Masogayo. Those three Lady Bears have pulled down 91 of MSU's 187 rebounds this year (.487).Â
The Series
    Missouri leads the all-time series over Missouri State, 22-13, including a 12-5 advantage in Columbia. However, the Lady Bears have won three of the last five matchups.Â
   In last year's meeting in Springfield, the Lady Bears fell to the Tigers, 51-68, in the season opener. Missouri capitalized on a 17-0 run across the first and second quarters to grab the lead for good as the Tigers extended their lead in the second half.
Jade Masogayo,
Paige Rocca and
Kennedy Taylor all logged six points, while
Jaiden Bryant grabbed a team-high eight boards.
   The last time the teams met in Columbia was on Dec. 14, 2020 as the Lady Bears earned a 72-58 road victory. MSU never trailed in the game as the Lady Bears defeated their in-state rival. Missouri State had four players in double figures, led by Elle Ruffridge (19 pts) and Brice Calip (17 pts), and held the Tigers to 36% shooting and 4-for-18 from three.Â
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A Lady Bear Win Would...
• Mark MSU's fourth win over the Tigers in the last five meetings.
• Secure Missouri State's second consecutive win in Columbia - last meeting and MSU road victory was on 12/14/20
• Mark the first consecutive road wins in the series for Missouri State since the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons.Â
• Extend Missouri State's streak of consecutive seasons with a victory over a Power Five school to 11.
