# 2023–24 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team

The 2023–24 Missouri State Lady Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Bears, led by second-year head coach Beth Cunningham, played their home games at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the season 23–10, 15–5 in MVC play, to finish in third place.

## Previous season

The Lady Bears finished the 2022–23 season 20–12, 14–6 in MVC play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated Indiana State in the opening round of the MVC tournament, before falling to eventual tournament champions Drake in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid into the WNIT, where they would lose to Nebraska in the first round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 1, 2023* 6:30 p.m. | | Missouri Western | L 57–65 | – | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,574) Springfield, MO |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Little Rock | W 52–47 | 1–0 | Jack Stephens Center (–) Little Rock, AR |
| November 15, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis | L 67–79 | 1–1 | Chaifetz Arena (923) St. Louis, MO |
| November 22, 2023* 7:30 p.m. | | Southeast Missouri State | W 74–66 | 2–1 | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,783) Springfield, MO |
| November 26, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 51–82 | 2–2 | Gallagher-Iba Arena (2,009) Stillwater, OK |
| December 1, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulane | W 70–60 | 3–2 | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,922) Springfield, MO |
| December 6, 2023* 6:00 p.m., SECN | | at Missouri | L 63–81 | 3–3 | Mizzou Arena (3,894) Columbia, MO |
| December 16, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wichita State | W 72–65 | 4–3 | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,001) Springfield, MO |
| December 20, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | BYU Lady Bear Classic | W 56–55 | 5–3 | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,619) Springfield, MO |
| December 21, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Kentucky Lady Bear Classic | W 69–68 | 6–3 | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,674) Springfield, MO |
| MVC regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 54–52 | 7–3 (1–0) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,111) Springfield, MO |
| January 4, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 67–47 | 8–3 (2–0) | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,656) Springfield, MO |
| January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UIC | W 51–50 | 9–3 (3–0) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,885) Springfield, MO |
| January 11, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bradley | W 94–66 | 10–3 (4–0) | Renaissance Coliseum (379) Peoria, IL |
| January 14, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 78–85 | 10–4 (4–1) | CEFCU Arena (1,056) Normal, IL |
| January 19, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 90–55 | 11–4 (5–1) | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,921) Springfield, MO |
| January 21, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 89–71 | 12–4 (6–1) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,353) Springfield, MO |
| January 26, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 55–66 | 12–5 (6–2) | Curb Event Center (892) Nashville, TN |
| January 28, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Murray State | W 84–74 | 13–5 (7–2) | CFSB Center (2,163) Murray, KY |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | W 62–52 | 14–5 (8–2) | Banterra Center (887) Carbondale, IL |
| February 9, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Belmont | W 73–54 | 15–5 (9–2) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,503) Springfield, MO |
| February 11, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Murray State | L 89–95 | 15–6 (9–3) | Great Southern Bank Arena (2,175) Springfield, MO |
| February 15, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | W 59–51 | 16–6 (10–3) | Hulman Center (1,215) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 73–56 | 17–6 (11–3) | Meeks Family Fieldhouse (440) Evansville, IN |
| February 22, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 65–76 | 17–7 (11–4) | Knapp Center (2,448) Des Moines, IA |
| February 25, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 77–42 | 18–7 (12–4) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,229) Springfield, MO |
| February 29, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bradley | W 70–44 | 19–7 (13–4) | Great Southern Bank Arena (1,818) Springfield, MO |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 67–62 | 20–7 (14–4) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,030) Springfield, MO |
| March 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UIC | L 61–65 | 20–8 (14–5) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,107) Chicago, IL |
| March 9, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 77–66 | 21–8 (15–5) | Athletics–Recreation Center (466) Valparaiso, IN |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| March 15, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (6) Murray State Quarterfinals | W 71–70 | 22–8 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,004) Moline, IL |
| March 17, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (2) Belmont Semifinals | W 63–48 | 23–8 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,747) Moline, IL |
| March 16, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (1) Drake Championship | L 75–76 | 23–9 | Vibrant Arena at The MARK (1,305) Moline, IL |
| WBIT ||||||
| March 21, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at (4) Illinois First round | L 69–74 | 23–10 | State Farm Center (1,391) Champaign, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: