University of Missouri
Southwest Baptist
Tigers Tame Southwest Baptist in Exhibition Opener
11/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2003
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Senior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) led all scorers with 21 points, and the Missouri women's basketball team overpowered Division II Southwest Baptist, 74-39, in exhibition play Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers turned the Hearnes Center into a block party in the first half, swatting seven Bearcat shots into the stands. Mizzou finished with 11 for the game, led by six from senior forward Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Tyler JC). Buoyed by 50-percent shooting, the Tigers took a 37-19 lead into the locker room.
Following an Amber Wheeler jumper, Mizzou went on a 13-3 run over the next 4 minutes, 41 seconds. Ashley Bishop converted a 3-point play to bring SBU to within 13-8, yet the Tigers countered with a staggering 17-2 run over the next 7:51. Unrau had eight of Mizzou's points in that span as the Tigers took a 30-10 lead.
Both Unrau (12 points) and James (10) scored in double figures in the first half, while James led the Tigers with five rebounds.
The play of the game occurred with 11 minutes left, and involved all three of Mizzou's sophomores. Center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) blocked a layup attempt by Gwyn Smith, corralled the ball and flipped a behind-the-back bounce pass to forward Cherice Mack (St. Charles, Mo. / St. Charles HS). She sent an outlet pass to guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS), who sliced through the lane, drew a foul and sank the layup. She added the free throw to give Mizzou a 56-30 lead with 10:58 left.
"I think Southwest Baptist was a great team to play," head coach Cindy Stein said. "They are extremely well-coached, and they aren't going to back down. I was pleased with the changes we were able to make in the second half. As always, we have a lot to work on, but defensively it was a good start. I'm excited by the depth of our team. We have inexperienced depth, but we have talented depth."
Unrau also led the Tigers with eight rebounds. Senior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North) tallied a team-high six assists. Bond led the Tigers with five steals; her 14 points is her most in a Mizzou uniform.
Gwyn Smith scored nine points and hauled in nine rebounds to lead SBU in both categories. She also tallied a team-high three steals.
Mizzou shot 50 percent from the floor in the contest, and was 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the free-throw line. SBU was held to 24.1-percent shooting from the floor, including 15 percent (3-for-20) from beyond the arc.
The Tigers are next in action next Sunday, Nov. 16, when they complete their exhibition season against Sparta Praha (Czech Republic). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Hearnes Center. For ticket information, call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in Mid-Missouri) or visit www.MUTigers.com. Holders of the student All-Sports Pass or the KMIZ-ZOU Spirit Pass get into all women's basketball game free.
