After coming up just short against both Texas A&M and LSU by a combined six points a week ago, Missouri needed an SEC win and it needed one desperately.
While the game wasn’t always pretty, and at times downright ugly, Missouri found the result it desired with a 61-58 win against Florida Thursday evening.
“It was a night that we had some pretty good looks and the ball wasn’t falling for us,” Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said. “In the past, we lost our focus a little bit. I didn’t think we did that tonight.”
The Tigers went down 2-0 in the opening three minutes before spending the rest of the game in the lead. However, the Gators cut its deficit to just one point multiple times in the final minute and held Missouri without a field goal for the final four minutes.
But with nine seconds left, a one-point deficit and the ball, Florida could not get a shot off. Pingeton’s team played a close game down the stretch for the third time in as many games, but this time it found a way to hold on.
“I thought down the stretch they played to win instead of not to lose, and I think that was a big mind shift right there,” Pingeton said.
Missouri forward LaDazhia Williams finished with a team-high 16 points, 8 rebounds and five blocks. The six-foot-four redshirt junior altered multiple Florida attempts and provided the Tigers with a steady presence in paint. Williams also gave her team an offensive spark when it really needed one in the third quarter.
Despite a solid first half, Pingeton continued to challenge Williams to be even better, knowing that they’d need her consistent output for all four quarters.
“She needed to step up for us to have a chance to get this done,” Pingeton said. “I thought she had a really, really good second half. She made some timely buckets, but she also had some nice blocks around the rim as well.”
The Tigers also received a big contribution from guard Aijha Blackwell. For a second-consecutive game, the sophomore finished with at least 15 rebounds and a double-double. Blackwell’s ability to keep possessions alive or earn second-chance opportunities helped Missouri close out a game that ultimately came down to the wire.
“She’s been such a scorer her whole life, she’s so explosive, but for her to understand that she’s got the ability to impact the game in more ways than just scoring buckets, I think that’s huge for her,” Pingeton said.
Missouri built its early double-digit lead through a steady diet of drives into the paint and feeding Williams. The Tigers finished with 32 of their 61 points coming in the paint.
While the visitors built their lead, Florida couldn’t seem to convert a basket from anywhere on the floor. The Gators shot 1-16 from downtown in the first half while Kiara Smith, who scored over 20 points in each of her last two games, had just four points on 12 shots.
That flipped early in the second half. Florida began the second half on a 7-0 run, finding the offense that it sorely lacked early. From there, the Gators kept the game close until the final buzzer.
“We knew that they were going to come out in the second half and play better than what they did [in the first half],” Pingeton said. “We had good looks, I really thought we had good looks, we just had a hard time knocking down shots to extend that lead.”
While Pingeton downplayed a question about the magnitude of the win, there shouldn’t be any discounting the importance of a victory against its final unranked opponent until Feb. 21. The Tigers needed some confidence going into a five-game stretch where the worst team it will face is No 22 Georgia.
“I mean, we’re nine points away from being nine and two,” Pingeton said. “We’re right there, so the message to our players is that the little things matter. Attention to detail, discipline, fundamentals. Those are the things that we try to continue to get better at during practice.”
The tough run of games starts on Sunday at noon when the Tigers travel to Lexington, Kentucky. to take on the No. 15-ranked Wildcats.
_Edited by Jack Soble | jsoble@themaneater.com_