Missouri women’s basketball ended its season in a fitting way Thursday night.
After starting the season 12-2 and defeating No. 1 South Carolina, inconsistent play doomed the Tigers during the final stretch of the season and resulted in a missed NCAA tournament bid.
With no NCAA tournament selection, Missouri accepted an invite to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and faced Drake at Mizzou Arena in a first-round matchup.
However, the Tigers continued their inconsistency throughout the game en route to a 83-78 overtime defeat. Missouri’s instability stalled the offense and impacted the defense, allowing Drake to end the Tigers’ promising season.
“I’m proud of our players’ fight today,” Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton said. “I thought it was a game of runs, and we continued to battle. I really felt like we were locked in and ready to get after it.”
Missouri’s offense found opportunities in the first and fourth quarters but struggled between the two. Junior guard Aijha Blackwell scored a game-high 27 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers an opportunity at overtime.
Freshman guard Izzy Higginbottom and junior forward Hayley Frank combined for 25 Missouri points, but Drake countered with four double-digit scorers of its own.
Graduate guard Maddie Petersen led the Bulldogs with 22 points, while junior guard Megan Meyer and junior forward Maggie Bair scored 15 points apiece. Junior guard Sarah Beth Gueldner added 17 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Missouri started off efficiently behind the junior trio of Blackwell, Frank and guard Lauren Hansen. Blackwell knocked down a 3-pointer on the opening possession, Hansen followed with a 3-pointer of her own and Frank capped off a 13-2 Missouri start with her first 5 points.
Higginbottom and redshirt senior forward LaDazhia Williams tacked on 4 and 2 points respectively to give Missouri a balanced scoring display in the first quarter. The Tigers shot 57.1% from the field, including 50% from beyond the arc in the frame, but Drake continued to fight back.
Meyer knocked down a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs with 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter, cutting Missouri’s lead to 19-10. Using the shot as momentum, Drake then pieced together a 13-3 run over the first seven minutes of the second quarter to capture a 23-22 lead.
Meyer, Petersen and Gueldner knocked down one 3-pointer apiece during the stretch, while Missouri missed nine of its first 10 field goals of the second quarter. The Bulldogs and Tigers traded baskets over the remaining three minutes, resulting in a 27-26 Drake lead at halftime.
Missouri bounced back from its abysmal 16.7% shooting in the second quarter with a 42.9% mark in the third quarter. The Tigers found success in the paint behind sophomore center Jayla Kelly’s 4 points, but Drake countered with four 3-point field goals in the quarter to remain in control.
Gueldner drained a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter to snap a tie and give the Bulldogs a 43-40 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Missouri missed all five of its 3-point attempts in the quarter, leaving it with no 3-point baskets since the first quarter.
Blackwell flipped that script on the Tigers’ second possession of the fourth quarter with her first 3-point make since the game’s initial basket. Drake responded with a basket of its own to make it 47-43 with eight minutes remaining and held the lead for almost the entire quarter.
Bair made a layup with 2:32 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Bulldogs a 5-point cushion and an opportunity to seal the victory. However, Blackwell and Higginbottom combined for 5 points over the final minutes to tie the game at 66 points apiece. Blackwell missed a potential game-winning basket at the buzzer, sending the contest into overtime.
After battling back and forth for the first three and a half minutes of overtime, Petersen drained a 3-pointer to extend Drake’s lead to 75-71. Higginbottom responded with a 3-pointer of her own, but Bulldogs freshman guard Katie Dinnebier made six free throws over the final 20 seconds to send Drake into the second round of the WNIT.
Missouri’s inconsistency remained a key flaw throughout the course of the game. After shooting 3-6 from 3-point range in the first quarter, the Tigers shot 0-12 from beyond the arc in the second and third quarters. Their defense held Drake to 26.7% shooting in the first quarter but allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 49.1% the rest of the way.
While Missouri started the game on a 10-0 run, its offense remained streaky and could only string together a couple 4-point streaks before undergoing scoreless stretches where it could not find the net.
“I thought we had good looks,” Pingeton said. “Overall, we shot the ball pretty darn well. We went cold in that second quarter, [and] that really came back to bite us.”
The Tigers’ largest discrepancy, however, came on its perimeter defense. Missouri held the Bulldogs to 22.2% shooting from 3-point range in the first quarter before allowing Drake to knock down 3-pointers at a 44% clip over the remainder of the game. These mistakes gave the Bulldogs enough momentum to send the Tigers to the offseason.
An emphasis on establishing more motion on offense, emphasizing perimeter defense and playing a complete game will be key factors when looking toward next season. With a new class of freshmen on the way and the possibility of adding transfers from around the NCAA, these problems can be solved. However, solutions will need to start with Pingeton and the returning roster.
“I think all of us grew individually through the adversity that we dealt with,” Frank said. “[We are] using this year to fuel the fire and stay motivated this offseason to come back and continue to build next year.”
Missouri ended the season with a 18-13 overall record, including a 7-9 mark in SEC play. The Tigers’ season featured the program’s first victory over a No. 1 team and a couple close losses to ranked programs. However, inconsistency toward the end of its SEC schedule eventually dashed Missouri’s NCAA Tournament hopes and sent the Tigers into an offseason of reflection.
“I think, like any other year, you have to give yourself some space,” Pingeton said. “And then you reflect on ‘What did we do well, what are the areas that, you know, we need to be better at individually and collectively.’” Edited by Riley Gearhart | rgearhart@themaneater.com