After limping to a victory over Belmont on Monday, Missouri women’s basketball defeated  Indiana State 98-57. 

Sophomore guard Ashton Judd got things going early for Missouri. Judd caught fire from behind the arc, hitting all three of her three-point attempts en route to a thirteen-point first quarter. Judd’s hot hand sparked a 10-0 run to put the Tigers up early.

In just her second outing as a Tiger, graduate forward Angelique Ngalakulondi made an impact all over the floor early on, as she finished the quarter with 6 points, five rebounds, two assists and a block. The transfer set a precedent early on the glass, as Missouri dominated the rebounding battle and beat Indiana State by 9 rebounds in the quarter.

Despite a strong defensive presence and a tenacious effort on the boards to go with the efficient shooting, the Tigers only held a 21-16 lead to close the opening quarter in large part because of turnovers.  

Senior point guard Mama Dembele was the star of the second quarter, dropping dimes left and right. The veteran closed the half with a team-high six assists.

Freshman guard Grace Slaughter racked up 9 points enroute to a 28-point quarter for the Tigers. The home team led 49-28 at the end of the half.

Judd’s stellar shooting spilled out into the second half, as she hit four more threes. Her shooting touch was contagious, as her teammates eventually got in on the action. With Slaughter adding a three of her own, freshman forward Hilke Feldrappe drained a triple just after notching her first career points. This incredible shooting essentially put the game on ice, as they entered the final period up 77-44. After another quarter of hot shooting, freshman forward Lucija Milkovic capped things off with her first career points, making a three as the final buzzer sounded, and Missouri moved to 2-0. 

After the game, head coach Robin Pingeton attributed Judd’s production to her work ethic. Pingeton described Judd’s time spent devoted to the game, starting as far back as the summer.

“Going back to June, July, two-a-days every day, and then she carried that over into the fall,” Pingeton said.  

The Tigers put on a shooting masterclass, knocking down 16/27 three point attempts (59%). Judd led the way on the scoring front with a career-high of 31 points. Also reaching double-digits for the Tigers were two freshman guards, Slaughter and Abbey Schreacke, with 17 points apiece. 

“I was just making sure that I let the game come to me, and I think my teammates did a great job of finding me,” Judd said. “As long as I can win that one-on-one matchup, I don’t have much else to worry about.” 

Dembele followed her fantastic opener by doing a bit of everything for Missouri. The point guard led the team with seven assists and three steals while adding 4 points and four rebounds. Graduate Abby Feit and Ngalakulondi led all Tigers in rebounding with five boards each.

Missouri will travel to St. Louis for their first road game of the season as they will match up against the Saint Louis Billikens at 5 p.m. at Chaifetz Arena on Sunday, Nov. 12.

Copy edited by Grace Knight | gknight@themaneater.com