University of Missouri
Kansas State
No. 14 Kansas State Nips Mizzou, 58-54
2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2009
MANHATTAN, Kan. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team used a 25-9 first half run to recover from a 15-2 early deficit but eventually fell to the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats 58-54 Wednesday night in Manhattan, Kan. The loss drops Mizzou's record to 10-11 overall and 1-7 in Big 12 play while the Wildcats improve to 19-2 and 6-2.
The Tigers had four players in double figures, led by junior Jessra Johnson with 12. Senior Alyssa Hollins and redshirt freshman Bekah Mills each scored 11 while sophomore Shakara Jones added 10. Sophomore RaeShara Brown led Mizzou with eight rebounds and four steals.
After Kansas State jumped out to a 15-2 lead less than eight minutes into the contest, Mizzou caught fire when Hollins hit a jumper and found Johnson, who nailed a three-pointer with 9:01 remaining.
With the Tigers down nine, 20-11, the squad reeled off 12 consecutive points, including threes from Hollins and Mills, to give Missouri its first lead of the game, 21-20, at the 4:57 mark. A layup from Jones extended the Tigers' lead to three, 23-20, a minute and a half later.
Wildcat Shalin Spani made a three-pointer with 2:17 remaining but Mizzou used baskets from Mills and Jones in the final minute to enter the break with a 27-24 advantage. The Tigers outscored the Wildcats 25-9 over the final 12:20 of the half.
Missouri used a basket from freshman Christine Flores and a free throw from Brown to go up 30-24 less than two minutes into the final frame. After Kansas State closed within two, 38-36, Mills grabbed an offensive board and made the putback to put Mizzou back on top, four, with just over 10 minutes remaining.
The Tigers were up one, 44-43, Kansas State's Ashley Sweat nailed a three-pointer with 6:23 on the clock to give the home team a 46-44 advantage. After the Wildcats used two free throws from Ashley Sweat for a 50-47 score, a driving layup by Johnson and two freebies from Mills reclaimed the lead for Missouri with 2:19 left.
Kansas State came back to claim a 55-52 advantage but a jumper by Johnson got the Tigers back within one, 55-54, with 19.3 seconds on the clock. The Wildcats made three free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.
Missouri hosts Border Showdown foe Kansas (12-7, 1-6) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, in the Pack the Zou promotion, where all tickets cost just $1. The contest will be broadcast live on FSN with Brent Stover serving as play-by-play announcer and Brenda VanLangen as the color analyst. Mizzou is then off until Saturday, Feb. 14 when the team travels to Waco, Texas, to face No. 7/8 Baylor at 12:30 p.m. in the Bears' Women's Basketball Coaches Association Pink Zone.
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