A senior night celebration couldn’t propel Missouri women’s basketball to a win. The Tigers dropped their 10th game in a row to Vanderbilt 68-61.

The Tigers honored four players during the senior night festivities: Abby Feit, Micah Linthacum, Mama Dembele and Hayley Frank. 

All four players started in their final game at Mizzou Arena, which was the first start of Linthacum’s career. 

“Micah has been here for five years and [has] limited playing time,” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “I thought for her with her family, just a great opportunity.”

Missouri started quick, holding a 13-10 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter. Sophomore Ashton Judd led the way with six early points as the Tigers’ leading scorer. 

Vanderbilt struck back though with a 16-3 run, leading Missouri by double-digits in the second quarter. The Tigers continued to claw back, cutting the lead back to one at the half. In her fifth start for Missouri, Feit poured in eight points in the first half, including 2-3 from three.

“Obviously [Feit has] only been here with us for one year but she’s made a huge impact,” Pingeton said. “Everybody loves Abs.”

Vanderbilt started the third quarter strong, but Missouri responded with an 8-0 run to close the quarter. The 48-47 lead was the first time the Tigers entered the fourth quarter with a lead since the 69-57 win against Georgia on Jan. 18.

The same results were not produced as the Tigers failed to close it out, and Vanderbilt spoiled senior night. Vanderbilt outscored Missouri 21-13 in the final frame, as the Tigers shot 0-5 from three while committing six turnovers.

It was the final game at Mizzou Arena for Frank, putting together a strong career with 1,992 points, ranking fourth in Tiger history. For Frank, it comes down to more than just records.

“It’s kind of just a feeling of gratitude,” Frank said. “I think just the thing I’ve focused most on is the relationships and how special they are.”

This was the final home game for Dembele as well, making her mark shown in the record books with 431 assists, fourth in Missouri history.

“At the end of the day people just look at the wins and the losses but at the end of the day, it’s just bigger than that,” Dembele said. “This stuff is amazing. My teammates are amazing. [It] is hard to say goodbye.”

Missouri closes the regular season in a road showdown against Mississippi State on Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m.

Edited by Grace Ainger

Copy edited by Grace Knight

Edited by Scout Hudson | shudson@themaneater.com