The Missouri Tigers (6-17. 3-7 SEC) went into Athens and left with their third conference victory, an upset win over the Georgia Bulldogs (12-11, 3-7 SEC) on the road, 73-65.
Missouri kept the contest tight throughout the game and pulled away late to secure the road victory. Freshman Aijha Blackwell continued her monster conference stretch, posting 26 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs and good for her second double-double of the season.
The score swung back and forth all night, the game featured seven lead changes and six ties. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Tigers trailed by one point, the score 48-49. Missouri opened the period with back to back triples for Blackwell and senior Jordan Roundtree, extending the lead to five.
The Tigers, who have struggled to finish games this season, closed out the Bulldogs immaculately, bouncing back from a crushing overtime loss against Arkansas, where they fumbled an 11 point fourth-quarter lead to the Razorbacks.
Missouri didn’t record one turnover in the fourth quarter — the Tigers turn the ball over 16.6 times a game and had 15 total through three quarters.
It sunk 13-14 shots from the free throw line in the final period and outscored Georgia 25-16 en route to an upset win. Freshman Hayley Frank scored the final four points for the Tigers at the line, preserving the lead and improving her free throw percentage to 91.4%, third-best in the nation.
After opening SEC play with a gauntlet of seven ranked teams in nine games, the Tigers don’t face another currently ranked opponent for the rest of the season.
The Tigers will play for their first win streak of the season on Monday in Baton Rouge against the LSU Tigers (16-5. 6-3 SEC).
_Edited by Wilson Moore | wmoore@themaneater.com_