The Lady Bear Necessities
- Missouri State women's basketball hits the road for the first time since Dec. 6 as they travel to take on Bradley for a Thursday night (6 p.m.) MVC contest. The Lady Bears have won the last 14 matchups against the Braves and lead the all-time series, 62-25. MSU owns a 25-14 record vs. Bradley in Peoria.
- MSU is currently riding a six-game win streak. Over that span, the Lady Bears are shooting .417 from the field, .370 from three and .654 at the charity striple. The Lady Bears own a plus-5.0 rebound margin and a plus-4.0 turnover margin.
- Lacy Stokes (Jr., Mount Vernon, Mo.) was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday for the fourth time this season. She averaged 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while dishing out a team-leading nine assists (4.5/game) and collecting a team-high six steals (3.0/game) in wins against Valpo and UIC. Stokes also owned a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and went a combined 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. Stokes ranks 2nd in the MVC and 62nd nationally with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
- Missouri State improved to 5-0 this season in games decided by five points or less with a one-point victory over UIC on Saturday. The Lady Bears have won four of their last five games by a combined five points.
- In the Beth Cunningham era, the Lady Bears are 17-1 when scoring 70+ points. Under Cunningham, Missouri State is 22-0 when allowing 65 points or less and 28-3 when holding opponents to 70 points or less.
- Kyrah Daniels (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) is coming off one of the best weekends of her young career. She set career-highs in rebounds (8 vs. Valpo) and points (15 vs. UIC) while shoointg .571 from the field and .800 from three in her last two games.
- MSU is undefeated this season when recording more assists than its opponents (8-0) and when winning the battle on the boards (7-0). MSU has won the rebounding battle 136 times in the last 168 contests, going 116-20 when winning on the glass.
- Missouri State's junior class (Green, Scott, Stokes, Taylor) is accounting for 58% of the Lady Bears' scoring this season. The combination of two returners and two transfers has scored 436 of MSU's 746 points on the year.
- The Lady Bears were picked 5th in this year's MVC Preseason Poll. Missouri State is 396-163 all-time in MVC play.
The Series
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Bradley, 65-25, including a 25-14 record on the road. The Lady Bears have won the last 14 meetings against the Braves, with their last loss in the series coming on Feb. 17, 2017 on the road.
MSU and Bradley faced off three times last season with Missouri State winning all three contests. In the first meeting in Springfield, MSU won 87-54 behind career days from mulitple Lady Bears.
Kennedy Taylor paced MSU after tying her career high with 23 points and and setting a new personal best with 10 made field goals. In the second matchup, this time in Peoria, the Lady Bears ended the game on a 9-0 run to secure the 74-64 come-from-behind win after trailing by one heading into the fourth quarter.
In last season's third meeting, MSU cruised to a 71-53 victory over Bradley in the first round of the MVC Tournament.
Jade Masogayo tied her career high with 19 points, while Taylor posted 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Indya Green recorded a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in the victory.
A Lady Bear Win Would...
- Extend MSU's win streak to seven games.
- Mark MSU's 15th consecutive win against Bradley.
- Keep Missouri State undefeated in conference play this season.
