Missouri State Lady Bears (20-7, 14-4 MVC) at UIC Flames (16-13, 9-9 MVC)
Date and Time	Thursday, March 7 | 7:00 p.m.
Location	Credit Union 1 Arena | Chicago, Ill.
Tickets	Tickets
TV	ESPN+ | Watch
Radio	KWTO 93.3 FM (Tom Ladd, Lynne Miller) | Listen Live | Varsity Network
Live Stats	Live Stats
Missouri State	Game Notes | Women's Basketball Home Page
UIC	Women's Basketball Home Page
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Saturday, March 9 at Valparaiso | 1:00 p.m. | Tickets

The Lady Bear Necessities 

• Missouri State women's basketball hits the road for the final weekend of the regular season. The Lady Bears will face UIC on Thursday night (7 p.m.) for the first time on the road since Dec. 29, 1984. MSU has never beaten the Flames in Chicago. 
• MSU secured its seventh consecutive 20-win season with its victory against Illinois State on Saturday. The Lady Bears have accomplished the feat under three different head coaches (Kellie Harper, Amaka Agugua-Hamilton and Beth Cunningham).
• Point guard Lacy Stokes was named MVC Newcomer of the Week for the eighth time this season on Tuesday. Stokes averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 steals per game, while shooting .733 (11-15) from the field and .750 (15-20) from the charity stripe in victories over Bradley and Illinois State. She also became one of three players in NCAA Division I this season to post 26 points, 7 assists and 7 steals in a game with her performance against the Redbirds, joining Caitlin Clark and Ashley Austin on that list. 
• In the Beth Cunningham era, the Lady Bears are 25-3 when scoring 70+ points. Under Cunningham, Missouri State is 30-0 when allowing 65 points or less and 37-4 when holding opponents to 70 points or less. This season, the Lady Bears have held 15 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 63.0 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 first-place Drake.
• The Lady Bears are 6-0 in games decided by five points or less and are 3-0 in one-point games this season. Those six victories have come by a total of 15 points. The last meeting between MSU and UIC was decided by a single point, with Jade Masogayo scoring the game-winner with 0:01 left in a 51-50 victory for MSU. 
• MSU is 16-1 this season when winning the battle on the boards, 18-2 when owning more assists than its opponents and is undefeated at 9-0 when knocking down more free throws than its competition. 
• In Missouri Valley Conference action this season, Kennedy Taylor is MSU's second-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game and she leads the Lady Bears on the glass with 7.6 rebounds per game. The junior is shooting .537 (80-149) from the field, which ranks third in the league, and has blocked 16 shots against Valley foes in just 19.2 minutes per game. 

The Series
        Missouri State leads the all-time series against UIC, 3-2, but the Lady Bears are 0-2 on the road against the Flames. After losing the first two matchups in the series in 1983 and 1984 on the road, MSU has won the three most recent contests. Last season, MSU and UIC met for the first time in 17 years as the squads faced off for the first time in Springfield and for the first time as conference opponents. 
    The Flames returned to Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield earlier this season, with Missouri State capturing a one-point victory in the final seconds, while surviving a great look from the Flames offense as time expired. Kyrah Daniels led the way for MSU with 15 points on 6-for-10 from the field, while Jade Masogayo added nine points and scored the game-winning bucket. 
    The Lady Bears and Flames meet in Chicago for the first time since Dec. 29, 1984. Missouri State has never won on the road against UIC. 
        
A Lady Bear Win Would...

• Secure MSU's first road win in series history against UIC.  
• Mark Missouri State's fourth consecutive win in the series. 
• Keep the Lady Bears inside the top three of the MVC standings heading into the regular season finale.