Missouri State hosts Evansville following Rocca’s 21-point game

Evansville Purple Aces (5-17, 1-10 MVC) at Missouri State Bears (17-5, 9-2 MVC)

Springfield, Missouri; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Missouri State takes on Evansville after Paige Rocca scored 21 points in Missouri State’s 76-61 win over the Indiana State Sycamores.

The Bears are 10-0 on their home court. Missouri State ranks fourth in the MVC with 15.3 assists per game led by Lacy Stokes averaging 4.1.

The Purple Aces are 1-10 in conference games. Evansville is ninth in the MVC with 11.8 assists per game led by Camryn Runner averaging 2.9.

Missouri State scores 72.4 points per game, 2.9 fewer points than the 75.3 Evansville gives up. Evansville’s 36.9% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.3 percentage points lower than Missouri State has given up to its opponents (40.2%).

The matchup Sunday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Stokes is averaging 12.5 points, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals for the Bears. Sarah Linthacum is averaging 12.4 points over the last 10 games.

Maggie Hartwig is averaging 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Purple Aces. Runner is averaging 12.8 points and 5.6 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bears: 9-1, averaging 73.1 points, 36.7 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 8.8 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 58.6 points per game.

Purple Aces: 1-9, averaging 61.0 points, 31.0 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 36.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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