Both Mizzou and Missouri State women’s basketball played against an in-state opponent for the first time this season when the two teams met Friday night in Columbia. The Tigers had traveled to tournaments in the Bahamas and Washington, and Missouri State had a varied travel schedule as well.
But Mizzou proved that it was the only Missouri team that belonged on the court on Friday, beating the Missouri State Bears 73-49.
An all-around effort built the lead for the Tigers, with seniors Sierra Michaelis and Lindsey Cunningham and sophomores Cierra Porter and Sophie Cunningham all scoring double digits. Across the board, the Tigers dominated, outnumbering the Bears in steals, rebounds, shooting percentage and several other stats.
Simply put, it was a much better result for the Tigers than last game’s narrow win over Western Illinois, where turnovers were a huge problem.
“I’m proud of our girls,” coach Robin Pingeton said. “We weren’t satisfied with our performance against Western Illinois. We challenged our kids to play at another level. Tonight, we really competed … we were physical, had excellent ball movement [and had] good possessions.”
In the first half, Missouri State was able to stay within about 10 points behind Mizzou. However, the Bears were scoreless for the last 2:16 thanks to the Tigers’ defense, which would restrict them to a 27.1 shooting percentage.
The second half did not bode as well for Missouri State.
“We had some defensive breakdowns that were completely on us that gave them some easy looks in the paint,” Missouri State coach Kellie Harper said.
Michaelis hit many clutch 3-pointers throughout the game, which contributed to the Tigers’ growing lead.
“My teammates did a good job on giving me the ball when they realized I was on fire,” Michaelis said.
The Bears then remained scoreless for almost six minutes in the fourth quarter, and by then, Mizzou had already cemented its victory.
Some things to note about Mizzou:
**Improvements with rebounding**
A big worry this season was whether the team could make up the loss of injured senior Jordan Frericks, whose rebounding productivity was instrumental last season. Mizzou has luckily been able to make up for Frericks’ absence, tying or out-rebounding opponents in seven of its eight games this season. The game against Missouri State was no exception.
**Building up Schuchts**
Redshirt freshman Hannah Schuchts is becoming more productive and more familiar in her debut season.
“With every game she gets under her belt, she gets more and more comfortable out there,” Pingeton said. “She really does a great job with her interior defense. She can force players to adjust their shots. She’s a really good rebounder.”
Though she didn’t produce many points in this game, the signs of improvement are increasing as she gains experience.
**Tight game schedule means less practice**
For the first time this season, redshirt junior Kayla McDowell played, but only for seven minutes. She didn’t see any action at the beginning of the season due to injury. It is likely that McDowell will continue to play limited minutes, though.
“I think it’s been really hard even though she feels like she’s in a good place to get back into the flow and rhythm of things because we haven’t had time to practice a lot,” Pingeton said.
Freshman Jordan Roundtree, who was also slightly injured at the season’s beginning, is dealing with a similar problem. Pingeton said she hasn’t been getting enough of the practice she needs due to a tough game schedule.
When the schedule lightens up, expect to see more from McDowell and Roundtree.
**Up next:** Mizzou will face off against IUPUI in Indianapolis Sunday at 1 p.m.