Exactly two weeks after its loss to Arkansas in the SEC tournament, Missouri women’s basketball will hit home court once again, this time facing Illinois State in the 2023 WNIT. 

After a lackluster finish to the season — going just 2-4 in its last six games — Missouri missed out on an NCAA tournament berth, and head coach Robin Pingeton accepted a bid for her team to play in the next-best postseason tourney, which will see 64 teams who missed the cut for the Big Dance facing off against each other. 

The good news for the Tigers, however, is that instead of having to face opponents at a neutral site, they will get an added advantage of hosting their first-round game. 

“I’m excited about the opportunity that’s still in front of us,” Pingeton said. “I’m excited to be playing in [the] postseason in March, and I’m excited to go to battle with these girls again.”

In Missouri’s last outing against Arkansas, a look at the game statistics would make it seem nearly impossible that a Tiger loss was the outcome of the high-scoring matchup. 

Pingeton’s squad scored more points off the bench, more second-chance points and even tallied a higher percentage on both free throws and 3-pointers.

On top of that, senior guard Lauren Hansen did her thing, recording 19 points and four rebounds, while graduate guard Hayley Troup backed her up with 14 points and as many rebounds. 

But the difference maker for the Razorbacks came in the form of a 6-foot-1 guard named Chrissy Carr — a redshirt senior out of Minnesota who tallied 34 points on her own and caught the Tigers off guard in their 85-74 loss.

“There were a lot of emotions in that game,” Pingeton said. “It takes time to kind of debrief and deal with those emotions, disappointments and frustrations. Arkansas had our number … I don’t think there was one play or one possession. It’s a game of inches.”

“I felt like we had them right there,” she added. “They were about to break.” 

Despite the heartbreak that set in after that game, the Tigers have since moved on and now remain focused on the next goal: beating Illinois State.

For Pingeton, that matchup will be a little extra special, as she will be coaching against her former team, where she spent seven seasons before coming to Columbia to coach the Tigers.

“There’s some emotion in it,” Pingeton said. “But honestly, where I’m at right now, I don’t care who we’re playing. I’m just excited for the opportunity.”

To accomplish their goal, however, the Tigers will have to slow down the Redbirds’ top scorer in Paige Robinson. 

Similar to Carr, Robinson possesses the ability to score at will, while simultaneously being a force on the defensive side of things — having tallied 27 steals and 19 blocks on the season. 

The 5-foot-11 graduate guard has also established herself as a passer, as she sits second on her team in total assists with 97, making stifling her impact on the floor extremely challenging for Missouri. 

But as Troup — who recently played her 145th game for Tigers — expressed, she and her teammates have something to prove in the offseason.

“We [want] to go out and prove that we’re still the team that started 14-2,” Troup said. “We’re still the team that has a chip on its shoulder. We’re still the team that can go out and beat anybody. Our mindset is that if we’re in the WNIT, we’re in it to win it.”

“The last game at home kind of left a bad taste in my mouth,” she added. “Just the chance to change that with this group is going to be really special for me.” 

And as far as Troup’s hope for the offseason goes, she can rest assured that Pingeton will do everything she can to make it become a reality.

“My biggest thing is being in the moment,” Pingeton said. “[I want] to make sure we go out with our shoulders back, playing together and playing for the love of the game. [We have to make sure] that when that final horn sounds, we gave it everything that we got.”

Missouri’s matchup against the visiting Illinois State Redbirds is slated for Thursday evening, with tipoff from Mizzou Arena happening at 7 p.m. 

Edited by Davis Wilson | dwilson@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Mary Philip