Missouri State Lady Bears
The Missouri State women’s basketball squad was voted seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll while sophomore guard Casey Garrison was named to the league’s preseason all-conference squad at Tuesday’s (Oct. 27) MVC Media Day in St. Louis.

Garrison turned in one of the top all-around freshman campaigns in school history in 2008-09, culminating in her selections as MVC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-MVC. The Bolivar, Mo., product’s 476 points registered as the 19th-highest total in Missouri State history, while her 15.9 ppg. scoring average was the second-best mark for a true freshman in all of Division I women’s basketball last season.

The 6-0 guard finished the season trailing only NCAA Division I scoring leader Jackie Stiles, who poured home 618 points during the 1997-98 campaign, on MSU’s freshman scoring list. A four-time MVC Newcomer of the Week honoree, Garrison also rated as the school’s second-leading freshman shot-blocker (0.8 bpg.) and finished the year among MSU’s all-time top five freshmen in assists (3.1 apg.) and rebounds (6.1 rpg.) as well, and became the first Lady Bear freshman to lead MSU in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots over a complete season.

Garrison was the fifth Lady Bear to earn The Valley’s rookie of the year honor, joining an elite group that includes Secelia Winkfield (1990), Roshonda Reed (1996), Jackie Stiles (1998), Jenni Lingor (2002) and Kari Koch (2003).

Creighton (393 points) was the pick of the Valley’s coaches, sports information directors and media affiliates for the top spot in the preseason poll. The Bluejays return three starters, including preseason Player of the Year pick Megan Neuvirth and 2008-09 All-MVC First-Team honoree Chevelle Herring.

Creighton narrowly edged Illinois State (340), which returns four starters, in the preseason poll and Drake (296), last year’s third-place finisher. Fourth-place pick UNI (253) brings back all five starters from last year’s sixth-place MVC squad, while this year’s fifth-place selection, Indiana State, will be looking to build on a 10-8 conference mark that included wins over every conference team except the Lady Bears.

Coming off an 10-20 campaign and a seventh-place regular-season finish in the MVC in head coach Nyla Milleson’s second season as head coach, Missouri State tallied 188 total points in the preseason poll to finish just 26 points behind Bradley, which totaled a school-record 21 wins in 2008-09. The Lady Bears return four starters and eight letterwinners overall this year.

Rounding out the order of finish were defending MVC Tournament champ Evansville (108 points) in seventh, with Wichita State (97) close behind in ninth, followed by Southern Illinois (61).

Illinois State’s Maggie Krick joined Garrison and Neuvirth on the MVC’s preseason all-conference team, along with fellow 2008-09 first-team all-league picks Jordann Plummer of Drake and Kelsey Luna of Indiana State.

The Lady Bears will kick off the 2009-10 season Sunday (Nov. 1) with a 2:05 p.m. exhibition contest against Missouri Western at JQH Arena. After another exhibition (Nov. 7) versus Arkansas Tech, MSU will begin its 41st season of competition with a Nov. 14 home game against Georgetown.

Missouri State Bears
UNI, which returns all five starters and nine of 10 players from last year’s regular-season co-champ and State Farm MVC Tournament winner, has been picked to earn the Missouri Valley Confer­ence men’s basketball title in 2009-10.

MVC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
1. UNI
2. Creighton
3. Illinois State
4. Southern Illinois
5. Wichita State
6. Bradley
7. Indiana State
8. Drake
9. Missouri State
10. Evansville

Preseason Player of the Year -- Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State


The SBU Bearcats, winners of the MIAA regular season
men's basketball championship in three of the last four seasons, were
selected to repeat as conference champions in the 2009-10 preseason MIAA
coaches poll. In the media poll, the Bearcats were picked second behind
Central Missouri. Southwest Baptist received seven first-place votes and
97 points in the coaches poll, followed by UCM with four first-place
votes and 92 total points. In the media poll, Central Missouri had 12
first-place votes and 272 total points to edge SBU, which received 14
first-place votes and 268 total points.

Head coach Jeff Guiot commented on why the Bearcats were picked at the
top, "We received that for two reasons - because MIAA MVP and
All-American Matt Rogers is back and because the success of the program
over the last few years. It's not going to win us any games. We have to
handle that with responsibility.
The ingredients are there, it just depends on how we mix them up. How
we come together and play as a team will be the important thing."

Tomas Brock joins Rogers as the Bearcats' returning starters, and Guiot
has brought in a host of new talent to replace the highly successful
senior class of a year ago. The Bearcats open their regular season with
a trip to the Disney Tip-off Classic on November 6-8 in Orlando,
Florida. SBU will match up with Saint Leo, Philadelphia and Lake
Superior State. Prior to that, the Bearcats will host Livin' The Dream
for an exhibition contest on Monday, November 2 at the Meyer Sports
Center.

2009-10 MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Southwest Baptist
2. Central Missouri
3. Emporia State
4. Fort Hays State
5. Missouri Western
6. Nebraska-Omaha
7. Missouri Southern
8. Washburn
9. Pittsburg State
10. Northwest Missouri
11. Truman

2009-10 MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1. Central Missouri
2. Southwest Baptist
3. Fort Hays State
4. Emporia State
5. Washburn
6. Nebraska-Omaha
7. Missouri Southern
8. Missouri Western
9. Northwest Missouri
10. Pittsburg State
11. Truman