Missouri women’s basketball broke their two-game losing streak with a dominant 88-43 win against Southeast Missouri State.

The Tigers saw a new starting five this game, as graduate forward Angelique Ngalakulondi suffered a wrist injury during their loss to Virginia. Freshman forward Hannah Linthacum took her place in the first five, starting her first game in her collegiate career. Linthacum made her mark with nine points and six rebounds.

“I was definitely a little nervous … it’s definitely nice to have my best friends by my side,” Linthacum said. “It was really fun to be out there.”

Freshman guard Grace Slaughter led the way early for the Tigers, scoring seven points before the first media timeout. Slaughter got the ball rolling alongside graduate forward Hayley Frank, who scored seven points in the opening frame to lead Missouri to an 18-7 lead.

Frank led the team in scoring with 18 points on 78% shooting, along with nine rebounds. She has been on a scoring tear as of late, averaging 22.3 points in Missouri’s last six games.

“Every coach would love to have a Hayley Frank on their team,” said head coach Robin Pingeton.

The freshmen continued to have an impact, as guard Abbey Schreacke drained a pair of early threes. Schreacke’s shooting from beyond the arc continues to impress, as she leads the team with 51% on nearly four attempts per game.

“She really takes pride in it,” Pingeton said. “She’s got a beautiful shot.”

With the offensive firepower, it’d be remiss to ignore the Tigers’ defensive efforts. Missouri held the Redhawks to 43 points and 27% shooting from the field. This was the first time this season the Tigers held a team under 50 points after accomplishing the feat five times last season.

“I think we’ve done a much better job with their transition defense than when we started at the beginning of the month of November, to where we’re at today,” Pingeton said.

By the end of the third quarter, Missouri’s victory was all but locked up, as they led 62-25 after three quarters. 

This complete performance allowed Pingeton to cycle through more players towards the game’s end. At the end of the day, all available Tigers saw at least six minutes of action, and all but one scored. Graduate forward Abby Feit reached double digits for the first time as a Tiger with 11 points and five rebounds.

This performance was a credit to the Tigers’ size advantage over the Redhawks. Missouri out-rebounded their opponents 49-26 and controlled paint points 46-16. 

“Definitely seen some improvement in {rebounding} too,” Pingeton said. “I think there’s been a lot of growth.”

Missouri continued their undefeated streak in Columbia, remaining a perfect 5-0 at Mizzou Arena. 

Edited by Quentin Corpuel | qcorpuel@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com