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2025–26 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team

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The 2025–26 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team represents Missouri State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Bears, led by fourth-year head coach Beth Cunningham, play their home games at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri as first-year members of Conference USA.

ConferenceConference USA
Record23–13 (11–7 C-USA)
Headcoach
Assistant coaches
Quick facts Missouri State Lady Bears basketball, CUSA tournament champions ...
2025–26 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball
CUSA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceConference USA
Record23–13 (11–7 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaGreat Southern Bank Arena
Seasons
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More information Conf., Overall ...
2025–26 Conference USA women's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Louisiana Tech17–1 .94426–7  .788
FIU12–6 .66721–12  .636
Middle Tennessee11–7 .61117–16  .515
Sam Houston11–7 .61118–13  .581
Liberty11–7 .61118–13  .581
Missouri State †11–7 .61123–13  .639
Jacksonville State9–9 .50016–16  .500
Delaware6–12 .33313–19  .406
Kennesaw State6–12 .33313–17  .433
UTEP5–13 .27813–17  .433
New Mexico State5–13 .2789–21  .300
Western Kentucky4–14 .2228–21  .276
† 2026 CUSA tournament winner
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Previous season

The Lady Bears finished the 2024–25 season 26–9, 16–4 in MVC play, to finish as MVC regular season co-champions, alongside Murray State.[1] They defeated UIC,[2] before falling to Belmont in the semifinals of the MVC tournament.[3] They received an at-large bid to the WBIT,[4] where they would defeat Oral Roberts in the first round,[5] before falling to eventual tournament champions Minnesota in the second round.[6]

Preseason

On October 9, 2025, Conference USA released their preseason poll. Missouri State was picked to finish fourth in the conference.[7]

Preseason rankings

More information Place, Team ...
Conference USA Preseason Poll
Place Team Votes
1Louisiana Tech128 (5)
2Liberty125 (5)
3Middle Tennessee123 (2)
4Missouri State107
5Western Kentucky96
6FIU74
7Sam Houston59
T-8UTEP57
Kennesaw State
10New Mexico State51
11Delaware36
12Jacksonville State23
(#) first-place votes
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Source:[7]

Preseason All-CUSA Team

More information Player, Position ...
Preseason All-CUSA Team
Player Position Year
Faith Lee Forward Senior
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Source:[7]

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2025–26 Missouri State Lady Bears women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Victoria Dixon 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) SrHouston Christian Grand Prairie, Texas
G 1 JaNyla Bush 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m) RS FrLink Academy St. Louis, Missouri
F 2 Lainie Douglas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) SoBlue Valley Northwest High School Overland Park, Kansas
G 3 Kendal Brueggen 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) FrHesston High School Hesston, Kansas
G 5 Zoe Canfield 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) SoKansas Topeka, Kansas
F 11 Faith Lee 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) SrLittle Rock Monroe, Louisiana
F 12 Tyra Robinson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) JrWestern Carolina Little Rock, Arkansas
G 13 Maycee James 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) SrPittsburg State Goddard, Kansas
F 15 Maiesha Washington 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) FrLegion Prep Academy Fayetteville, Arkansas
G 20 Angel Scott 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS SrStephen F. Austin Edmond, Oklahoma
G 24 Kaemyn Bekemeier 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) JrRepublic High School Republic, Missouri
G 31 Audrey Hopkins 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) FrLincoln Christian School Tulsa, Oklahoma
G 32 Cady Pauley 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) SrVirginia Milan, Missouri
F 33 Blake O'Grady 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) JrDexter Southfield School Brookline, Massachusetts
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: February 6, 2026

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Schedule and results

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 28, 2025*
6:30 pm		 Northeastern State W 75–57  –
  17 – Lee  8 – James  7 – James  Great Southern Bank Arena (1,797)
Springfield, MO
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Saint Louis W 70–66  1–0
  23 – Bekemeier  9 – Bekemeier  2 – Tied  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,030)
Springfield, MO
November 7, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 at UT Arlington W 69–53  2–0
  20 – Lee  9 – Bekemeier  6 – James  College Park Center (586)
Arlington, TX
November 11, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 at Southeast Missouri State W 67–57  3–0
  22 – Bekemeier  10 – Bekemeier  5 – James  Show Me Center (850)
Cape Girardeau, MO
November 15, 2025*
3:30 pm		 vs. Wichita State W 66–57  4–0
  14 – Lee  10 – Bekemeier  3 – Bush  T-Mobile Center 
Kansas City, MO
November 18, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Georgia Southern W 69–58  5–0
  21 – Douglas  13 – Bekemeier  4 – James  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,080)
Springfield, MO
November 22, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Tulsa L 57−73  5−1
  19 – Bekemeier  7 – Bekemeier  2 – Washington  Reynolds Center (1,283)
Tulsa, OK
November 28, 2025*
3:00 pm, FloHoops		 vs. Florida State
Coconut Hoops Great Egret Division semifinals		 L 75−85  5−2
  16 – Douglas  6 – Tied  3 – Tied  Alico Arena (952)
Fort Myers, FL
November 30, 2025*
3:00 pm, FloHoops		 vs. Coppin State
Coconut Hoops Great Egret Division consolation		 W 77–56  6–2
  23 – Pauley  6 – James  4 – Bush  Alico Arena (868)
Fort Myers, FL
December 4, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 at Tulane W 72–66  7–2
  22 – Bekemeier  7 – Tied  5 – Pauley  Devlin Fieldhouse (657)
New Orleans, LA
December 7, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+		 Kansas L 70–73 OT 7–3
  21 – Bekemeier  9 – Douglas  3 – James  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,338)
Springfield, MO
December 13, 2025*
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 Arkansas L 58–73  7–4
  18 – Bekemeier  7 – Brueggen  3 – Washington  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,862)
Springfield, MO
December 19, 2025*
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Gonzaga L 49–68  7–5
  13 – Pauley  7 – Bekemeier  3 – Washington  Great Southern Bank Arena (1,801)
Springfield, MO
December 22, 2025*
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 Central Arkansas W 65−61  8−5
  24 – Bekemeier  14 – Bekemeier  5 – Bekemeier  Great Southern Bank Arena (1,569)
Springfield, MO
C-USA regular season
January 4, 2026
12:00 pm, ESPN+		 at FIU W 80–69  9–5
(1–0)		  19 – Washington  11 – Washington  7 – Bekemeier  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (85)
Miami, FL
January 8, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Kennesaw State W 67–61  10–5
(2–0)		  26 – Bekemeier  11 – Bekemeier  3 – Tied  Great Southern Bank Arena (1,863)
Springfield, MO
January 10, 2026
12:00 pm, ESPN+		 Jacksonville State W 63–47  11–5
(3–0)		  31 – Bekemeier  14 – Bekemeier  4 – James  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,190)
Springfield, MO
January 15, 2026
8:00 pm, ESPN+		 at UTEP W 71–64  12–5
(4–0)		  21 – Bekemeier  6 – Douglas  3 – Bekemeier  Don Haskins Center (821)
El Paso, TX
January 17, 2026
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 at New Mexico State L 56–63  12–6
(4–1)		  17 – Douglas  8 – Washington  4 – James  Pan American Center (959)
Las Cruces, NM
January 22, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Louisiana Tech L 51–60  12–7
(4–2)		  15 – Tied  7 – Bekemeier  3 – James  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,326)
Springfield, MO
January 30, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Delaware W 79–54  13–7
(5–2)		  17 – Douglas  12 – Bekemeier  5 – Bush  Bob Carpenter Center (754)
Newark, DE
February 1, 2026
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Liberty L 52–60  13–8
(5–3)		  24 – Bekemeier  7 – Bekemeier  3 – Tied  Liberty Arena (1,060)
Lynchburg, VA
February 5, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Middle Tennessee W 60–54  14–8
(6–3)		  25 – Bekemeier  8 – Tied  3 – James  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,088)
Springfield, MO
February 7, 2026
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 Western Kentucky W 75–52  15–8
(7–3)		  21 – Bekemeier  8 – Douglas  6 – Bush  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,641)
Springfield, MO
February 12, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 at Sam Houston L 67–74  15–9
(7–4)		  21 – Bekemeier  11 – Douglas  3 – Brueggen  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (545)
Huntsville, TX
February 14, 2026
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Louisiana Tech L 67–68  15–10
(7–5)		  18 – Douglas  13 – Washington  8 – Bush  Thomas Assembly Center 
Ruston, LA
February 19, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Liberty L 43–55  15–11
(7–6)		  19 – Bekemeier  11 – Washington  2 – Washington  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,225)
Springfield, MO
February 21, 2026
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 Delaware W 83–57  16–11
(8–6)		  28 – Douglas  12 – Douglas  5 – Tied  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,451)
Springfield, MO
February 24, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 Sam Houston W 60–55  17–11
(9–6)		  20 – Douglas  9 – Washington  4 – Washington  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,259)
Springfield, MO
February 26, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 FIU W 69–38  18–11
(10–6)		  20 – Douglas  13 – Douglas  4 – James  Great Southern Bank Arena (2,074)
Springfield, MO
March 5, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 at Western Kentucky W 65-38  19–11
(11–6)		  22 – Douglas  11 – Washington  5 – James  E. A. Diddle Arena (1,030)
Bowling Green, KY
March 7, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Middle Tennessee L 75-86  19–12
(11–7)		  18 – Brueggen  7 – Douglas  3 – Tied  Murphy Center (3,807)
Murfreesboro, TN
C-USA tournament
March 12, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+		 (6) vs. (3) Middle Tennessee
Quarterfinals		 W 69-66  20-12
  15 – Bekemeier  11 – Bekemeier  7 – Washington  Propst Arena (3,528)
Huntsville, AL
March 13, 2026
8:00 pm, ESPN+		 (6) vs. (2) FIU
Semifinals		 W 74-69  21-12
  22 – Bekemeier  11 – Washington  7 – Bekemeier  Propst Arena (2,187)
Huntsville, AL
March 14, 2026
4:30 pm, CBSSN		 (6) vs. (1) Louisiana Tech
Final		 W 43-38  22-12
  16 – Bekemeier  11 – Douglas  4 – James  Propst Arena (2,623)
Huntsville, AL
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2026
8:00 pm, ESPN2		 (16 FW3) vs. (16 FW3)  Stephen F. Austin
First Four		 W 85–75  23–12
  22 – Bekemeier  13 – Bekemeier  4 – Tied  Moody Center (681)
Austin, Texas
March 20, 2026
3:00 pm, ESPN		 (16 FW3) at (1 FW3) No. 3 Texas
First Round		 L 45–87  23–13
  14 – Bekemeier  8 – Douglas  3 – James  Moody Center (7,938)
Austin, Texas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.
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Sources:[8][9]

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