Much like Missouri’s last game against No. 1 South Carolina, the Tigers tied the game at halftime.
And much like that game, the Tigers struggled in the second half and lost in double digits to a ranked opponent, this time No. 24 Georgia, 84-62.
The Tigers turned the ball over seven times in the third quarter and allowed Georgia to get out to a nine-point lead heading into the fourth. The Bulldogs scored 29 points off of Missouri turnovers.
“That’s the game right there,” coach Robin Pingeton said of that statistic. “[Georgia is] one of the better defensive teams in our league for sure, and they made it really hard for us offensively. We really challenged our kids that we needed tonight to be our best defensive effort of the season. That’s probably the most disappointing thing for me.”
Pingeton attributed her team’s defensive struggles to low energy caused by turnovers on offense.
“I honestly felt like we let our offense dictate our defensive intensity,” Pingeton said. “We all know that doesn’t usually play out very well for you.”
Missouri committed more turnovers via traveling than any other method.
“I felt like a couple times we got too deep in the paint,” Pingeton said. “We drew two [defenders] and tried to get some of those dump-down passes, and they muddied it up in there. Some of the travel calls I’ll have to go back and look at. I thought [the] ball was still live on a couple of them.”
The Tigers’ offense scored efficiently, at least in the first half. Williams started the game 5-5 with 11 points. Williams, Hayley Frank and Haley Troup were the bright spots in Missouri’s offense, scoring 17, 14 and 14 points, respectively. The team shot 44.2% overall.
Frank found her 3-point shot in the first half and went 3-3 from beyond the arc. The team shot 5-10 from deep in that span, with sophomore Lauren Hansen and freshman point guard Mama Dembele each adding a triple. Missouri shot 8-15 from three-point range in the game.
“I just tell Frankie, ‘Just keep shooting,’” Williams said. “Every shot she puts up is a great shot to me.”
The Tigers switched up their starting lineup for the first time all season, but not by choice. Sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell was in a walking boot prior to tip-off and couldn’t play.
On Friday, after the South Carolina game, she mentioned to the team trainer that her foot was a little sore. Blackwell practiced on Saturday, but after this morning’s shootaround she didn’t feel like she could play.
She still played an important role in Missouri’s overall energy.
“We missed a big rebounding piece, but her energy on the bench was great,” Williams said. “It felt like she was still out there with us.”
The team does not have a timetable on her return.
The Tigers have slumped to 3-8 in the SEC and a dismal 0-5 record in conference home games. They travel to College Station on Thursday for a rematch with No. 6 Texas A&M.
The teams last faced each other in Columbia on Jan. 24, with the Aggies winning in a close four-point contest. Missouri hasn’t defeated a ranked opponent in six tries this season and will look to make this one the first.
_Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com_