On several, gut-wrenching occasions, the young Missouri women’s basketball team has experienced life in the land of “that close.” But in Saturday’s Senior Night contest at Mizzou Arena, the Tigers (13-17, 5-11 Big 12 Conference) rounded out the up-and-down regular season with the rare experience of finishing on top.

As anyone present for the Tigers’ final home game against Iowa State will attest to, the celebration could not have been any more needed, earned and perfect as it was in the moment following the team’s 49-48 victory over the Cyclones to close out a difficult first year for coach Robin Pingeton.

“I don’t know that I could have (written) it any better than this tonight,” said senior guard RaeShara Brown, who led the Tigers with 14 points and was recognized along with fellow seniors Shakara Jones and Jasmyne Otote.

The game played out as if it was following a script. A tight contest grew even tighter when Iowa State’s Anna Prins nailed a three-point bucket to cut Missouri’s lead to 49-48 with 47 seconds remaining. But the defense that held the Cyclones in check all afternoon stood tall in prohibiting a shot on the final play to seal the Senior Night victory.

“We felt like they were going to the rim, because if we foul they’re going to the free throw line,” Pingeton said of her defense on the final play. “They spent four and a half seconds of their careers right here on our own court and our kids did a really good job of getting in their stance and guarding hard.”

The dramatic finish followed a game that was as competitive as a Senior Night contest could hope for. When Missouri answered a quick 17-10 Cyclone start with a run to tie the game, the stage was set for a game that wouldn’t widen in score by more than seven points the rest of the contest.

In the first half, Missouri matched a team-wide scoring threat with a career half by Prins. Prior to her big three at the end of the game, the Iowa State reserve scored 13 of the team’s 22 first half points as her Cyclones trailed the Tigers 23-22 going into the half.

The Tigers spent the second half doing their best to protect their slim lead. Although they never squandered that lead, Missouri had to do its best to find scoring opportunities to keep a clawing Cyclones squad at bay.

Those scoring opportunities often came virtue of junior forward Christine Flores, who dropped nine of her 11 points in the second half of what she claimed was one of the biggest games of the season.

. “Every one of us, from people who were on the bench to starting five, needed to and wanted to contribute to the best of their ability. We wanted to give this to (the seniors).”

Stifling defense has been Missouri’s strong suit all season long and proved to be the recipe for success. The Cyclones were held to one of their lowest scoring outputs of the season and received just five points on two-of-11 shooting from guard Kelsey Bolte, who entered the contest as the Big 12’s sixth leading scorer, averaging 17.6 points per game.

“They picked up token, full-court pressure and they did a lot of switching similar to what they did at our place,” Iowa State Coach Bill Fennelly said. “It took us awhile to get into our offense at times.”

Fennelly was also full of praise for the job Pingeton has done in her first season on the Missouri sidelines.

“She’s done an amazing job, and it’s no secret,” he said. “I think when you have someone like Robin…you have someone that’s going to extend way beyond what happens in this building, and that’s pretty special. She’s done a great job and will continue to do a great job.”

Pingeton remained full of pride in the strides taken by the young Tigers team, in a year of vast transition.

“For our program today, where we’re at, this is so much bigger than the box score,” Pingeton said. “This is about our seniors laying the foundation for the future of our program, as we try to continue to climb our way out of the trenches. I couldn’t be more proud of the way that our senior class has led this team.”

The Tigers will play in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday in Kansas City.