Nov. 23, 1999
PDF Formatted Notes
Missouri Tigers (1-1) -vs.- Portland State Vikings (0-2)
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. CST.
RADIO/TV: KFRU 1400 AM (David Lile, Sally Albers)
INTERNET: www.mutigers.com (LIVE)
ARENA: Cox Arena (12,414)
SERIES: First meeting
COACHES: Missouri-Cindy Stein (79-40, 14-15 at MU), Portland State-George Wolfe (330-112, at Portland State)
Thanksgiving in San Diego for the Tigers
The Missouri Tigers (1-1) will spend their Thanksgiving Holiday in beautiful San Diego, Calif, but the Tigers don't plan on making this a vacation. Missouri will compete in the San Diego State/Pacific Bell Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers will face the Vikings of Portland State (0-2) on Friday night at 7:00 CST. MU will then face either Indiana State or San Diego State on Saturday.
Friday's meeting with Portland State will be the first between the Tigers and Vikings. Missouri opened the season with a win at Bradley on Saturday, but fell in it's home opener on Monday night against SEC power Arkansas 83-76. Portland State has dropped it's first two contests to Boise State and Oregon State.
In the other first round match-up, Indiana State, an NCAA Tournament team a year ago, is 1-0 after deating Eastern Illinois 79-40. The Tigers and Sycamores have met one other time with Missouri coming out on top. San Diego State is 0-2 after dropping close games to Idaho State and Portland at the American Dream Classic in Pocatello, Idaho.
PROBABLE MISSOURI STARTERS
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER |
| 24 | Amanda Lassiter | F | 6'1 | Jr. | 10.5 | 5.0 | 5.0 blocks |
| 5 | Amy Monsees | F | 6'0 | Sr. | 11.5 | 2.5 | 70% FG |
| 55 | Marlena Williams | C | 6'0 | Jr. | 17.0 | 2.5 | 65% FG |
| 32 | Natalie Bright | G | 5'8 | So. | 8.5 | 4.0 | 2.0 apg. |
| 44 | Julie Helm | G | 5'11 | Sr. | 9.0 | 5.5 | 2.0 steals |
OFF THE BENCH
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER |
| 22 | Tracy Franklin | G/F | 5'10 | Jr. | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 apg. |
| 45 | Ekpe Akpaffiong | F/C | 6'0 | Sr. | 7.5 | 4.0 | 83% FT |
| 15 | Kerensa Barr | G | 5'10 | Fr. | 4.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 steals |
| 52 | Melissa Statham | C | 6'2 | Fr. | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 apg. |
| 31 | Wannette Smith | F | 6'1 | Fr. | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 apg. |
Scouting Portland State
The Portland State Vikings have dropped each of it's first two games. The Vikings were defeated in their home opener by Boise State by a score of 65-62 on Saturday. On Monday night, PSU fell victim to Oregon State by a score of 65-47.
George Wolfe is in his first season as head coach at Portland State. The veteran Viking team starts four seniors and a junior and is led by guard Monique Zampera. The 5-7 Zampera is averaging 12.0 points per game and is 4-of-9 from three-point range. Fellow senior guard Karrin Wilson averaged 10.9 ppg. last season, but is off to a tough start shooting. Wilson scored 19 points against Boise State and was 7-of-17 from the field, but went 1-for-6 and scored just 3 points on Monday night against Oregon State.
The Last Time Out for Missouri
The Tigers (1-1) are coming off of an 83-76 defeat at the hands of Arkansas this past Monday night. In what was a very physical game, the Tigers were whistled for 23 personal fouls, 17 of them in the first half. Missouri played over 16 minutes of the first half without the services of Marlena Williams and Amanda Lassiter, both of whom were saddled with two early personal fouls. Even without two of their big guns, the Tigers only trailed by five, 36-31 at halftime.
Williams and the Tigers battled back in the second half. Williams scored all of her team-high 21 points in the half and helped MU tie the game on two different occassions. A Julie Helm (14 points) bucket off a steal by Kerensa Barr cut Arkansas' lead to 77-74 with 1:25 remaining in the game. The Lady Razorbacks then capitalized on what the Tigers couldn't, free throws. Missouri went 19-for-28 at the charity stripe, missing several key free throws throughout the game. Arkansas canned 4-of-5 free throws in the final minute to preserve the win.
Stein's Style is ?Organized Chaos'
She calls it ?organized chaos.' Cindy Stein's style of basketball is in full effect in 1999-00. Many basketball followers might compare it to the Arkansas men's "40 minutes of hell." In two games against Bradley and Arkansas, Missouri has forced an average of 28 turnovers. The Tigers have 27 steals as a team so far, an average of 13.5 per game. Missouri averaged just over 8 steals per contest last year.
Offensively, the Tigers are scoring at a much higher rate than last year, something Coach Stein loves to see. Missouri averaged 66.4 points a game last season. In two games, the Tigers are averaging 84 points per contest and scored over 90 points in both of their exhibition victories.
Helm Keeps Moving Up the Charts
Senior Julie Helm is already one of the most accomplished women's basketball players in Missouri school history. With every game she plays during her senior campaign, the Tiger record book will keep on changing.
Helm is currently in sixth place on Missouri's all-time scoring list with 1,581 points. She is currently the career leader in free throw percentage at 81.2 percent. She on her way to becoming the career leader in three-point field goals.
Helm is averaging 17.5 ppg. for her career. She just passed the 400 rebound mark this past Monday night and is seven three-point field goals shy of 100. Helm is 22 free throws away from 400 and is three steals away from 100. She also needs to play just 83 minutes to eclipse the 3,000 minutes played mark.
Barr, Bright Improving the Point Guard Spot
Where the point guard spot was a major problem last season for the Tigers, things seem to be changing for the better. The combination of sophomore Natalie Bright and freshman Kerensa Barr has proven to be a very tough duo so far. Offensively, Bright has been a weapon. She is averaging 8.5 ppg. and 2.0 assists. The 5-8 Des Moines, Iowa native has turned the ball over just three times in the first two games.
Barr is averaging 4.0 ppg. and has five assists to four turnovers. Barr has also been a menace defensively. The Missouri High School Player-of-the-Year has recorded five steals in two games and is pulling in 2.5 rebounds per contest.
Last year, Missouri's point guards turned the ball over 122 times and recorded just 97 assists. Look for the those numbers to change for the better in 2000.
Don't Bring It In On Lassiter
The NCAA will not begin releasing statistical leaders for the next couple of weeks. One can bet that the name Amanda Lassiter will be seen on the blocked shots chart. In two games, the 6-1 Lassiter has recorded 10 blocked shots, five in both games.
Lassiter wasted no time making her mark on the Division I level on Saturday at Bradley. The junior college Kodak All-American received very little attention by preseason voters in the Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year category. Those voters may want to take notice.
On Saturday, all Lassiter did was score 18 points, block 5 shots, pull down 5 rebounds and record 2 steals. She shot 8-of-12 from the floor, including a three-pointer.
Don't expect too many off nights like the one Lassiter had on Monday against Arkansas. Saddled with foul trouble throughout the game, she scored just three points on 1-for-10 shooting, but do not overlook her team-high 5 assists and the 5 blocked shots.
Just Call Her ?Pep' and Enjoy
If you love basketball, you love to watch Marlena "Pep" Williams play. The 6-0 junior college Kodak All-American plays hard and wants to win worse than the average player. She is what Cindy Stein calls a perfectionist, and anything less that perfection irritates ?Pep.'
Williams played her first career game for the Tigers in her own backyard in Peoria, Ill. last Saturday at Bradley. Williams scored 13 points in 18 minutes and had tears in her eyes as she left the floor after fouling out.
On Monday night against Arkansas, some 1,300 Missouri fans got to see what ?Pep' is all about. Williams picked up her second foul less than four minutes into the game and sat out the rest of the half with 0 points and 1 rebound. Those who know ?Pep' knew what to expect in the second half.
Williams scored 21 points in the second period, 7 of them in the first 4:14 of the half. She staggered Arkansas with points in the post as well as several one-on-one moves from the top of the key.
Where does this all come from? Basketball talent runs through the blood of the Williams family. Most notible is her brother Frank, a McDonald's All-American and the starting point guard for the University of Illinois.
New Roles For Tiger Vets Ekpe and Franklin
Senior Ekpe Akpaffiong and junior Tracy Franklin started a combined 38 games last year for the Tigers. In Akpaffiong's case, she has started 59 games in the last three seasons.
Akpaffiong and Franklin are now coming off the bench for the Tigers with the additions of Amanda Lassiter and Marlena Williams. The outcome of the moves? So far, so good.
Akpaffiong's reaction was a 13 point, 5 rebound performance in 14 mintes of action in Saturday's 92-49 win over Bradley. Franklin has shown a new aggressive side to her game that has not been there the last two years. The Mexico, Mo. native is averaging 6.0 ppg. and has come up with several key rebounds and steals for the Tigers.
On Saturday, Franklin turned in the play of the game as she lunged for a loose ball heading out of bounds, made the save and fell off Bradley's raised floor and literally disappeared. The ball ended up in Natalie Bright's hands for an uncontested layup. Even the Bradley fans applauded that play.
On Monday night, Franklin stepped in front of a pass and stole it with 23 seconds left in the first half and converted a break-away layup to cut Arkansas' lead to five points going into halftime.
Tigers Ink Three in Early Signing Period
Missouri has already signed three blue-chip recruits in the early signing period. The Tigers inked Missouri high school standout Terianne Wolford of Nixa, Mo., Evan Unrau of Ft. Collins, Colo., and Tracy Lozier of Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kan.
Wolford, a 6-0 forward, enters her senior season at Nixa High as a three-year starter. A second team All-State selection last season, Wolford is averaging 18 points per game and is shooting over 59 percent for her career. She is also averaging over seven rebounds for her career. Wolford is a three-time, first team All-Conference pick and was named the AAU Missouri Player-of-the-Year as a sophomore. She has also been selected as an honorable mention AAU All-American.
Unrau will enter Missouri as one of the top high school players out of the state of Colorado. The 6-1 post player is a three-year starter for Rocky Mountain High School and is a two-time All-Conference performer. Unrau averaged 16.2 ppg. last year to along with 9 rebounds per contest.
Not only is Unrau a great basketball player, she is an All-State soccer goalie as well as a finalist for the state volleyball Player-of-the-Year. Rocky Mountain High won the Colorado state title.
Lozier is a 5-10 guard that can play both the point and shooting guard positions. One of the most heralded players coming out of the state of Kansas, Lozier has helped lead her team, Blue Valley North High, to two straight Class 6A state titles. She averaged 15 points, 8 assists and 7 steals last season and is a two-time Kansas City All-Metro selection. Lozier won the DiRenna Award this past season recognizing her as the top player in the Kansas City metropolitan area. She claimed the award over teammate and Nebraska signee Shahidrah Roberts, who had won the award the previous season. Lozier was also a high school teammate of current Tiger Wannette Smith.
Head Coach Cindy Stein
Missouri coach Cindy Stein enters her second season as head coach of the Missouri Tigers. Stein led her Tigers to a 13-15 record in her first season at MU and a first round Big 12 Tournament victory over seventh seeded Baylor. Missouri also knocked off the likes of Nebraska in Columbia and Oklahoma in Norman. The Tigers also came close to knocking off Big 12 Champion Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Stein's career coaching record is 79-41. She spent three seasons at Emporia State University as she led her club to a 65-25 record and a trip to the NCAA Division II national championship game in 1998. Her 1997-98 team finished 33-1as Stein was selected the MIAA Coach-of-the-Year. She was tabbed National Coach-of-the-Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Missouri's Last Box Score
Arkansas 83 Missouri 76
Monday, Nov. 22, 1999, Hearnes Center
UA (83) Bragg 2-5 2-4 9, Karlin 3-7 7-7 13, Wright 2-2 4-4 9, Willits 4-13 6-9 16, Cherry 1-3 0-0 2, Lewis 6-8 3-3 19, Anderson 0-2 1-2 1, Harper 4-10 2-2 10, Oakley 2-3 0-0 4, Whitehead 1-2 1-2 4 TOTAL 25-55 26-33 83
MU (76) Monsees 3-6 3-5 9, Lassiter 1-10 0-0 3, Williams 8-12 5-7 21, Bright 3-10 4-5 12, Helm 5-9 4-7 8, Barr 0-2 2-2 2, Franklin 4-6 1-2 9, Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Akpaffiong 1-4 0-0 4, Statham 1-3 0-0 2 TOTAL 27-63 19-28 76
HALFTIME: UA 36 MU 31
THREE POINT GOALS: UA: Wright 1-1, Willits 2-9, Lewis 4-5, Harper 0-2, Whitehead 0-1 MU: Lassiter 1-5, Bright 2-2, Franklin 0-1.
REBOUNDS: UA: 38 (Bragg 9), MU: 39 (Helm 8)
ASSISTS: UA: 10 (Willits 4), MU: 15 (Lassiter 5)
TOTAL FOULS: UA 23, MU 27. FOULED OUT: MU, Monsees.
TECHNICAL FOULS: None
A: 1,325.