Missouri women’s basketball traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee, after a 16-point loss to Ole Miss, looking to get back on track. The No. 13 Lady Vols had different plans. With the help of a near-perfect third quarter, Tennessee defeated Missouri 76-62 on Feb. 10.
The Tigers, who are known for their fast-paced and 3-point-heavy offense, did not make a single 3-point basket in their previous match against Ole Miss. Two minutes into Thursday’s game against Tennessee, junior guard Aijha Blackwell made a 3-pointer to put the Tigers in front and end their 3-point drought.
The first quarter featured runs from both teams. Tennessee pulled away from Missouri with an 8-0 run, giving the Lady Vols a 13-5 lead. Led by junior guard Lauren Hansen, the Tigers responded quickly with a 10-0 run of their own, giving them a 2-point lead. Hansen scored 8 of the 10 points during the run. The teams traded baskets, and the quarter ended in a 17-17 tie.
Missouri only made four field goals in the second quarter, but its defense stepped up. The Tigers held Tennessee to just 27.3% from the field in the quarter. Once again, both teams exchanged runs. This time, the Lady Vols went on a 9-0 charge and looked completely in control heading into halftime, but the Tigers closed out the half on a quick 5-0 run, making it 32-27 in favor of Tennessee.
In the third quarter, Tennessee turned a 5-point lead into a 25-point lead. The Lady Vols defense held Missouri to 6 points and 16.7% from the field. Tennessee, however, finished the quarter with 56.3% from the field, knocked down two of three from long-range and made six of eight free throws.
It would have been easy for Missouri to come out sluggish in the fourth quarter, but instead the Tigers battled. Hansen’s 12 fourth-quarter points helped the Tigers cut their 25-point deficit to 14 by the end of the game. Missouri shot 11-18 from the field, but its late run proved to be too little too late. Tennessee held on to win the game 76-62.
One of the bright spots in the game for the Tigers was the offensive effort from Hansen. In a game where she came off the bench, Hansen led all scorers with 22 points on 9-15 shooting and an efficient 4-6 shooting from 3-point range.
Hansen is a regular starter for Missouri, but redshirt senior forward LaDazhia Williams started in her place.
“We’ve been getting off to some slow starts in the first quarter, and, you know, just trying to switch it up a little bit,” Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton said. “There was certainly no discipline issue or anything like that. It was just more from a rebounding standpoint and trying to shake it up and get off to a little quicker start. I feel like Lauren handled it like a champ.”
Every college basketball team in the country has the same aspiration to make the March Madness tournament at the end of the year. Missouri has struggled lately, but the confidence has not wavered.
“I truly believe we can win the war, and that’s getting to that NCAA tournament in March,” Pingeton said. “We’ve got to keep our nose to the grindstone. In this league, anything can happen on any given night. I think we positioned ourselves well, but I still think we have work to do.”
Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com