It was the last game of the regular season.
It was Senior Day, with senior guards Morgan Eye and Bree Fowler’s whole families present.
It was a rematch against a team that had previously won by 23 points.
And after it was all said and done, it was one of the best defensive efforts of the season.
The Missouri women’s basketball team (17-12, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) pulled out its fourth consecutive victory Sunday against conference rival Arkansas (16-12, 6-10 SEC) with a final score of 57-41. The win placed the Tigers at seventh in SEC rankings, giving them the most conference wins since the 2005-06 season.
With Mizzou’s previous meeting against Arkansas being its worst loss of the season at 73-50, the Tigers managed to hold Arkansas to just 11 points in the first half, limiting the Razorbacks’ field goal percentage to just 13.6 percent, their lowest all season.
Arkansas coach Jimmy Dykes likened the half to an elementary school game.
“We shot three-for-22 in the half,” he said. “I think that was the difference in the ball game. It’s hard to win a third-grade basketball game when you score 11 points in the first half. Missouri’s defense is really good. They pack it in, take things away from you and force you to make shots. And we didn’t make shots.”
Arkansas went into the game with three forwards and two guards, and Missouri’s packed-in defense managed to stop the Razorbacks from scoring a single point in the paint during the first 20 minutes.
The game started with a backwards layup from sophomore forward Jordan Frericks and the Tigers never let go of their lead.
The Tigers were led by sophomore guard Sierra Michaelis, who tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals, one of which led to a breakaway and no-look assist to sophomore guard Lindsey Cunningham for the layup.
Michaelis also went three-for-three on 3-pointers and made both of her free throws, which helped contribute to Mizzou’s 100 percent free-throw shooting in the second half.
“I think the turning point in our season was the last Arkansas game,” Michaelis said. “Watching film after that game lit a fire under all of us. We didn’t want to feel that way again.”
In addition to the desire not to relive their last matchup, it was Senior Day as well as the final home game of the season. Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said that, despite it being an emotional game, her team tried to bottle up that energy, even maybe a little too much.
“Senior Day is always pretty emotional,” Pingeton said. “It always has been with my teams because of the culture that we have. But we knew that we couldn’t let that emotion be a distraction. I think we all acted like it didn’t exist, maybe too much, to the point that we didn’t play with the passion that we typically play with. But I think our kids played hard.”
Fowler finished the game with six rebounds and Eye put up six points. With less than a minute left in the game, the two were subbed off simultaneously and got a standing ovation from the crowd as well as hugs from their teammates on the bench.
The duo finished their regular-season careers with a 45-23 home record at Mizzou Arena. Their overall record over the past four years is 64-59.
Going into this game, Mizzou and Arkansas were neck-and-neck in league standings. The Tigers ended the game with a 7-9 SEC record, snagging the seven seed for this month’s conference tournament.
“I’m really proud of our girls,” Pingeton said. “Preseason, we were picked 12th with a healthy roster. For us to finish seventh I think speaks volumes about these young ladies and their work ethic. It’s been a challenging year, but I’m really proud of them.”
The Tigers return to action at the SEC Tournament in Little Rock, Arkansas. They will play 10th-seeded Georgia on March 5.
