Winning hasn’t come easy for the Missouri women’s basketball team in recent years. Before second-year coach Robin Pingeton took over the Tigers, the team had a record of 34-50 in the past three seasons and was only 8-40 in Big 12 Conference play during that time.

Pingeton said when she took over the job that it would be a long rebuilding process, but in her second year, the Tigers are off to a 5-1 start, which included the program’s first 5-0 start since the 1997-1998 season.

“When I look at where we’re at right now compared to a year ago, I’m proud of our girls,” Pingeton said. “Satisfied? Absolutely not. But I’m definitely proud of them.”

Although Pingeton’s team has been led by the senior inside duo of Christine Flores and BreAnna Brock, an influx of new players has played a key role in the Tigers’ hot start.

One of those newcomers is freshman Morgan Eye, who is averaging 8 points per game on the season and has been a key outside weapon for the team. Eye has gone 13-for-21 from three-point range for a Big 12 best of 61.9 percent.

Eye said she was glad to make an impact in early games, but she is continuing to work on improving her play and understanding her role on the team.

Freshman point guard Kyley Simmons has also been a major player in the Tigers’ early season success, averaging 33 minutes per game. Her 35 assists are fourth in the conference.

Simmons said playing such a prominent role in her freshman campaign has been a challenge, but she looks forward to continuing to learn and get better.

Eye said one aspect of the new team that she loves is the family environment.

“I think of my teammates as sisters,” Eye said. “It makes practice fun as we all have the same purpose.”

The family atmosphere is not an accident, Pingeton said.

Pingeton said the team spends a significant amount of time building team chemistry, and the team benefits from the family environment both in the locker room and on the court.

Simmons said she agreed the team has great chemistry, but made sure to point out that, like any good family, they aren’t afraid to criticize each other.

“We have tough love,” Simmons said. “We need to know reality, and we aren’t afraid to talk to each other.”

Eye said making the choice to come to Missouri was an easy one.

“I’m from Missouri, so I grew up a Tiger, but once I started talking to the coaches I felt like this is where I needed to be,” Eye said.

She said Pingeton was honest with her about being in a rebuilding process. Eye knew she wanted to be a part of improving the program.

Simmons said the coaches were her primary reason for coming to play for the Tigers, along with the facilities and the strong emphasis on academics for student athletes.

With success comes fans — building up the fan base is an area Pingeton has focused on in her second season. A crowd of 1,587 came out Saturday, the highest of the season and higher than the season attendance average last year.

“People always want to support a winner,” Pingeton said.

Senior forward Christine Flores said having the support of the fans, especially students, really makes a difference.

“Having that student support is amazing. There is nothing like it,” Flores said. “They are going to see how great our team is and hopefully we get more attendance. That crowd was just phenomenal.”

Eye said it was exciting to see a larger crowd.

“We work hard every day in practice and it means a lot to us to have support,” Eye said.

Pingeton is confident that by putting a winning product on the floor fan support will continue to grow.

“I believe we’ll have 8,000 to 9,000 here sooner than later,” Pingeton said.