With the regular season starting today, Missouri women’s basketball looks to start off strong against familiar opponent Missouri State. 

The Tigers enter the season with a new roster and a new schedule, but the same goal in mind: to win a title.  

“We want to build from last year,” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “[Last season] we were not satisfied and felt like we were right there on the cusp of getting into the NCAA tournament. We didn’t control what we needed to control — [winning] one more game.” 

Pingeton, now in her 13th season, said she had high hopes for this year’s team during her preseason press conference on Oct. 18.

“Our players have worked extremely hard,” she said. “That locker room, that culture piece, has always been huge for us. The girls have had a great offseason … they picked up right where they left off.” 

In 2021, the Tigers showed flashes of potential, putting together a winning streak of five or more games twice throughout the season. Current seniors Hayley Frank and Lauren Hansen played an instrumental role in that success, leading the offense in scoring for the year, averaging 15.1 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. 

Pingeton said she is excited to bring back the pair as leaders for the team, with Frank being named as a second-team All-SEC preseason player ahead of the 2022 season. 

“We are coming back with quite a bit of experience,” Pingeton said. “I think that the maturity and leadership is exactly what we need to have out of [the upperclassmen] right now, [and] I’m excited about our young kids. We’ve got two freshmen that have already elevated our program on the court and in the locker room.” 

A pair of freshmen guards make up two of the three new faces for the Tigers. Both from Missouri, Averi Kroenke and Ashton Judd committed to Missouri last year.. 

“[Judd] is a versatile player, which is really important for our system and how we play,” Pingeton said. “She has good size — [I am] really impressed with the strength she has coming in. She brings great size and really good athleticism and can knock down shots.” 

Pingeton also praised Kroenke for her work ethic, stating that she had a noticeable passion to compete at the collegiate level.

“She talks nonstop,” Pingeton said. “She is a fierce competitor, defends really well and has great speed … to have someone that can come in and play at that pace defensively … that was huge for us.” 

The third new addition to the Tiger roster came last May when graduate Katlyn Gilbert announced she would transfer to MU to play out the last year of her eligibility.  

The guard from Notre Dame provides length, scoring and defense to the team, but has dealt with numerous injuries throughout her career. Gilbert underwent surgery for a separated right shoulder in her freshman year and missed significant time during her junior year due to a foot injury. 

Pingeton said Gilbert’s biggest challenge would be her ability to stay healthy, as she plans to utilize Gilbert across many different roles on the court.  

“[Gilbert] has an extremely high basketball IQ,” Pingeton said. “She has the ability to play one through four in our system, and plays with great pace. From a leadership standpoint, she’s not super outgoing, but when she speaks, people listen because they have so much respect for her game. She is somebody we are going to be counting on heavily this year.” 

Looking ahead to their first test on the road, the Tigers look to incorporate the new players into their system, building trust and chemistry with each other, especially off of the court. 

“[Spending time with teammates] can’t be for two and a half hours on the court, and that’s the only time you spend together,” Pingeton said. “At least not in our program. That culture is really important. … We do a lot as a team off the court, and I think that continues to build [our] chemistry on the court.”

Aiming for an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since the 2018-19 season, Pingeton said it falls on the players to dictate the chemistry they build between one another, which will ultimately set the team up to perform successfully.

“When it’s coach-led, it’s always going to be pretty surface [level],” Pingeton said. “But when it’s player-led, that’s when you have the opportunity to go to that next level. Our returning players understand what that needs to look like and that’s why they came to [Missouri].” 

Edited by Davis Wilson | dwilson@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Jacob Richey