Missouri women’s basketball was outscored in all four quarters Thursday night, falling 82-61 to No. 18 Ole Miss.
Mizzou opened scoring with a layup from junior guard Grace Slaughter, but Ole Miss held a narrow 13-12 edge after the first quarter.
The Tigers stayed competitive at the start of the second, with Slaughter, junior guard Shannon Dowell and senior forward Jordana Reisma each scoring inside the paint to trim the deficit. Redshirt senior guard Jayla Smith later hit Mizzou’s first triple of the game to bring the score to 21-21, but the Rebels ultimately closed the half 29-23.
Reisma knotted the score 29-29 early in the third, and sophomore guard Chloe Sotell added the Tigers’ second three of the night. Ole Miss, however, controlled the closing minutes of the quarter, stretching its lead to 49–39.
Slaughter tried to ignite a rally in the fourth, going on her own seven-point run. She scored 10 of her 21 points in the final quarter, but the Rebels’ size and physicality proved difficult to match for a short-handed Mizzou roster late in the game.
“I’m proud of our team’s effort tonight,” head coach Kellie Harper said in an interview with Mizzou Athletics. “I thought they showed a lot of guts and played hard. They understood our game plan. It’s a really good basketball team we played, very motivated, and we knew we had a huge challenge in front of us.”
Despite the outcome, Harper emphasized the importance of growth and balance as Southeastern Conference play continues.
“I don’t want them to settle for playing hard,” Harper said. “But I also don’t want them beat down. This is a really good league. We’re finding that fine line between wanting more and finding the positives.”
The Tigers will play their next conference matchup against Texas A&M Jan. 25 at Mizzou Arena.