A look at every Missouri State Lady Bears non-conference opponent entering 2022-23

Wyatt D. Wheeler, Springfield News-Leader
·6 min read

The Missouri State Lady Bears begin their 2022-23 season on Wednesday night with an exhibition game at Great Southern Bank Arena. Here's a look at the team's non-conference schedule entering the season:

Missouri S&T (Nov. 2, 6 p.m., exhibition)

The Lady Bears' exhibition game this season takes place Wednesday night as Beth Cunningham makes her first appearance at Great Southern Bank Arena in front of the home crowd.

Division II Missouri S&T is coming off an 11-16 season and is picked to finish seventh in the GLVC heading into this season. S&T returns two All-GLVC second-teamers from last season with Alex Kerr averaging 14 points and 7.7 boards per game. Laura Rodriguez averaged 14.1 points and led the team with 54 assists and 22 steals.

More:Missouri State Lady Bears nearing the beginning of the Beth Cunningham era

Mizzou (Nov. 7, 6 p.m.)

The Cunningham era officially begins with the Lady Bears hosting their rivals from up north.

Like the Lady Bears, the Tigers have quite a bit of roster transition heading into this year but they will be led by Strafford legend Hayley Frank for her fifth season. She is Mizzou's lone All-SEC preseason selection while making the second team after averaging 15 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season.

Mizzou was picked to finish 12th in the SEC heading into the year. The Lady Bears have owned the series against the Tigers in recent years while winning the last three including a 79-51 win last season.

Sydney Wilson, of Missouri State, during the Lady Bears 79-51 win over Mizzou at JQH Arena on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021.
Sydney Wilson, of Missouri State, during the Lady Bears 79-51 win over Mizzou at JQH Arena on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021.

Saint Louis (Nov. 15, 6 p.m.)

SLU enters the 2022-23 season after going 9-18 last year but the Billikens will have a few talented players to account for.

Picked to finish 12th in the Atlantic 10, SLU returns senior Brooke Flowers who was named the league's defensive player of the year last season with 3.5 blocks per game. She also had the ninth-most rebounds per game average.

More:Get to know the new players on the Missouri State Lady Bears' roster entering 2022-23

Kyla McMakin is a third-team preseason selection and transferred to SLU this offseason after three seasons at Longwood where she was a three-time Big South All-Conference selection. There, she scored over 1,600 points and led the Lancers to an NCAA Tournament victory.

Oklahoma State (Nov. 17, 6 p.m.)

The Cowgirls are also entering a new era with former UMKC head coach Jacie Hoyt taking over as its new head coach. They were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll after a 9-20 season last year.

No one on the Cowgirls was selected to a preseason team but Lior Garzon was named to a 20-player watch list for the Cheryl Miller Award which is given to the top small forward at the end of the season. Garzon is a junior from Israel who transferred to Stillwater after being named the Big East Conference's most-improved player last season at Villanova.

vs. UTSA (Nov. 25, 6 p.m. in Las Vegas)

The first of a two-day trip to Vegas for the Lady Bears begins with a matchup with UTSA which was picked to finish ninth in Conference USA entering the season. The Roadrunners went 7-23 last season.

More:What Beth Cunningham and the Lady Bears said during Missouri State basketball's 2022-23 media day

Newcomer Jordyn Jenkins is one to watch after being named to the C-USA All-Conference team along with the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watchlist. She's a transfer from Southern California where she led the team in almost every offensive category and was named the PAC 12's most improved player along with All-PAC 12 honors at the end of the season.

vs. Middle Tennessee (Nov. 26, 1 p.m. in Las Vegas)

Middle Tennessee enters the season as the Conference USA preseason favorite with three players named to the league's preseason team. The Lady Raiders were a 27-win team last season with a WNIT semifinal appearance.

Savannah Wheeler, Courtney Whitson and Kseniya Malashka were each picked to the league's preseason team. Wheeler led C-USA in scoring last season at 20.2 points per game. Whitson was the nation's 35th-ranked shooter from 3 while Malashka was the C-USA Sixth Player of the Year.

The Missouri State Lady Bears defeated Southern University 72-43 at JQH Arena on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021.
The Missouri State Lady Bears defeated Southern University 72-43 at JQH Arena on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021.

@ Toledo (Dec. 4, noon)

In the return game of a home-and-home, the Lady Bears travel to Toledo after beating it 60-46 at Great Southern Bank Arena last season.

Toledo was picked to finish first in the MAC with two first-team selections. The Rockets return their starting five and nearly all of their reserve contributors from last season. They went 29-6 and earned a regular-season title.

More:After being overlooked, former Kickapoo star Indya Green is ready to shine at Missouri State

Quinesha Lockett and Sophia Wiard are first-team selections. Lockett averaged 17.9 points per game last season while Wiard averaged 12.6 points and 4.8 rebounds while leading the league in assist-turnover ratio.

@ TCU (Dec. 9, 6 p.m.)

The Lady Bears will travel to TCU to play the team that was picked to finish last in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs don't have anyone on the All-Big 12 team in the preseason. They had a few changes on their coaching staff and brought in a handful of newcomers following a 6-22 season.

Among the newcomers include transfers from Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, American, Central Arkansas and others.

Missouri State guard Paige Rocca (22), right, celebrates a score with forward Ifunanya Nwachukwu (13) against Ohio State in the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Missouri State guard Paige Rocca (22), right, celebrates a score with forward Ifunanya Nwachukwu (13) against Ohio State in the first half of a women's college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

UT Martin (Dec. 17, 1 p.m.)

The Skyhawks have been picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference with three players being named to the different OVC preseason teams. They are coming off a 12-18 season but return four starters.

UT Martin is led by Paige Pipkin who was a second-team all-conference player last season while averaging 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Shae Littleford was named the league's newcomer of the year last season as a 5-foot-7 guard.

Little Rock (Dec. 21, 1 p.m.)

The Trojans were picked to finish third, right behind UT Martin, in the OVC preseason poll. They are entering their first year in the OVC and don't have anyone on the 12-member All-OVC squad.

Little Rock finished last season 17-10 which included a 76-62 loss to the Lady Bears on opening day. They return their top scorer from last season in Sali Kourouman who is a 5-foot-11 forward who averaged 18.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State Lady Bears non-conference schedule in 2022-23