Missouri women’s basketball is now 6-1.
After winning their first five games, the Tigers traveled to the Bahamas looking to start the season 7-0. The team could not close out game number two, however, which ultimately ended the Tigers’ six-game win streak.
Prior to its Bahamas trip, a win against UT Martin saw Missouri improve to 5-0, but despite that victory, the Tigers’ performance against the Skyhawks foreshadowed what the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship proved: their start to the season was all but perfect.
During the UT Martin postgame press conference, Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton reiterated that Missouri had to continue to work and improve upon numerous aspects of its game, especially the ability to play physically.
“Hats off to UT Martin,” she said. “I felt like they were the more physical team tonight. I thought they played harder than we did … it just didn’t feel like the same team that took the court [against Western Kentucky].
In a literal sense, Pingeton was right.
The Tigers have not been the same team to open the season as they have been in the past. Injuries plagued them in the beginning of the year, forcing the team to fill roster gaps. Two guards, freshman Averi Kroenke and junior Mama Dembele, missed games early in the year, while redshirt freshman forward Da’Necia Trusty has yet to play a game for Missouri this season.
Even with missing players, Pingeton said the team must improve their “controllables,” referring to shooting, turnovers and ball movement on offense.
“We got the win,” she said. “I’m proud of our girls for finding a way to grind it out, but it’s got to be bigger than that. It’s got to be about how we show up every day.”
Junior guard Sara-Rose Smith played a pivotal role in the Tigers’ victory against the Skyhawks, recording a double-double with 12 each points and assists, and graduate guard Haley Troup contributed to the team’s success with 9 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Despite high statlines from the veterans, one player particularly embraced the opportunity to play extra minutes due to the absence of her injured teammates.
Freshman guard Ashton Judd had her most efficient game of the season, making every shot inside the arc en route to an 11-point, six-rebound performance.
‘I’m really proud of her,” Pingeton said. “We needed every minute of her game. She’s just kind of fearless … she doesn’t really get rattled.”
Judd made clear her role as a contributing shooter for the Tiger offense early in the season, already having made four 3s on the year, but she also showed how easily she could score under the basket.
While her shooting against the Skyhawks was the best it had been all season, Judd simultaneously ran into a different issue. She recorded two fouls before halftime, benching her for the remainder of the second quarter.
“[Her being] a freshman, you don’t have a good enough read yet to know how much you can trust them out there [with fouls],” Pingeton said. “Playing with two in the first half … even when she picked up her fourth foul [in the fourth quarter], we talked about keeping her in there.”
Foul trouble did not slow the freshman guard down, however. Judd started the second half picking up where she left off in terms of scoring.
Pingeton praised Judd’s performance and improvement over the course of games, saying she is excited to continue working with her throughout the season.
“I think just having that kind of versatility … that’s why we recruited her,” Pingeton said. “She fits into our system … I think that’s a kid that’s going to continue to really work hard on her craft and will just continue to get better with time.”
Against the Skyhawks’ defense, the Tigers struggled from 3 — shooting just 24% in comparison to the Skyhawks’ 47.4%. Even after crafting a 12-point lead with 2:25 left to play, the Tigers committed multiple turnovers, leading to Skyhawk points on the other end of the floor.
Pingeton attributed her team’s 17 turnovers to lackluster effort on both sides of the ball.
“[We have to] take care of the dang ball,” she said. “Let’s start with that … let’s start with 12 or less turnovers. … We’re just not playing baseline to baseline.”
The Tigers ran out the clock, knocking down four free throws in the last 16 seconds of the game to ice the victory and take down the Skyhawks 60-55.
Though they were able to close out the game against UT Martin, Missouri was unable to do so against Virginia Tech at the Baha Mar Championship, where the team suffered its first loss, 73-57.
“To close out a game is huge,” Pingeton said. “I’m proud of them, but at the same time, we do have a veteran team that has some pretty lofty goals and expectations of what we’re trying to get done this year. They’re not satisfied … [there are still] lots of opportunities to learn and grow.”
Once again, Pingeton was right.
As the season continues to progress, the Tigers look to continue to hone in on the “controllables”, which starts with upperclassmen like Troup, who stated that the team knows exactly what they need to do to get better and play at a high level.
“We have to come into practice really focused,” she said. “[We] understand that practice is where we get better and where [we will] prepare for probably two of the best teams we’re going to face in non conference [play]. We have to get in [and] take care of our bodies. We have to get here early, [and] stay late. We know what we have to do.”
Edited by Davis Wilson | dwilson@themaneater.comCopy edited by Jacob Richey