Lady Bears Basketball enter the post season this week, and their first year in the Conference USA tournament.
They ended the regular season with a competitive record, an ability to put forth the extra effort it takes to win and a team culture that student sports reporters and podcast hosts Elizabeth Dedert and Ariah Cooper say is something special.
“They want to win for their coach and they want to win for this together... There's a lot of community,” Dedert explained. “It's not just a basketball team,” added Cooper, detailing their philanthropy and camaraderie.
Dedert and Cooper host Women Wednesdays on The Growl, a sports podcast from Missouri State’s newspaper The Standard. They talked to me about the Lady Bears Basketball team before the end of their regular season last Wednesday. Dedert says it's been particularly rewarding to watch and report on the success of the team this past year.
“You see how much history that the Lady Bears have and, women's basketball has and women's sports has for Missouri State and to be to women writers in a male dominated field in sports, it's really fun. It's really fun to to report and write about the love and the confidence and the success for women's sports and for the Lady Bears.”
Dedert and Cooper will be watching as the Lady Bears enter Conference USA tournament play as a sixth seed this week. Their first game is Thursday in Huntsville, Alabama.
Listen above to our full conversation.
Find The Growl podcast at the-standard.org.