Freshmen Maddie and Morgan Stock both play guard, both are about the same height and both were named all-state during high school before joining the Missouri women’s basketball team. So what’s different about Missouri’s twin duo?

“I like chocolate and she doesn’t,” Maddie said.

When dessert choice is the biggest difference between two players, their similarities are simply highlighted. Those similarities come from not only living together but also playing together since second grade.

They did face off against each other earlier this year at Mizzou Madness, where, not surprisingly, they both scored five points. But even though they were on opposing teams, the twins don’t really count that as playing against each other.

“I see that as more of a scrimmage,” Maddie said.

Although both were standouts at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis, Maddie drew the most attention. She was named to both the all-metro first team and the all-state first team for four straight years. After averaging more than 17 points her senior year, Maddie was named the 2011-12 Missouri Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Morgan was named to the all-conference first team all four years of high school and to the all-state first team twice. The two decided to go to college as a package deal, leading them to Missouri. Coach Robin Pingeton said she is happy to have them both.

“They’re going to be really good,” Pingeton said. “They’re fun to coach. They shoot the bottom out of it. They’re really coachable. We’re looking forward to having them in our program for the next four years.”

When describing each other’s games, Maddie pointed out Morgan’s rebounding. In high school, Morgan grabbed 686 boards to Maddie’s 551 over their careers.

Morgan said that Maddie likes to shoot a lot, something evidenced by her 1,801 points in high school, second most in St. Joseph’s history.

Although Pingeton is excited to have the Stocks, she said she knows they will need to adapt to the game at the collegiate level.

“We need to get them stronger,” Pingeton said. “They need to understand the pace of the game a little bit better.”

Pingeton also said the Stocks are working on adjusting to Missouri’s style of defense in preseason practices.

“They played a lot of zone defense in high school and so just the terminology and the rotations defensively, we’re going to have to continue to work with them and get them better at that,” Pingeton said.

The only player on the team who has played more than one season for Pingeton is senior guard Sydney Crafton. Without established players blocking playing time, the Stocks will see the court in their freshman campaigns.

“I still think that there are a lot of unknowns as far as lineups and rotations and whatnot and we still have a lot of options and I think it’s going to be very competitive,” Pingeton said. “I don’t think there’s one kid out there that we don’t plan on contributing in one way or another and minutes are yet to be determined.”