Sophomore guard Morgan Eye had what she called a “breakout game” in the Missouri women’s basketball team’s 88-55 win over Chicago State on Monday night.
Eye converted on 4 for 6 attempts from behind the arch and had a team-high 16 points, an eight-point improvement from her previous game against Saint Louis in the team’s season-opener Friday night.
“That’s how it goes for shooters sometimes,” Eye said. “I came to practice the next day and kept shooting, so that’s what you got to do as a shooter.”
Eye received praise from teammate senior guard Sydney Crafton.
“When Morgan’s hitting, I mean, she’s hitting,” Crafton said. “It’s always nice to have a shooter, but it just opens stuff up so much more. Say, she’s hitting, then they’re going to go out harder on her, that opens a lane for me, I penetrate, I kick it back to her, makes it easy.”
Indeed, the lane opened up many times for Crafton to drive and kick. At the same time, she was able to find shot opportunities for herself as she put up 13 points for her team, most of those coming from inside the paint through her aggressive play style.
“I think we’re just used to playing so rough with the scout boys,” Crafton said. “You come play the girls and it’s just a totally different atmosphere, but I like it. I like the intensity. I like the aggressiveness.”
Eye said the team has plenty of scoring options.
“Syd (Crafton) and I were just looking at how we had, like, four different people in double digits (Eye, Crafton, junior forward Bri Kulas and freshman guard Liana Doty),” Eye said. “Tonight, I was able to get a lot of shots up, so, tonight it was me. Another night it might be someone else.”
Eye could go 0 for 5 and the team would still trust her to take the next shot, coach Robin Pingeton said.
“She gets in the gym a lot,” Pingeton said. “She’s awfully consistent in practice and, you know, she’s got that mental toughness, and that’s exactly what shooters do: they keep shooting. If they’re good shots, if they’re open shots, you gotta keep looking for your shot … She’s a kid who can rattle off a lot of points in a hurry. It’s a nice weapon.”