After trailing throughout the game to the Eastern Illinois Panthers, the Missouri women’s basketball team was able to stage a second-half comeback to pull off a 56-54 win Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers trailed for 36 of the game’s 40 minutes. But the Tigers took the lead at the end thanks to the dominant performance down the stretch from senior forward Christine Flores. Flores scored the game’s final eight points to cap off a second-half comeback from a 15-point deficit with 18 minutes to play.

Flores ended the night with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks for her first triple-double of her career. It is also the first triple-double posted by any Big 12 Conference player this season.

“Christine Flores had a heck of a game, and good for her. It is a testament to her work ethic,” Pingeton said. “You expect that out of a player that’s your most experienced player, and she’s a senior.”

Flores was caught off-guard when asked about her reaction on posting the triple-double.

“I got a triple-double?” Flores asked. “That’s huge. I’m just excited about it. I don’t really have any words. I’m in disbelief, kind of. I know that I am capable of doing that. But I’m kind of speechless right now, just finding out.”

Flores credited her teammates and especially the crowd for helping the team finish the comeback down the stretch.

“There is nothing better than having the whole gym go crazy there at the end,” Flores said.

For senior forward BreAnna Brock, the tight victory showed the team’s maturation from a year ago.

“I just think it’s a big difference from last year just as far as our growth, as far as being a team,” Brock said. “We came together the way that we know that we can and the way that we know that we should.”

With the Tigers trailing by 11 at the half, Flores said the halftime locker room was intense but focused.

“We knew what we had to do,” Flores said. “We knew we weren’t playing the way we wanted to play and that we could pick it up.”

Pingeton said she did have concerns about how the team would come out for the game after being displeased with the intensity of practice on Tuesday. She said the biggest factor in the second-half turn-around was that the team merely competed harder in all areas.

The Tigers shot only 33 percent on the night. They especially struggled from beyond the arc, going 4-of-21 for a dismal 19 percent, well below their Big 12-leading season average of 45.3 percent.

“We have good three-point shooters and I don’t anticipate we’ll have nights like this very often,” Pingeton said. “I thought they were good shots, but they just weren’t falling tonight.”

Junior Liene Priede was one shooter who struggled for most of the night, going 4-of-15 on the night. She said her teammates kept encouraging her to keep shooting and eventually she was able to hit two key three’s early in the Tigers’ second-half comeback.

The Tigers will be back in action against North Dakota at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena.