2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsLady Bears off to worst start in nearly 20 seasons
Alex Robichaud
Issue date: 11/27/07 Section: Sports
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"It's really frustrating when shooters aren't protected," Milleson said in her postgame radio show.
Senior point guard Tahnee Balerio and sophomore guard Roxy Stiles shot a combined 4-of-16 from the field.
"I didn't think there was a lot of consistency in calls out there," Milleson said. "Tahnee and Roxy got bumped hard on a couple of occasions, and nothing was called. Then we would get called for a touch foul. But that's life on the road."
The loss dropped the Lady Bears to 0-4, their worst start since 1988.
"The biggest negative was that we trailed 16-3 to start the game," Milleson said. "We have to come out of the gates ready to play."
The Lady Bears have lost all four of their games by deficits of at least 10 points.
"I saw a whole lot more positives than any of the other games," Milleson said. "I'm still disappointed though because we desperately need, and want, to get a win."
UALR's 6-foot-3 forward Nikya Hughes started off by scoring the first seven points of the contest. She continued to control the game by having 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
"We knew what she was going to do and still couldn't stop her," Milleson said. "We sat back, and she went on a scoring run."
The Lady Bears pulled the team within five with 6:44 remaining, but that was as close as the Lady Bears would get in the final minutes. The Trojans fought off every run the Lady Bears made.
"Every time we would get a run it seemed like we would make a turnover or give up an offensive rebound," Milleson said.
The Lady Bears shot a meager 36 percent from the field to go into halftime down 35-31.
The Lady Bears out-rebounded UALR 38-33, but 28 percent shooting by the Lady Bears in the second half helped UALR put them away. Missouri State ended the night with 18-of-57 shooting from the field and 17 turnovers.
Missouri State goes for its first win of the season at home this Thursday. They play 2-4 Texas-San Antonio.
Lord leaves program
In addition to losing their fourth straight game, Missouri State will be losing the tallest player on the team. Ashley Lord, a 6-foot-4 sophomore center, is leaving the team for personal reasons. She is seeking a transfer at the end of the fall semester.
Lord was a two-time McDonald's all-American at Marmaton Valley High School in Moran, Kan. She was named an all-state player four times. She averaged three points and four rebounds last season. This season she averaged 6.7 minutes per game.
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