@MizzouWBB Opens Exhibition Play Tuesday

Tuesday, November 1

Columbia, Mo.

7:00 P.M. CT

Missouri

Central Missouri

10/31/2016 11:13:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Admission is free for all fans

This Week: Thursday, Oct. 27
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME	MEDIA
Central Missouri	Mizzou Arena	Tuesday	7 p.m.	Live Stats

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Women's Basketball opens its exhibition slate on Tuesday against in-state foe Central Missouri. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

FREE ADMISSION

Both of Mizzou's exhibition games this season feature free admission for all fans.

MIZZOU ENTERS 2016-17 COMING OFF HISTORIC SEASON

Mizzou is coming off a historic 2015-16 season, having racked up 22 wins for the first time since 2000-01.
The Tigers earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2006 and won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2001 after upsetting 7-seeded BYU in the opening round as a No. 10 seed.
The Tigers cracked the Associated Press Top 25 poll and were ranked for eight weeks during the 2015-16 season. It was just the second time Mizzou entered the poll since 1985. It was the longest run for the program in the poll in more than 30 years.
Mizzou won eight conference games, clinched three victories over top-50 RPI opponents and four more over top-100 RPI foes. The Tigers' impressive run included wins over No. 6 Mississippi State and No. 22 Florida at Mizzou Arena last season.
Mizzou has now won completed four consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1986-90.
Coach Pingeton's squad also excelled in the classroom, posting a spring 2016 Team GPA of 3.31, the highest in program history.
Mizzou brings back four Tigers from a season ago who started at least 24 games in redshirt Lindsey Cunningham, SEC Freshman of the Year Sophie Cunningham, senior Sierra Michaelis and sophomore Cierra Porter.

HISTORY AGAINST CENTRAL MISSOURI

Mizzou has won its last six regular season meetings with Central Missouri, with the most recent victory coming on Dec. 2, 1987, 85-54.
In those six meetings, Mizzou has averaged a scorching 76.5 points per contest.
The Tigers and Jennies last squared off in an exhibition capacity in 2009, when Mizzou prevailed 80-59.

TUNE-UPS

Last season, Mizzou won its pair of exhibition games by a combined score of 193-113, beating Southwest Baptist, 96-59, and Quincy, 97-54.
During the Robin Pingeton coaching era, the Tigers are 12-0 in exhibition contests with seven of those victories coming by 25 points or more.
In those 12 games, Mizzou has outpaced opponents, 930-668, averaging wins by nearly a 22-point margin.

FAB FRESHMAN BECOME SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES

Both Sophie Cunningham and Cierra Porter return as team leaders after earning SEC All-Freshman Team recognition last season. Cunningham became the program's first ever SEC Freshman of the Year. Cunningham and Porter enter their second seasons with 1,666 combined minutes played and 59 combined starts.
Cunningham finished second in program scoring history by a freshman with 448 points. Julie Helm holds the record with 515 points in 1996-97, when she averaged 17.2 points per game. Cunningham averaged a team-leading 14.0 points per contest a season ago.
Cunningham scored in double figures 21 times and poured in more than 20 points in 10 contests, including a school-record 42 points vs. Wake Forest on Nov. 22 in only her fourth career game.
Cunningham also finished second among freshmen in program history with 113 made free throws while Porter wound up third on the list with 78. Helm holds the program record with 131 converted foul shots in 1996-97.
Porter's offensive production as a freshman is ranked 12^thin program history after 266 points during her initial campaign.
Both Cunningham and Porter were teammates at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri, where they led their teams to four consecutive Missouri Class 5 state titles.

BRACEY SETTLES IN

In August, head coach Robin Pingeton announced the hiring of new assistant coach Ashleen Bracey, who brings more than five years of coaching experience with her, including three seasons alongside Randy Norton at UAB.
Bracey was a player under Pingeton at Illinois State and helped the Redbirds claim three Missouri Valley Conference Championships and a 2008 NCAA Tournament berth.
After playing professionally overseas, Bracey launched her coaching career at Mizzou as a graduate assistant, making Tuesday's exhibition game her first contest on the sideline since coming home to Columbia, Mo.

PRESEASON WNIT PARTICIPANTS

After a second exhibition game on Monday, Nov. 7, Mizzou officially opens the regular season on Friday, Nov. 11 against Abilene Chistian in the first round of the Preseason WNIT. This is the first time in program history that Mizzou has competed in the Preseason WNIT. Mizzou is guaranteed three games in the tournament.
The tournament features a 16-team field, including four power five programs (Mizzou, Notre Dame, Washington and Nebraska).
The Tigers have won 14 of their last 15 nonconference games heading into its matchup with Abilene Christian.
In its last Postseason WNIT appearance in 2015, Mizzou went 2-1, reaching the 3rd round after road wins over Northern Iowa (69-61) and Kansas State (67-48).