University of Missouri
Miami (Ohio)
James, Unrau Power Women Past Miami, 92-68
1/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2004
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Senior forwards Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Northland HS / Tyler [Texas] JC) and Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) combined for 46 points and 18 rebounds in leading the University of Missouri women to a 92-68 win over Miami (Ohio) Friday night at the Hearnes Center.
With the win, the Tigers run their record to 10-0 under Cindy Stein when scoring 90 or more points. It's the third time this season that both of Mizzou's starting forwards scored 20 or more in the same game. The other two times came in Mizzou's only losses this season - at UW-Green Bay and vs. SMS.
James had 10 points in the first 6 minutes, 16 seconds of the first half, and finished with 16 points in the opening 20 minutes on 8-of-9 shooting. She finished the game 11-of-14, good for 22 points and eight rebounds. Unrau picked up what was left of the slack in the second half, pouring in a team-high 24 points to go with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Colleen Day had a game-high 25 points and six rebounds for the RedHawks (6-5).
"I'm very pleased with our play. I thought that we were really complacent at times, but I erally like the way this team responded," said Stein. "I like our play off the bench. [Unrau and James] were incredible the whole night, and unstoppable. I guess those two hours Evan spent shooting after the last game (in Mizzou's 10-point win over Iowa, when Unrau went 5-of-15 from the field) helped."
The RedHawks took their first lead on a 3-pointer by Nikki Motto with 8:02 left, and pushed the margin to three (31-28) on a jumper by Amanda Jackson less than a minute later.
Yet the Tigers (8-2) stormed back with a 10-2 run over the next 2:55, sparked by three more James buckets, for a 38-33 advantage. Aided by a jumper by senior forward Melanie Fisher (St. Louis, Mo. / Principia HS / SMS) and two free throws by junior center Megan Roney (Independence, Mo. / Truman HS) in the final 27 seconds, Mizzou took a 47-39 halftime lead.
A 10-2 Mizzou run the first 5:15 of the second half - started by a pair of James layups, and finished with an Unrau jumper - boosted the margin to 16. Miami hung around for the next 8 minutes before the Tigers went on another 12-3 run to put the game out of reach.
Sophomore guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) added 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to complement the seniors. The Tigers added to their nation-leading block total with 10 more swats Friday.
The Tigers play their final non-conference contest, and also conclude a stretch of three games in six days, when Mizzou travels to St. Louis on Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest against the Billikens. Mizzou's next home game is next Saturday, Jan. 10, when the Tigers host Border War rival Kansas in a game to be televised statewide on the Mizzou Sports Network. 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.
