SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State women’s basketball head coach Beth Cunningham announced today the Lady Bears’ 14-game non-conference slate. It is highlighted by six home games and four games against top 70 NET teams from last season (Minnesota, Kansas, North Dakota State and Marquette).
The Lady Bears will open the 2026-27 season at home against SEMO on Monday, Nov. 2, marking the fourth consecutive season that Mo State and the Redhawks have faced off.
From there, Mo State will hit the road for consecutive games at Wyoming (Nov. 7) and Wichita State (Nov. 10). It will mark the Lady Bears’ first-ever trip to Wyoming and Missouri State will face the Shockers for the fourth year in a row in a matchup of old Missouri Valley Conference rivals.
Missouri State will welcome Marquette on Nov. 13 at Great Southern Bank Arena in the first meeting between the two squads since 1994-95. The Golden Eagles finished with a No. 69 NET ranking last season and will travel to Springfield for the second time ever, the only other time came in 1993-94.
The Lady Bears then have 23 days between home games as Mo State goes on the road for five straight contests. Missouri State will kick off its road stint at Saint Louis (Nov. 18) as the in-state rivals face off for the fifth straight season.
Mo State reels off three straight neutral site matchups beginning with Kansas City on Nov. 22 at the T-Mobile Center as part of the 28.5 Hoops Women’s Invitational. The Lady Bears competed in the same neutral-site event last season against Wichita State. From there, Missouri State jets off to paradise for the Cancun Challenge on Nov. 26 and 27. The Lady Bears will play Minnesota and a team to be determined while in Mexico. The Golden Gophers boasted a No. 9 NET ranking last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion UCLA.
Missouri State wraps up its road swing with a return game to historic Allen Fieldhouse to take on Kansas on Dec. 3. The Jayhawks finished with a No. 50 NET ranking a season ago and made it to the semifinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).
The Lady Bears finish the non-conference slate with four of their last five games at home. Mo State hosts Central Arkansas (Dec. 6), North Dakota State (Dec. 12), UT Arlington (Dec. 16) and Austin Peay (Dec. 22) at Great Southern Bank Arena. UCA comes to Springfield for the second consecutive year, while the Lady Bears will face NDSU and Austin Peay for the first time in the programs’ histories. North Dakota State finished last season with a No. 53 NET ranking and advanced to the second round of the WBIT. The Governors earned a spot in the WNIT field following a run to the ASUN Tournament championship game last year.
Mo State will return a game at Arkansas on Dec. 19 for the lone road matchup in the final five games of the non-conference schedule.
Head coach Beth Cunningham and the Lady Bears are coming off a 23-13 season that saw Missouri State win its first-ever Conference USA Tournament championship and advance to the program’s 18th NCAA Tournament. It marked the 11th straight postseason appearance and ninth-straight 20-win season for Mo State. The Lady Bears return seven players from a season ago and welcome a group of seven newcomers that features four freshmen and three transfers.
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