# 2017–18 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team

The 2017–18 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Bears, led by fifth year head coach Kellie Harper, played their home games at JQH Arena and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 15–3 in MVC play to finish in second place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament where they lost to Northern Iowa. They received an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Louisiana Tech in the first round before losing to TCU in the second round.

## Previous season

They finished the season 16–15, 12–4 in MVC play to finish in third place. They lost in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament to Evansville. They received an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Iowa in the first round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/05/2017* 2:00 pm | | Lindenwood | W 75–48 | | JQH Arena (1,780) Springfield, MO |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State | L 58–70 | 0–1 | Worthen Arena (1,040) Muncie, IN |
| 11/15/2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Missouri | W 62–36 | 1–1 | JQH Arena (3,001) Springfield, MO |
| 11/19/2017* 2:00 pm, KOZL | | No. 23 Missouri | L 59–69 | 1–2 | JQH Arena (4,251) Springfield, MO |
| 11/23/2017* 7:00 pm | | vs. No. 8 Baylor Junkanoo Jam Junkanoo Division semifinals | L 58–100 | 1–3 | Gateway Christian Academy Bimini, Bahamas |
| 11/24/2017* 6:45 pm | | vs. Penn Junkanoo Jam Junkanoo Division 3rd place game | L 60–65 | 1–4 | Gateway Christian Academy Bimini, Bahamas |
| 11/29/2017* 7:00 pm, KOZL | | at Wichita State | L 58–72 | 1–5 | Charles Koch Arena (1,988) Wichita, KS |
| 12/04/2017* 6:30 pm | | at Little Rock | L 51–63 | 1–6 | Jack Stephens Center (1,037) Little Rock, AR |
| 12/07/2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Wichita State | W 78–65 | 2–6 | JQH Arena (1,821) Springfield, MO |
| 12/10/2017* 2:00 pm, 0ESPN3 | | Oral Roberts | W 76–66 | 3–6 | JQH Arena (2,034) Springfield, MO |
| 12/16/2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northwestern | W 90–59 | 4–6 | JQH Arena (2,121) Springfield, MO |
| 12/19/2017* 12:00 pm | | at Alabama | L 61–65 | 4–7 | Coleman Coliseum (1,971) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Missouri Valley regular season ||||||
| 12/29/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | W 77–63 | 5–7 (1–0) | Hulman Center (1,272) Terre Haute, IN |
| 12/31/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | W 95–65 | 6–7 (2–0) | Meeks Family Fieldhouse (332) Evansville, IN |
| 01/05/2018 7:00 pm, KOZL | | Drake | L 68–80 | 6–8 (2–1) | JQH Arena (2,204) Springfield, MO |
| 01/07/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Iowa | W 62–52 | 7–8 (3–1) | JQH Arena (1,871) Springfield, MO |
| 01/12/2018 7:00 pm, KOZL | | at Illinois State | W 56–50 | 8–8 (4–1) | Redbird Arena (718) Normal, IL |
| 01/14/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bradley | W 71–65 | 9–8 (5–1) | Renaissance Coliseum (918) Peoria, IL |
| 01/19/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | W 83–60 | 10–8 (6–1) | JQH Arena (2,486) Springfield, MO |
| 01/21/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Loyola–Chicago | W 75–36 | 11–8 (7–1) | JQH Arena (2,326) Springfield, MO |
| 01/26/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Southern Illinois | L 69–71 $^{OT}$ | 11–9 (7–2) | SIU Arena (703) Carbondale, IL |
| 02/02/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | W 57–52 | 12–9 (8–2) | McLeod Center (1,406) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 02/04/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Drake | L 65–84 | 12–10 (8–3) | Knapp Center (3,784) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/09/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bradley | W 74–54 | 13–10 (9–3) | JQH Arena (2,417) Springfield, MO |
| 02/11/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State | W 75–58 | 14–10 (10–3) | JQH Arena (1,246) Springfield, MO |
| 02/16/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 69–58 | 15–10 (11–3) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (502) Chicago, IL |
| 02/18/2018 3:00 pm, KOZL | | at Valparaiso | W 66–60 | 16–10 (12–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center (349) Valparaiso, IN |
| 02/23/2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 79–61 | 17–10 (13–3) | JQH Arena (2,383) Springfield, MO |
| 03/01/2018 7:00 pm, KOZL | | Evansville | W 97–51 | 18–10 (14–3) | JQH Arena (1,875) Springfield, MO |
| 03/03/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Indiana State | W 69–56 | 19–10 (15–3) | JQH Arena (2,412) Springfield, MO |
| Missouri Valley Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/09/2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (7) Bradley Quarterfinals | W 76–68 | 20–10 | TaxSlayer Center Moline, IL |
| 03/10/2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (3) Northern Iowa Semifinals | L 58–70 | 20–11 | TaxSlayer Center (2,129) Moline, IL |
| WNIT ||||||
| 03/15/2018* 6:30 pm | | at Louisiana Tech First Round | W 63–59 | 21–11 | Thomas Assembly Center (1,734) Ruston, LA |
| 03/17/2018* 12:00 pm | | at TCU Second Round | L 51–86 | 21–12 | Schollmaier Arena (1,069) Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||