University of Missouri
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Kansas
Unrau, Perkins Spur Tigers to 27-Point Win in Lawrence
1/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2004
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Senior All-America candidate Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) notched her league-leading eighth double-double, and senior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS) was just one off her career high to lead the Mizzou women's basketball team to a 76-49 win over archrival Kansas Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
The win, Mizzou's first in Big 12 play this year, split the season series between the two teams, marking the first time since 1989 that the teams did so by winning on each other's home court. It also gives the Tigers (10-6, 1-4 Big 12) 1.5 points in the Midwest Ford Dealers Border War.
"This game had a great environment, and the crowd was fabulous," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "I'm proud of our players for everything they did, and I commend our seniors for the effort they gave today. We played today like I know we're capable of playing."
Unrau had an outstanding game, leading all players with 19 points and 14 rebounds for her third consecutive double-double, and senior forward Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Northland HS / Tyler [Texas] JC) also posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Senior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North HS) added 13 points and seven assists for the Tigers, who notched the largest margin of victory for either team since 1995.
In addition, Mizzou hit the offensive glass (21 rebounds) and held Kansas to 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field. The Tigers' 44.8-percent output (30-of-67) is the best in six games.
After Tamara Ransburg scored a quick bucket off the opening tip, Mizzou scored the next eight points with the help of 3-pointers from Unrau and Perkins. Senior forward Melanie Fisher (St. Louis, Mo. / Principia HS / SMS) found James underneath after the Tigers moved the ball around the lane. An Unrau putback the next time down gave Mizzou a 14-4 advantage and 30 seconds of rest following a KU timeout.
Kansas (8-9, 1-5) closed the lead to within six (20-14) on a Ransburg jumper, yet the Tigers got quick back-to-back buckets from Unrau on a putback of her own miss, and Lozier stole the ensuing inbounds pass and fed Perkins for a layup to boost the margin back to 10 with 6:36 left in the half. Lozier added a 3-pointer to push the margin to 14 (30-16) a few minutes later, then as the half wound down sliced through traffic for a runner as the halftime buzzer sounded to give Mizzou a 32-20 lead.
The Tigers started pounding the ball inside to start the second half, and James was the major beneficiary. She was sent to the line three times in the first 2:36 coming out of the locker room, and hit all six of her charity tosses as the Tigers kept the lead at 12 (39-27). She was fouled a fourth time the next trip down the court, and made a seventh straight free throw before finally missing a shot. James' tosses accounted for all of Mizzou's scoring in the second half until Fisher hit her only basket of the game with 14:56 remaining.
Perkins picked up the scoring slack in a big way down the stretch, scoring 10 of her 15 points in a two-minute span on five consecutive scoring possessions. From the 10:12 mark until 8:01 remained, Perkins had a personal 10-2 run over the Jayhawks to boost the lead to 21 (59-38) and essentially put the game away.
The Tigers return home Wednesday to begin a short two-game homestand against Oklahoma. Tipoff is set for 7 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.
