University of Missouri
Evansville
Women's Hoopsters Escape Evansville With 78-72 Win
12/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2003
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Buoyed by hot outside shooting at the end of the second half and excellent ball distribution in the second, the Mizzou women's basketball team registered a 78-72 win Sunday afternoon at Roberts Stadium.
Senior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) had a game-high 22 points and led all players with 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and sophomore guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) tied her career high with eight assists.
In a game that saw eight ties and 11 lead changes, the Tigers (6-2) took their final lead with 9 minutes left on a jumper by senior forward Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Northland HS / Tyler [Texas] JC). That came during a span where James, who had 15 of her 17 points in the second half, had four straight buckets. Mizzou was aided by committing just two turnovers in the second half, and converted 16 assists in the final stanza.
"I was happy with finally taking control of the game, where we're in a position where they have to foul instead of the other way around," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. On the Tigers' turnaround in the second half, she said, "Our execution on offense and our intensity on defense were much better. We were just rushing things. We were too impatient, taking shots in the first 10 seconds instead of working the ball around."
Evansville (4-4) grabbed a quick 7-0 lead in the first 2 minutes, 32 seconds, and held a lead until Unrau hit a layup with 15:34 left to take an 11-9 lead.
Minutes later, the Tigers would go on a cold-shooting stretch that would allow the Purple Aces to retake the lead. Mizzou scored just one field goal in a nine-minute span as Evansville grew the lead to 26-20. Unrau started Mizzou on a barrage of five 3-pointers in the final four minutes, though, capped by a trey from Bond to give the Tigers a 32-29 lead with 1:09 left in the half. Yet turnovers and a couple of Evansville rebounds allowed the Purple Aces to head into the locker room with a 35-32 advantage.
Unrau had 12 points and six rebounds in the first half, and senior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North HS) led the Tigers to 6-of-11 shooting (54.5 percent) from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
Bond forced the Purple Aces to take a timeout with 7:27 left in the game after a spectacular series. Bond knocked the ball away from UE's Denasha Mondy into the Mizzou frontcourt, and in an attempt to gain control of the ball went tumbling to the floor. Unrau stole the ball from Mondy at center court, and tipped the ball back to Bond, who had regained her footing at the free-throw line and went in for the layup.
Jamie Gray led all scorers with 25 points for the Purple Aces.
The Tigers have the next nine days off for the holidays before resuming play next Tuesday, Dec. 30, in an afternoon matinee vs. Iowa. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Hearnes Center. For ticket information, call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in Mid-Missouri). As a reminder, holders of the student All-Sports Pass or the KMIZ-ZOU Spirit Pass gain free admission to all women's basketball games.
