Tuesday’s final exhibition tune-up for the Missouri women’s basketball team against UM-St. Louis didn’t go quite as scripted for much of the night. The Tigers were able to eventually prevail by a score of 62-48, but it wasn’t until late in the second half the Tigers were able to build a comfortable lead.

“We still have a lot of work to do … but that’s what you have the exhibition games for,” coach Robin Pingeton said.

The game remained close throughout the night until the Tigers went on an 11-0 run to take a 58-44 lead with 3:23 remaining in the game. Sophomore Tori Niemann spurred the run with back-to-back three pointers for six of her 14 points.

Pingeton said she was pleased to see Niemann be successful with the dedication she brings daily to practice.

“She is a kid that is a tireless worker,” Pingeton said. “She has worked hard to be more consistent from that three-point line.”

Niemann’s outside shooting was a welcome change of pace for the Tigers after they relied on senior forward Breanna Brock’s inside scoring for most of the night. Brock finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks on the night. All three numbers were new career highs for the senior from San Antonio.

“She is one of our most improved players,” Pingeton said. “She has a great work ethic, and she has invested a lot of time in the offseason. This is what we need from her.”

Brock attributed her offensive success to better chemistry with her teammates.

“It’s due to everybody working together and getting more comfortable with each other,” Brock said.

Brock said though the stat line looked nice, she wasn’t satisfied because she knows she and the team have a lot of room for improvement.

Brock’s dominant inside presence enabled the Tigers to cope with the absence of their leading scorer, center Christine Flores.

Flores and fellow starter and guard Sydney Crafton were unexpectedly absent from the court. Pingeton would not comment on the exact reasoning for their absences and said the matter would be handled internally.

“We are laying a foundation, and there are certain expectations and standards that we are going to run our program by,” Pingeton said. “We are not going to waver.”

She said the two starters would rejoin the team this weekend in Missouri’s next game against Texas–San Antonio.

The Tigers got off to a sluggish start and quickly saw themselves down eight with just more than six minutes gone by in the first half.

Turnovers were a major issue early and remained one throughout the night as the Tigers committed 24 turnovers in total.

The Tigers ramped up their defensive intensity in the closing stages of the first half and found some offensive success to go on a 19-6 run to close the half.

Their five-point halftime lead wavered only slightly until the 11-0 run to break the game open in the latter stages of the second half.

The Tigers’ next home date is Nov. 20 when they take on North Florida at Mizzou Arena.