Trailing by 11 points with less than two minutes to play in the first quarter, Missouri women’s basketball responded to Kentucky’s offensive run with a 20-5 run of its own, heading to halftime with a lead following a triple by 6-foot-1 freshman guard Ashton Judd. Out of the break, the Tigers added to their momentum, ultimately leading to a 74-71 victory in their SEC opener.
The Tigers trailed 19-10 at the end of the first quarter; however, a layup by five-foot-10 graduate guard Haley Troup with less than a minute of play helped the team recover. Execution on the offensive end increased in the second quarter, as multiple Tigers converted possessions into points. After a 3 by 6-foot-1 senior forward Hayley Frank, Missouri tied the score at 25 with 4:29 left to go in the second period. For the remainder of the half, the Tigers outscored the Wildcats 29-11, leading 39-30.
However, the Wildcats began to chip away at the Tigers’ lead in the second half.
After capitalizing on a 10-0 run, the Wildcats tied the game at 66 with less than 3:30 left to go in the fourth. With a mid-range jumper and an additional 6 points from the free throw line to finish out the game, Frank and the Tigers collected their fifth win against Kentucky in program history and their first win in SEC play.
Frank led the scoring effort with 20 points and six boards, shooting 6 of 16 from the floor and 6 of 6 from the free throw line, marking her fourth time this season scoring 20 or more points.
Five-foot-eight senior guard Lauren Hansen added 18 points, six boards and two steals. Judd hit her 100-point mark in her career at 12 points on 50% shooting. Six-foot-one junior guard Sara-Rose Smith grabbed her 200th rebound of the season, snagging seven boards against Kentucky.
In its next SEC game, Missouri hit the road to play Auburn, where it utilized a 7-1 scoring run in the final two minutes of the game to secure its second SEC victory of the season.
With four ties and nine lead changes, Missouri limited its hosts to 20 points within the paint and kept Auburn shooting just 17% from 3-point range. The Tigers added 28 points from within the paint and in return shot 33% collectively from behind the arc.
The turning point of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Missouri held a 4-point lead over Auburn. Five-foot-six junior guard Mama Dembele drew two defenders, passing the ball to Frank positioned at the top of the key who knocked down the shot. In the next possession, Judd delivered a triple of her own from the corner to secure the 62-56 victory over Auburn.
Frank once again led the scoring charge, finishing with 23 points — marking her second straight 20-point game and fifth of the season. Additionally, she scored her 1,300th career point with a current total of 1,338. Five-foot-ten graduate guard Katlyn Gilbert reached double-digits with 14 points, 11 of which came in the third quarter, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor. She also snagged four steals for the second consecutive game.
Missouri is now 3-3 in the SEC after grabbing a victory over Alabama, followed by losses against Arkansas, LSU and South Carolina. The Tigers sit at and 14-5 overall and will continue their play Sunday against Tennessee with tipoff at 2 p.m.
Edited by Matt Guzman | mguzman@themaneater.com
Copy Edited by Lauren Courtney
