Missouri State Lady Bears (21-8, 15-5 MVC) at MVC Tournament
Date and Time	Thursday-Sunday, March 14-17, 2024
Location	Vibrant Arena at The MARK | Moline, Ill.
Tournament Central	MVC Tournament Central | Bracket (PDF)
Tickets	Tickets
Quarterfinal	Friday, March 15 vs. No. 6 Murray State | W, 71-70 | Box Score | Recap
Semifinal	Saturday, March 16 vs. No. 2 Belmont | Box Score | Recap
Championship	Sunday, March 17 vs. No. 1 Drake | 1:00 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN+ (Scott Warmann, Laura Leonard) | Listen | Live Stats
Radio	KWTO 93.3 FM (Tom Ladd, Lynne Miller) | Listen Live
Missouri State	Game Notes | Women's Basketball Home Page
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)

The Lady Bear Necessities 

• Missouri State women's basketball will vie for its 12th Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and its first since 2019 with a Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.) matchup against top-seeded Drake in the finals. Sunday will mark MSU's 17th appearance in the conference tournament championship game and the Lady Bears' seventh meeting with Drake in the title game - both securing three crowns in those battles. 
• The Lady Bears have made 17 NCAA Touranment appearances in program history - their last coming in 2021-22. MSU's NCAA Tournament history is highlighted by Final Four trips in 1992 and 2001 to go along with Sweet 16 trips in 1993, 2019 and 2021. 
• Through the first two games of the MVC Tournament, Stokes is leading the way for MSU with 19.0 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 steals per game. She is also shooting .440 (11-25) from the field and .750 (15-20) from the charity stripe. Indya Green is averaging a double-double in the first two rounds - 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Kyrah Daniels is also averaging double figure points at 11.0 points/game.
• MSU has logged seven consecutive 20-win seasons, which have come under three different head coaches (Kellie Harper, Amaka Agugua-Hamilton and Beth Cunningham). MSU is one of three teams in the MVC this season with at least 20 wins and less than 10 losses.
• Point guard Lacy Stokes and forward Kennedy Taylor took home multiple awards at the league's awards banquet on Wednesday night. Stokes took home Newcomer of the Year honors, while being named to the All-MVC Second Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Newcomer Team. Taylor was award the Sixth Player of the Year award and was named to the All-MVC Third Team for the second straight year.
• In the Beth Cunningham era, the Lady Bears are 27-3 when scoring 70+ points. Under Cunningham, Missouri State is 31-1 when allowing 65 points or less and 40-5 when holding opponents to 70 points or less. This season, the Lady Bears have held 17 opponents to 65 points or less.
• Defense and rebounding have been vital to the Lady Bears' success this season. Missouri State ranks second in The Valley in scoring defense, holding opponents to 62.9 points/game. The Lady Bears rank first in the MVC in rebounding defense (30.2) and second in rebounding margin (+6.1), which trails only top-seeded Drake.
• The Lady Bears are 7-1 in games decided by five points or less and are 4-0 in one-point games this season. Those seven victories have come by a total of 16 points.
• MSU is 18-2 this season when winning the battle on the boards, 20-2 when owning more assists than its opponents and is undefeated at 12-0 when knocking down more free throws than its competition.

Lady Bears at the Conference Tournament
Missouri State is 51-23 (.689) all-time in the conference tournament, which includes both the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference and the Missouri Valley Conference. The Lady Bears own a league-leading 11 conference tournament titles, with their last tournament championship coming in 2019 (defeated Drake, 94-79). 

A Lady Bear Win Would...

• Mark Missouri State's first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2021-22 season and 18th appearance in program history.
• Secure MSU's first MVC Tournament title since 2019 when the Lady Bears defeated Drake, 94-79. 
• Mark MSU's 12th conference tournament title. 
• Extend Missouri State's streak of postseason appearances to nine straight seasons (NCAA Tournament and WNIT).