AUSTIN, Texas — It had been 29 years since Missouri State coach Beth Cunningham’s previous visit to the University of Texas, and it was in a much different capacity.
The then-Notre Dame senior helped spearhead the No. 6 seed Irish’s upset of third-seeded Texas 86-83 in the Sweet 16 of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, a St. Patrick’s Day triumph and one of the more brilliant performances of Cunningham’s sterling playing career.
On Tuesday, Cunningham was back in Austin as an underdog yet again.
But before her No. 16 seed and Conference USA Tournament champion Lady Bears (22-12) can get a shot at the No. 1 seed and host Longhorns (31-3) on Friday a Moody Arena in the latest edition of March Madness, they will have to get past a much smaller school within the University of Texas System: No. 16 seed Stephen F. Austin (25-9), whose Nacogdoches-based campus is a 230-mile drive from the Texas capital.
MSU is a 2.5-point betting favorite against the Lumberjacks, a Southland Conference power in their fourth NCAA Tournament since 2021.
Tipoff for the First Four play-in game is at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Beth Cunningham speaks to reporters on Tuesday at the University of Texas ahead of an NCAA Tournament game against Stephen F. Austin. (Photo by NCAA)
The five-team University of Texas host pod also includes No. 8 seed Oregon and No. 9 seed Virginia Tech, who face off Friday at 12:30 p.m., part of an assembly of teams with several Missouri State connections.
Stephen F. Austin associate head coach Steve Yang is a 2006 Missouri State grad and a former Lady Bears director of basketball operations in the early 2010s under Nyla Milleson. He was also an assistant at Evangel.
Missouri State senior reserve guard Angel Scott (1.3 points per game) played her first two seasons at Stephen F. Austin under current head coach Leonard Bishop (then an assistant) and started 34 games. She helped the Lumberjacks reach the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Virginia Tech assistant coach Darren Guensch spent the three previous seasons as Missouri State’s associate head coach alongside Cunningham.
Texas senior guard and former West Plains and Missouri star Ashton Judd is the daughter of Eric Judd, a member of the 1999 Missouri State team that reached the Sweet 16.
Neither Missouri State (a No. 6 seed in the CUSA Tournament) nor SFA (No. 3 seed in Southland Tournament) were regular-season champions with parity in their respective leagues. Each got hot when it mattered most.
The Lady Bears (NET ranking of 115) and Lumberjacks (NET ranking of 161) each take momentum into a clash of contrasting styles.
A long and physical MSU team that’s been held back by turnovers (17.7 per game), faces a guard-heavy, up-tempo SFA team putting up 74 points a contest. They’ve put up a gaudy 860 3-point attempts (25.2 per game), connecting on 283, led by Harmanie Dominguez (97 for 262).
Missouri State junior guard and Republic graduate Kaemyn Bekemeier (first-team all-CUSA) earned CUSA Tournament MVP honors after averaging 17.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in Huntsville, Alabama. Sophomore forward Lainie Douglas (second-team all-CUSA) also earned tournament honors after totaling 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in the title game.
Cunningham, Bekemeier and Douglas spoke to reporters at a Tuesday pre-practice press conference at the Moody Center to discuss Wednesday’s matchup and their path to the tournament. SFA was represented by Bishop, Dominguez and Ashlyn Traylor-Walker.
Here are some of the things the players and coaches said on Tuesday, roughly 40 hours after learning their tournament destination.
MSU guard Kaemyn Bekemeier
On what she sees out of Stephen F. Austin on film.
“We’re going to approach them like we’ve approached every Conference USA team. I think it will be a really good matchup, something we’re similar to. They work back and forth between man and zone, so we’ll get to run everything that we have. They like to run out in transition with lots of 3s and layups. I think it will be an awesome matchup. Something we’re familiar with and seeing. We’re excited to get out there and get shots up, even though it’s practice today. Just soaking it up today and getting mentally ready to play tomorrow.”
On getting a No. 16 seed after winning CUSA Tournament as a No. 6 seed.
“At this point, it’s just an honor to be here. I know the Lord has a plan, and whatever happens, happens. The sixth seed and three (Conference Tournament wins) was all for a reason, so I have no doubt that this is for a reason, too. But we’ve talked, and we’re excited to play a (play-in) game before (playing against a) really high seed, so it will be good to shoot in a real game in the same arena and have the game-day feel and be able to turn around and do it two days later.”
MSU forward Lainie Douglas
On sustaining momentum in NCAA Tournament after beating No. 3, No. 2 and No. 1 seeds in CUSA Tournament.
“It felt like there was always a target on our back, so just playing our game. I know we have a great chance against any team we play. Just playing our game is the best we can do, and sticking to the scout, playing how we know: with toughness and grit.”
MSU coach Beth Cunningham
On Stephen F. Austin after scouting the Lumberjacks.
“Talented team, very guard-oriented. They love to shoot the 3 and play with tempo. We’ll see a little more zone than what we’ve seen in our recent games, although we’ve seen it throughout the year. (Head coach Leonard) Bishop does a great job with them, and we have one of their former players playing with us in Angel Scott. That is probably most of my familiarity with them before this point. They’ve had a tremendous year, and we’re excited for the opportunity. “
On getting a No. 16 seed and a play-in game.
“At this point, not really focused on where they decided to place us. It was a little bit of a surprise. It wasn’t really on my radar that we could be playing as early as Wednesday. But that’s not our focus. To win the conference championship and put ourselves in a position to be there, that’s our entire focus is to play like we would any game and prepare for another game on our schedule.”
On the quick turnaround and after playing three consecutive days in CUSA Tournament.
“The way it played out, we’re kind of in a good game flow. You can look at it a couple of ways. Oftentimes, once you find out who you’re playing and when you’re playing, you have a whole week to balance getting back into practice, prepping. But we’ve been in a good game flow. Sunday and Monday off both ended up being travel days, so we haven’t been able to do anything on the court since the championship game. Most of the time, we’ve had a day off, one prep with practice, and a shootaround on game day. We’re in a good flow right and I think the kids will be more excited for a game than a practice.”
SFA guard Ashlyn Traylor-Walker
On her assessment of Missouri State.
“They’re a lot different to the teams we’re used to in (the Southland Conference). They have a lot of post play, so that’s something we have to pay attention to.”
SFA guard Harmanie Dominguez
On potentially getting a home-like crowd against the out-of-state Lady Bears.
“It’s Texas, not too far from home, so more people can come and support. Our support system has been really good, and I’ve talked to some boosters who said they’d come. So that’s what really brings home to us, so being in Texas is really nice.”
SFA coach Leonard Bishop
On what stood out to Bishop after scouting Missouri State.
‘Their length, athleticism. They’re a lot bigger than the Southland Conference teams we play. Coach (Beth) Cunningham does a great job after timeout sets and things like that to get them easy points. They do get out in transition and are gritty on the defensive end. A lot of things we talked about in the short turnaround time we got for prep. But at the end of the day, we have to be the best version of ourselves. Missouri State presents its challenges, but we have to make sure we’re playing our brand of basketball.”
On his former player, Angel Scott, now at MSU and his associate head coach Steve Yang a product of MSU.
“Angel was a really good player when she played for us when we had her and her sister here. We talk about family here, and we’ve coached a lot of sisters here, and those were sisters we were able to win a championship with. Coach Yang graduated from Missouri State. He wanted to take the (scouting report) because it was a little personal for him. A lot of connections. And we’re playing at the University of Texas, so we’re talking about three programs with a tradition in women’s basketball, so it’s an honor to play against Missouri State and, if we get the opportunity, to play against the University of Texas (on Friday).”
Ryan Collingwood covers college and high school sports in the Springfield metropolitan area for the Daily Citizen. Have a story idea or gripe? Send an email to rcollingwood@sgfcitizen.org, call or 417-837-3660, or follow Ryan on social media at X.com/rwcollingwood. More by Ryan Collingwood