2025–26 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team
| 2025–26 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Record | 15–8 (7–3 C-USA) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Great Southern Bank Arena |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | 13 | – | 1 | .929 | 20 | – | 5 | .800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | 16 | – | 8 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middle Tennessee | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | 14 | – | 11 | .560 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 16 | – | 9 | .640 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liberty | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 14 | – | 11 | .560 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri State | 7 | – | 6 | .538 | 15 | – | 11 | .577 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 12 | – | 14 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville State | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 12 | – | 14 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kennesaw State | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 12 | – | 13 | .480 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico State | 4 | – | 9 | .308 | 8 | – | 17 | .320 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 3 | – | 10 | .231 | 11 | – | 13 | .458 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Kentucky | 2 | – | 11 | .154 | 6 | – | 18 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 CUSA tournament winner As of February 19, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.
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
| Place | Team | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana Tech | 128 (5) | |
| 2 | Liberty | 125 (5) | |
| 3 | Middle Tennessee | 123 (2) | |
| 4 | Missouri State | 107 | |
| 5 | Western Kentucky | 96 | |
| 6 | FIU | 74 | |
| 7 | Sam Houston | 59 | |
| T-8 | UTEP | 57 | |
| Kennesaw State | |||
| 10 | New Mexico State | 51 | |
| 11 | Delaware | 36 | |
| 12 | Jacksonville State | 23 | |
| (#) first-place votes | |||
Source:[7]
Preseason All-CUSA Team
| Player | Position | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Faith Lee | Forward | Senior |
Source:[7]
Roster
| 2025–26 Missouri State Lady Bears women's basketball team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| 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 | Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX | |||||||||
| February 14, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Louisiana Tech | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA | |||||||||
| February 19, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Liberty | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO | |||||||||
| February 21, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Delaware | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO | |||||||||
| February 24, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+ |
Sam Houston | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO | |||||||||
| February 26, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+ |
FIU | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO | |||||||||
| March 5, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at Western Kentucky | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
| March 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Middle Tennessee | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN | |||||||||
| C-USA tournament | |||||||||||
| March 10–14, 2026 |
vs. | Propst Arena Huntsville, AL | |||||||||
References
- ^ "2024–25 Women's Basketball Standings". Missouri Valley Conference. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Missouri State women's basketball holds off UIC in MVC Tournament quarterfinals". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Belmont bounces Missouri State in MVC semifinals, likely keeping the Lady Bears out of the NCAA Tournament". Springfield Daily Citizen. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "WBIT 2025 schedule, bracket: Game times, TV, streaming for women's tournament". USA Today. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Historic Season for #ORUWBB Comes to a Close in First Round of WBIT". The Summit League. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Minnesota Women's Basketball: Gophers defeat Missouri State to Advance to WBIT Quarterfinals". The Daily Gopher. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ a b c "WBB: 2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "2025–26 Women's Basketball Schedule". Missouri State. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Missouri State Bears 2025–26 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved February 6, 2026.