The whole game had a sense of familiarity, and that feeling has both upsides and downsides.
Senior guard Morgan Eye made another trio of 3-pointers, inching closer and closer to breaking the NCAA career record.
Sophomore forward Jordan Frericks finished with her ninth double-double of the season, leading the team in points scored with 15 and rebounds with 16.
But despite these familiar and expected statistics, the Missouri women’s basketball team felt the familiar pain of another loss, bringing its record to 12-11, 2-8 in Southeastern Conference play after a 55-48 loss to Texas A&M (18-5, 6-3 SEC).
One of the main reasons for the loss was the Aggies’ ability to interrupt the flow of Mizzou’s offense, Texas A&M guard Jordan Jones said.
“Coach Starkey told us to make them feel uncomfortable,” Jones said. “This is a flow team and they like to shoot from the three on the flow. (Starkey) told us to be active on defense with our feet and hands to disrupt them on offense and I feel like we did a good job of that.”
With a total of 21 turnovers by the Tigers and 11 steals against, Mizzou only came within three points of taking the lead during the second half.
“Some of our turnovers are just baffling,” Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said. “They’re frustrating, and at the end of the day it’s on me and I’ve got to do a better job of helping our kids take care of the ball.”
But amidst the familiar standout performances and familiar feelings of loss were a couple surprises.
Junior forward Michelle Hudyn, who was out of commission with an injury for majority of the season, had her first start of her career Friday night. Pingeton attributed her starting spot to strong performances in the last two games.
“(Hudyn) did what she needed to do tonight,” Pingeton said. “She has a high basketball IQ. She needs to work on that first step, but other than that she played really solid.”
Hudyn put up solid numbers all around, getting one steal, one block, two assists and five defensive rebounds, along with her four points.
Another surprise was redshirt freshman forward Davionna Holmes, who played her first minutes of the season tonight, if only for nine minutes.
But it doesn’t look like she’ll be playing again much anytime soon as Pingeton said Holmes doesn’t know the plays yet and has a lot of work to do despite great potential and athleticism.
The Tigers have a chance to score their third SEC win this Sunday when Mizzou takes on Auburn at Mizzou Arena. Auburn has not won a game in the SEC yet, so Mizzou could get back into its flow against the other Tigers.