2023–24 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team

2023–24 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball
2023–24 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball
WBIT, First Round
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	23–10 (15–5 MVC)
Head coach	Beth Cunningham (2nd season);
Associate head coach	Darren Guensch
Assistant coaches	Kenzie Kostas; Olivia Applewhite;
Home arena	Great Southern Bank Arena
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Drake †	19	–	1	.950	29	–	6	.829
Belmont	17	–	3	.850	26	–	9	.743
Missouri State	15	–	5	.750	23	–	10	.697
Northern Iowa	14	–	6	.700	16	–	16	.500
Illinois State	13	–	7	.650	22	–	12	.647
Murray State	12	–	8	.600	20	–	12	.625
UIC	10	–	10	.500	18	–	16	.529
Southern Illinois	6	–	14	.300	11	–	20	.355
Indiana State	6	–	14	.300	11	–	21	.344
Valparaiso	4	–	16	.200	5	–	25	.167
Bradley	2	–	18	.100	6	–	26	.188
Evansville	2	–	18	.100	4	–	28	.125

† 2024 MVC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Bears, led by second-year head coach Beth Cunningham, played their home games at the Great Southern Bank Arena located in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Previous season[edit]

The Lady Bears finished the 2022–23 season 20–12, 14–6 in MVC play to finish in a tie for fourth place.^[1] They defeated Indiana State in the opening round of the MVC tournament,^[2] before falling to eventual tournament champions Drake in the quarterfinals.^[3] They received an at-large bid into the WNIT,^[4] where they would lose to Nebraska in the first round.^[5]

Roster[edit]

2023–24 Missouri State Lady Bears women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	Natasha Barnes	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	Kenwood Academy	Chicago, Illinois
F	3	Kennedy Taylor	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Jr	Colorado	Shawnee Mission, Kansas
G	4	Lacy Stokes	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)	Jr	Missouri Southern	Mount Vernon, Missouri
G	12	Jaiden Bryant	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	So	Incarnate Word Academy	St. Louis, Missouri
F	13	Katrine Jessen	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Sr	Kansas	Skovlunde, Denmark
F	14	Jade Masogayo	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	So	Fossil Ridge High School	Fort Worth, Texas
G	20	Angel Scott	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Stephen F. Austin	Edmond, Oklahoma
G	21	Kyrah Daniels	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	ThunderRidge High School	Highlands Ranch, Colorado
G	22	Paige Rocca	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Sr	Iowa City High School	Iowa City, Iowa
F	23	Khloe Moad	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	So	Ash Grove High School	Ash Grove, Missouri
G	24	Kaemyn Bekemeier	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	Republic High School	Republic, Missouri
F	32	Louis Volker	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Fr	Paul VI Catholic High School	Purcellville, Virginia
F	33	Blake O'Grady	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	Dexter Southfield School	Brookline, Massachusetts
F	34	Indya Green	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Jr	Moberly Area Community College	Springfield, Missouri

Head coach

Beth Cunningham (Notre Dame)

Assistant coach(es)

Darren Guensch (Radford)
Kenzie Kostas (Missouri State)
Olivia Applewhite (Dayton)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: March 4, 2024

Schedule and results[edit]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023* 6:30 pm		Missouri Western	L 57–65	–	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,574) Springfield, MO
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Little Rock	W 52–47	1–0	Jack Stephens Center (–) Little Rock, AR
November 15, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Louis	L 67–79	1–1	Chaifetz Arena (923) St. Louis, MO
November 22, 2023* 7:30 pm		Southeast Missouri State	W 74–66	2–1	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,783) Springfield, MO
November 26, 2023* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Oklahoma State	L 51–82	2–2	Gallagher-Iba Arena (2,009) Stillwater, OK
December 1, 2023* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Tulane	W 70–60	3–2	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,922) Springfield, MO
December 6, 2023* 6:00 pm, SECN		at Missouri	L 63–81	3–3	Mizzou Arena (3,894) Columbia, MO
December 16, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Wichita State	W 72–65	4–3	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,001) Springfield, MO
December 20, 2023* 2:30 pm, ESPN+		BYU Lady Bear Classic	W 56–55	5–3	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,619) Springfield, MO
December 21, 2023* 2:30 pm, ESPN+		Western Kentucky Lady Bear Classic	W 69–68	6–3	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,674) Springfield, MO
MVC regular season
December 30, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Iowa	W 54–52	7–3 (1–0)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,111) Springfield, MO
January 4, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 67–47	8–3 (2–0)	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,656) Springfield, MO
January 6, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		UIC	W 51–50	9–3 (3–0)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,885) Springfield, MO
January 11, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bradley	W 94–66	10–3 (4–0)	Renaissance Coliseum (379) Peoria, IL
January 14, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Illinois State	L 78–85	10–4 (4–1)	CEFCU Arena (1,056) Normal, IL
January 19, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 90–55	11–4 (5–1)	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,921) Springfield, MO
January 21, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Indiana State	W 89–71	12–4 (6–1)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,353) Springfield, MO
January 26, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Belmont	L 55–66	12–5 (6–2)	Curb Event Center (892) Nashville, TN
January 28, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Murray State	W 84–74	13–5 (7–2)	CFSB Center (2,163) Murray, KY
February 3, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	W 62–52	14–5 (8–2)	Banterra Center (887) Carbondale, IL
February 9, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Belmont	W 73–54	15–5 (9–2)	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,503) Springfield, MO
February 11, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Murray State	L 89–95	15–6 (9–3)	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,175) Springfield, MO
February 15, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Indiana State	W 59–51	16–6 (10–3)	Hulman Center (1,215) Terre Haute, IN
February 17, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 73–56	17–6 (11–3)	Meeks Family Fieldhouse (440) Evansville, IN
February 22, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake	L 65–76	17–7 (11–4)	Knapp Center (2,448) Des Moines, IA
February 25, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Southern Illinois	W 77–42	18–7 (12–4)	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,229) Springfield, MO
February 29, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Bradley	W 70–44	19–7 (13–4)	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,818) Springfield, MO
March 2, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Illinois State	W 67–62	20–7 (14–4)	Great Southern Bank Arena (3,030) Springfield, MO
March 7, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UIC	L 61–65	20–8 (14–5)	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,107) Chicago, IL
March 9, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	W 77–66	21–8 (15–5)	Athletics–Recreation Center (466) Valparaiso, IN
MVC tournament
March 15, 2024 8:30 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Murray State Quarterfinals	W 71–70	22–8	Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,004) Moline, IL
March 17, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (2) Belmont Semifinals	W 63–48	23–8	Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,747) Moline, IL
March 16, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN2	(3)	vs. (1) Missouri State Championship	L 75–76	23–9	Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,305) Moline, IL
WBIT
March 21, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at (4) Illinois First Round	L 69–74	23–10	State Farm Center (1,391) Champaign, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[6]^[7]

References[edit]

^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
^ "Lady Bears Dominate Braves, Set to Face Drake in MVC Tournament Quarterfinals". Missouri State. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
^ "Bulldog Bigs Lead Drake Over Missouri State in 83-63 Rout". Drake University Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
^ "Bracket, Round 1 matchups and times announced for 2023 Postseason WNIT". WNIT Pre and Post Tournament. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
^ "MSU Lady Bears' first season under Beth Cunningham ends in WNIT first round at Nebraska". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Missouri State. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
^ "Missouri State Lady Bears 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[1] "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[2] "Lady Bears Dominate Braves, Set to Face Drake in MVC Tournament Quarterfinals". Missouri State. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[3] "Bulldog Bigs Lead Drake Over Missouri State in 83-63 Rout". Drake University Athletics. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[4] "Bracket, Round 1 matchups and times announced for 2023 Postseason WNIT". WNIT Pre and Post Tournament. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[5] "MSU Lady Bears' first season under Beth Cunningham ends in WNIT first round at Nebraska". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[6] "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Missouri State. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[7] "Missouri State Lady Bears 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e Missouri State Lady Bears basketball
Venues	Hammons Student Center (1982–2008) Great Southern Bank Arena (2008–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics