Women's Basketball Set to Host Kennesaw State on Thursday

Missouri State Lady Bears (9-5, 1-0 CUSA) vs. Kennesaw State Owls (8-5, 1-1 CUSA)
Date and Time	Thursday, January 8 \| 6:30 p.m.
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena \| Springfield, Mo.
Tickets	Tickets
TV	ESPN+ (Corey Riggs, Jim Middleton) \| Watch
Radio	KWTO 93.3 FM (Tom Ladd, Lynne Miller) \| Listen Live \| Varsity Network
Live Stats	Live Stats
Promotions	Ladies Night \| 50s Night \| 2025-26 Promo Calendar
Missouri State	Game Notes \| Women's Basketball Home Page \| Media Guide
Kennesaw State	Women's Basketball Home Page
Follow the Lady Bears	Twitter \| Instagram \| Facebook \| #LadyBears \| #WeAreMoState
Bears Mobile App	App Store (Apple Devices) \| Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next	Saturday, January 10 \| 12:00 p.m. \| ESPN+ \| Tickets

The Lady Bear Necessities

Missouri State women's basketball will host its first-ever Conference USA games inside Great Southern Bank Arena this week, beginning with a visit from Kennesaw State on Thursday night (6:30 p.m.). MoState is coming off an 80-69 win in its conference opener at FIU last Sunday, which saw the Lady Bears post a season high in points in the road victory.
Thursday night's meeting will mark the first-ever between the Lady Bears and Owls. It will mark the first of five opponents in CUSA that MoState will face for the first time in program history (Delaware, Jax State, Liberty and Sam Houston).
The Lady Bears were picked to finish fourth in their first season as a member of Conference USA in the league's preseason poll. MoState slotted in behind Louisiana Tech, Liberty and Middle Tennessee. Little Rock transfer Faith Lee (Sr., Monroe, La.) was selected to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team.
Kaemyn Bekemeier (Jr., Republic, Mo.) leads MoState this season with 17.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 23 three-pointers. She leads CUSA in total points (238) and defensive rebounds per game (7.0). The 5-9 guard has scored in double figures in a team-leading 13 of 14 games on the season, including 10 straight. Bekemeier also leads the team in double-figure rebound games (4), 20-point performances (5) and double-doubles (2).
Maiesha Washington (Fr., Fayetteville, Ark.) is coming off another career performance. At FIU, she posted career highs in points (19) and rebounds (11) on 8-of-9 shooting for her first-career double-double.
As a team, Missouri State ranks inside the top 10 nationally in: free throw made/game (6th - 18.1) and free throw attempts/game (8th - 24.7). Bekemeier ranks inside the top 30 nationally in FTM (17th - 71) and FTA (29th - 88), while Cady Pauley (Sr., Milan, Mo.) leads CUSA and ranks 27th nationally with an .884 FT%.
In the Cunningham era, Missouri State is 51-7 when scoring 70+ points, 55-1 when holding opponents to 65 points or less and 42-0 when opponents score less than 60 points. Missouri State is 0-4 this season when allowing 70 or more points.
MoState is currently 128 in the NET ranking, which ranks second amongst CUSA teams (Libety - 127). Kennesaw State currently checks in at 221, which is ninth in the league.
The 2025-26 Lady Bear squad features seven returners and seven newcomers in a new-look lineup that replaces all five of its starters from a year ago. MoState lost 69.2 percent of its scoring and 60.9 percent of its rebounding from last season.

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Women's Basketball Set to Host Kennesaw State on Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Kaemyn Bekemeier

Faith Lee

Cady Pauley

Maiesha Washington

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Women's Basketball Set to Host Kennesaw State on Thursday

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kaemyn Bekemeier

Faith Lee

Cady Pauley

Maiesha Washington

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