As the Missouri State Lady Bears prepare to open Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend, Lacy Stokes has erased doubts about her ability to settle into the all-important role of point guard.
This is nothing new for Stokes. The junior transfer — named this week for the third time this season as Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week — has been quieting skeptics for years, showing you can be the shortest player on the court and still have the biggest impact.
“Lacy is kind of undersized for her position, but she doesn’t let that stop her,” teammate Indya Green said of the 5-foot-4 Stokes, a Mount Vernon High School graduate who’s leading the Lady Bears in scoring, assists and steals.
“We put all our trust in Lacy and know she is going to lead us in the right direction,” Green said.
Missouri State (6-3) will take a three-game winning streak into its conference opener at 1 p.m. Saturday in Great Southern Bank Arena against Northern Iowa. Stokes has averaged 16.7 points, three assists and 1.7 steals during the winning streak with a fearless playing style.
Driving to the basket amid the tall trees is one of her strengths — and something that Division I coaches apparently didn’t believe Stokes could pull off at the top level after her outstanding career in high school.
Stokes wound up at Division II Missouri Southern in Joplin and started all 67 games in two seasons. After setting 18 program freshman records, she went on to earn Division II All-America honors as a sophomore averaging 19.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 3.3 steals.
When the Lady Bears were looking to fill a point guard need this season, second-year Missouri State head coach Beth Cunningham looked an hour west on I-44. It’s been a perfect match.
“The level of intensity has definitely gone up,” Stokes said of the transition to Division I. “The IQ of everyone on the floor is good. I’m just learning from my teammates. They’ve been here and they have some experience here. I’m learning every game.
“Offensively, I’m learning that I have to change how I play a little bit. I don’t know, I think it’s been pretty good.”
Cunningham said she believed Stokes had what it took to step in and help the Lady Bears immediately, after graduate transfer Aniya Thomas made a big impact in her lone season. Cunningham saw beyond the physical measurements.
“You just look at the potential of kids,” Cunningham said after a recent game. “From there it depends on how quickly they develop in your system and how quickly they pick things up.
“Obviously, we had a huge need at the point guard position. She’s been a proven winner everywhere she’s been. You can’t take that away from her. I love the way she plays, with a chip on her shoulder. She just plays with a passion and intensity every time she steps on the floor.
“I had the confidence we could teach her what we needed to within our system, but her heart, her passion, her intensity, the leadership she’s developing on our team … that’s hard to teach.”
For Cunningham, nothing is more telling than the practice floor. Stokes brought her best from Day One.
“How you see her playing games is exactly how she plays in practice,” Cunningham said. “Sometimes that is not always the case. But she practices exactly the way she plays. That’s helped her maybe expedite the learning curve because she wants it so bad.”
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Stokes’ toughness is unquestioned. Early in last week’s home-court win over Western Kentucky, the final game before Christmas break, Stokes and an opposing player accidentally collided and Stokes suffered a gash on the side of her head.
The bleeding didn’t want to stop for several minutes. Once it did, a bandage-wearing Stokes helped jump-start the Lady Bears after a cold start and they went on to earn a second straight one-point victory. Stokes had 16 points and three assists.
“I think it knocked some sense into me,” Stokes said with a laugh afterward. “Maybe it just takes a little head-butt to get going.”
The early mishap did not dissuade Stokes from driving in the lane, where she has an uncanny ability to get shots to the basket or pass to teammates if the defense converges on her.
“It’s a lot of toughness and a lot of being able to work your craft in the paint,” Stokes said. “A lot of fakes. Everybody sees someone little, everybody wants to block them. They all want to block me in practice — and they do, a lot.”
Already a three-time Valley Newcomer of the Week, Stokes said she has no concern about not getting her shot at playing at the DI level until her junior season.
“It was interesting. I don’t regret the journey that I took,” Stokes said. “I think it was what I was meant to take and what was planned for me by someone bigger. It kind of prepared me for being here.”
Next up for Stokes is her first trip through the 20-game grind of conference play. She said the recent wins over Wichita State, BYU and Western Kentucky have hopefully prepared Missouri State for what’s ahead.
“These were some good teams that came in to play us and we knew it was going to come down to the last minute of each game,” Stokes said. “To be able to come out on top, I think it speaks a lot of our girls to be able to stick with it and finish games.
“It’s really exciting to see our defense start to click together. I think defense comes with a lot of trust between each other, being able to help and trust that your teammate is going to be able to help.”
Cunningham said Stokes’ progress has mirrored the team’s to this point.
“Lacy’s done a great job of controlling our offense, controlling the pace we need to play,” Cunningham said. “She’s been a huge key for us. She’s gotten more and more confident understanding what we’re trying to do. She’s improved as much as anybody.”
Lady Bears homestand continues
After winning three straight non-conference home games before Christmas, the Missouri State Lady Bears open league play with three straight at Great Southern Bank Arena:
- Dec. 30 vs. Northern Iowa (1 p.m.)
- Jan. 4 vs. Valparaiso (6:30 p.m.)
- Jan. 6 vs. Illinois-Chicago (1 p.m.)
