Game 26 Preview: at Missouri State

Game 26 • at Missouri State
Springfield, MO • Great American Bank Arena (11,000)
Sam Houston (16-9, 9-5 CUSA) vs Missouri State (16-11, 8-6 CUSA)
Tuesday, February 24 • 6:30 PM CT

TV: ESPN+ (Don West, Carly Stubblefield)
RADIO: BSN (Stephanie Keele)
HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @Bearkats_WBB
Series vs the Bears: 1-0

Springfield, MO. – Sam Houston will look to stay near the top of CUSA play when they face Missouri State on Tuesday at Great American Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri.

Tipoff for the game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT with Don West and Carly Stubblefield on the call courtside on ESPN+.

The game can also be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network and the Bearkat Athletics app with Stephanie Keele moving behind the mic for the Kats for the 2025-26 season.

KATS LOOK TO STAY NEAR THE TOP OF CUSA
-Sam Houston coming off a heartbreaking 69-68 loss to the Gamecocks on Saturday in Pete Mathews Coliseum, snapping a four-game win streak against Jax State

-The Kats drops to tie for third with MTSU, falling one game behind FIU and four games behind regular season champions LA Tech

- Bearkats lead CUSA and rank fourth in the nation with 26.2 turnovers forced per game. The Kats has forced 20+ turnovers in 23 out of the 25 games this season, with Rice and Jax State being the lone exception

- Sam Houston leads CUSA and ranks 36th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 57.8 ppg

- Fanta Kone has 114 assists on the year and needs 5 more steals to get to 90. No Bearkat has had consecutive seasons of 100+ assists since Britni Martin (2011-12, 2012-13) and no Kat has had 90+ steals in consecutive seasons since LaKeita Richardson (1993-94, 1994-95)

- Kone scored 20 points against Jax State, marking her third 20-point game of the season and her 16th double-figure scoring performance. Annika Corcoran added a career-high 18 points against the Gamecocks, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range

- Kone now ranks ninth in program history in career steals with 176, surpassing Ray Alexander (173 steals, 2005-10) Khamra Echols (170 steals, 2008–12)

- The Kats are averaging 13.8 steals per game, ranking eighth nationally and leading CUSA. That pace puts them on track to record the fourth-most steals in a single season in Bearkat history.

SERIES HISTORY

- Tuesday's contest was rescheduled from January 24 due to a winter storm that hit the surrounding areas. This is just the second meeting from these two teams with Missouri State entering as newcomers to CUSA.

- Sam Houston secured a 74-67 comeback victory at Johnson Coliseum taking sole possession of second place at the time. Fanta Kone led the way with 19 points and eight assists, marking her seventh double figure scoring performance in conference play. Deborah Ogayemi and Annika Corcoran each added 13 points, while Whitney Dunn chipped in 11 and Nyla Inmon finished with 10

Game 26 Preview: at Missouri State

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Players Mentioned

Annika Corcoran

Whitney Dunn

Nyla Inmon

Fanta Kone

Deborah Ogayemi

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