When Missouri took the floor on Thursday evening, it was without freshman standout Akira Levy, who the team lost for the year due to a knee injury. The loss did not seem to slow down the Tigers (20-9, 9-6), who took down the Razorbacks (17-12, 6-9) in Arkansas, 73-67.
Arkansas made three more field goals than the Tigers, but the Tigers made up for that at the free throw line. Missouri shined at the charity stripe, going 26-27 from the line.
Missouri lead 12-11 at the end of one quarter, but used a 12-5 second quarter to head into halftime with a 24-16 lead. All signs pointed to a second consecutive low-scoring affair. The second half proved that to be false.
The Razorbacks outscored the Tigers 25-13 in the third frame, taking a 4-point lead into the final quarter of play. MU used a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to put Arkansas away. The Razorbacks never lead after the 7:35 mark in the fourth, as Missouri went on to win the quarter, 36-26.
For the most part it was a close game, as Arkansas’ largest lead was 4 points, and Missouri’s was 11. There were five ties and seven total lead changes after the ball was tipped. Missouri turned the ball over 21 times, resulting in 11 Razorback points. On the other side, the Tigers were only able to convert 2 points off of the Razorbacks’ four turnovers.
Senior Cierra Porter lead all Tigers with 21 points, her season high since returning to the court in mid-December. She also added nine rebounds and four assists. Behind her, junior Jordan Roundtree added 16 points, senior Sophie Cunningham had 13 points and junior Jordan Chavis had 11 off of the bench.
Chavis – with her role likely to increase with Levy’s out – was the first guard off of the bench in Thursday’s game, and saw 27 minutes of playing time.
Arkansas was lead by Chelsea Dungee with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Razorbacks outscored Missouri in fastbreak points 19-0.
The Tigers return home for their senior day on Sunday, March 3. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. CST against Alabama.
_Edited by Adam Cole | acole@themaneater.com_