Senior RaeShara Brown’s career-high 33 points weren’t enough to complete the comeback for Missouri, as the Tigers lost a tough road game to the Kansas State Wildcats by a score of 66-63 Wednesday night. The defeat dropped Missouri’s conference record to 1-3 with a 9-9 overall record.
Brown connected on her first five shots from the floor, putting the Tigers up 15-9 through the first five minutes of the contest. But the Tigers then missed four straight shots, giving the Wildcats an opportunity to tie up the game at 17 with seven minutes left in the first half.
The remainder of the opening frame was a back-and-forth affair with three lead changes in the final five minutes. Kansas State went on a 13-2 run to gain a 31-28 lead and some breathing room going into halftime. Brown scored 18 of the Tigers’ 28 points in the first half.
Both teams exchanged extended scoring runs to start the second half. A layup by senior Shakara Jones knotted the score again at 39-39, completing a six-point run by Missouri with 12:43 left in the half.
The game finally turned with 5:51 left in the game, when Kansas State scored on consecutive possessions to go up 51-46. Missouri had a chance to regain momentum, but missed three shots and two free throws in the following two minutes. With the Tigers suddenly cold from the floor, the Wildcats widened their lead to 56-47 with less than two minutes left on the clock. Kansas State hit free throws down the stretch to tighten its grip on the game, and the contest ended with a half-court shot by Brown to make the final score 66-63.
Missouri has now lost five of its last six games in January, after finishing the previous month on a 5-game win streak. The Tigers sit eleventh in the conference standings as of Jan. 20, with games against Colorado and Kansas next on the schedule.
In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for new coach Robin Pingeton’s program, the Tigers have shown some competitiveness early in conference play. Missouri beat its first Big 12 opponent, a then 12-3 Texas squad, in an 85-80-overtime thriller. The team then gained a 12-point halftime lead at Texas Tech before eventually losing the contest. Missouri even showed some resiliency after an 85-40 loss to Texas A&M by narrowly losing a tight game with Kansas State on Wednesday.
However, Missouri still finds itself near the bottom of the conference standings after a quarter of the way through Big 12 play. A large part of this is due to the team’s play on the road. The Tigers have not won a road game since the season opener at Memphis in early November. Missouri will play four of their next seven games at Mizzou Arena, where they are 6-2 this season. The Tigers play only two games in Columbia after that stretch, so the next two weeks are important for Missouri to gain some momentum.
To finish the season strong, Pingeton will be looking for more contributions from the supporting cast. RaeShara Brown is having her best year as a Tiger, averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Since conference play, her points per game has risen nearly four points. But as conference play continues, players like junior forward Christine Flores (averaging 13.7 points and 7 rebounds in conference play) and senior guard Jasmyn Otote (9.3 points, 4.0 rebounds) will need to continue their solid performances if Missouri hopes to reach the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.