Jan. 25, 2000
Missouri Tigers (12-4, 2-3) -vs.- #24 Kansas Jayhawks (12-5, 3-2)
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. CST.
RADIO/TV: KFRU 1400 AM (David Lile, Gary Link), T.V. (Brian Neuner, Sean Kelley), Cable Access 20 (Columbia), Metro Sports (Kansas City), St. Joseph Cablevision, KGCS-TV (Joplin), Cable One (Kirksville), Charter Communications (St. Louis).
INTERNET: www.mutigers.com (LIVE)
ARENA: Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
SERIES: Kansas leads the all-time series 31-23.
COACHES: Missouri - Cindy Stein (90-44 overall, 25-19 at MU), Kansas - Marian Washington (515-282 overall and at Kansas)
Tigers and Jayhawks to Battle in Lawrence
The Missouri Tigers (12-4, 2-3) will be looking for win No. 13 on Wednesday night in Lawrence, Kan. when they take on the 24th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (12-5, 3-2). A 13th win would match last year's win total when the Tigers finished the season at 13-15.
Missouri will also be out to halt a five-game losing streak to its' arch-rival. Kansas has captured the last five games from the Tigers, including a two-point 54-52 victory in Lawrence last season. In that game, Missouri led 29-27 at halftime, but a late run by the Jayhawks clinched the victory. All-American Lynn Pride was the difference for Kansas, tallying 24 points and 7 rebounds while hitting 8-of-10 free throws. Amy Monsees notched her first career double-double in the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers turned the ball over 30 times in the contest.
The return matchup in Columbia could very well be compared to this past Sunday's NFC Championship game between the St. Louis Rams and the Tampa Bay Bucanneers. The favored Jayhawks scored just enough points, 48 and used a suffocating defense against a mediocre offense, holding the Tigers to just 37 points.
You do the math. Final score: Kansas 48, Missouri 37.
Nakia Sanford paced KU with 16 points while Pride added 14. Kesha Bonds, saddled in foul trouble in the first meeting, netted 14 points to lead Missouri while Julie Helm added 10.
Kansas led 21-17 at halftime, and outscored the Tigers 27-20 in the second stanza.
PROBABLE MISSOURI STARTERS
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER | |
| 22 | Tracy Franklin | F | 5'10 | Jr. | 5.7 | 2.2 | .713 FT% | |
| 5 | Amy Monsees | F | 6'0 | Sr. | 9.6 | 4.9 | .523% FG | |
| 55 | Marlena Williams | C | 6'0 | Jr. | 12.4 | 5.5 | .517% FG | |
| 15 | Kerensa Barr | G | 5'10 | Fr. | 5.1 | 2.6 | 2.5 steals | |
| 24 | Amanda Lassiter | G | 6'1 | Jr. | 13.6 | 5.4 | 47 blocks |
OFF THE BENCH
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER |
| 44 | Julie Helm | G | 5'11 | Sr. | 12.1 | 4.0 | .725 FT% |
| 32 | Natalie Bright | G | 5'8 | So. | 6.6 | 3.8 | 1.9 TO/g |
| 45 | Ekpe Akpaffiong | F/C | 6'0 | Sr. | 6.8 | 4.0 | .545% FG |
| 52 | Melissa Statham | C | 6'2 | Fr. | 1.6 | 1.3 | 8.8 min/g |
Scouting Kansas
Kansas was ranked No. 24 last week according to the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The Jayhawks (12-5, 3-2) are coming off of a 20-point loss at Texas Tech on Saturday, 76-56. The Jayhawks have split their last four games, defeating Colorado and Baylor while falling at home to Nebraska and at Texas Tech.
Kansas is led by All-American forward Lynn Pride who enters Wednesday's contest averaging 18.2 ppg. and 8.5 rebounds. She leads the club defensively with 39 steals and 15 blocked shots, and is second on the team with 49 assists.
Pride leads four players averaging double-digits in the scoring column. Suzi Raymont, who sat out last season with an injury, is posting 14.3 ppg. and is the team's top three-point threat. Brooke Reves averages 12.1 ppg. while Jaclyn Johnson averages 10.3 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds per contest. All four players are averaging at least 5.7 rebounds a game.
The Jayhawks are coached by Marian Washington, who is in her 27th season at the helm in Kansas. Washington has accumulated 515 wins at KU putting her in the top 12 in coaching victories in NCAA history.
Missouri's Last Time Out
The Tigers snapped a two-game losing skid on Saturday night and helped celebrate Coach Cindy Stein's 39th birthday with a 63-52 victory over Kansas State.
The Tigers got back to what they do best, defensive pressure. Stein shook up the starting lineup and saw her Tigers force 30 turnovers. K-State shot just 33 percent from the floor as Mizzou outscored the Wildcats 35-24 in the second half for the victory.
Amy Monsees posted a season-high 18 points to lead the Tigers. She also led on the defensive end with six steals. Amanda Lassiter added 13 points, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots.
Missouri Among the Nation's Statistical Leaders
As of Jan. 17, the Missouri Tigers remained among the nation's leaders in several statistical categories.
Missouri entered last week in 10th place in scoring offense averaging 81.8 ppg. The Tigers enter Wdnesday's contest averaging 79.2 ppg.
Mizzou also entered last week in 7th place in scoring margin at +22.6. The Tigers were also ranked third in the country in free throw percentage at 77 percent.
Defensively, Missouri was 11th in the country in field goal defense. Opponents entered this week shooting just 36.8 percent from the floor.
Individually, the Tigers Amanda Lassiter entered the week as the nation's second leading shot blocker at 2.9 blocked shots a game.
Speaking of Amanda Lassiter
Junior forward Amanda Lassiter has been everything the Tigers could have hoped for when she transfered to Mizzou from Central Arizona Junior College. She has been tabbed the Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week twice this season.
Lassiter, who received very little notice when the pre-season votes were tallied for the Big 12 Newcomer-of-the-Year, has done it all for the Tigers in her first 16 games. She is Missouri's leader in scoring (13.6 ppg.), assists (58), blocks (47) and steals (52). She is also averaging 5.4 rebounds per contest.
She has already broken a Big 12 record for steals in a game (11) and has set a new Missouri record for blocks in a game (7).
Lassiter entered this week ranked second in the country in blocked shots with an average of 2.9 per game.
Coach Stein Rewarded Contract Extension
Cindy Stein was rewarded with a two-year contract extension by Director of Athletics Mike Alden. Her new contract will carry her through the 2004 season.
Alden said that "the University was not taking this step just because of the success on the court, but because of the total success of her program." Alden stated that Stein's student-athletes "were doing well in school and the community, as well as on the basketball court."
Fans Are Taking Notice at MU
The University of Missouri began selling season tickets for women's basketball for the first time this season. Over 500 season tickets have been sold. But it has been more than the season ticket holders that are taking notice of the turnaround at the University of Missouri in women's basektball.
The Tigers drew over 1,000 fans seven times at the Hearnes Center last season. So far in 1999-00, the Tigers have played eight home games and have drawn an average of 1,636 fans.
Missouri used "Pokemon Night" on Dec. 30 to draw 2,242 fans against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. That was followed by an attendance of 2,463 for the conference opener against Iowa State.
This Saturday against Oklahoma, Missouri is expecting the biggest crowd to ever watch a Missouri women's basketball game at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers' "Head to Hearnes" promotion has been a huge sell. Over 10,200 tickets have been sold at $1 a piece for the Jan.29th game against the Sooners.
The largest crowd ever to watch an MU women's basketball game at the Hearnes Center is 5,684 back on Jan. 14, 1995 against Colorado.
Tigers Turn the Tables in the Turnover Department
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 16 games, Missouri has forced an average of 26.9 turnovers per game. The Tigers have 229 steals as a team so far, an average of 14.3 per game. Missouri averaged just over 8 steals per contest last year and totaled 231.
Yes, the Tigers are just three steals away from eclipsing last year's total.
Missouri was tied for the bottom in the Big 12 Conference in assist/turnover ratio last season at 0.74. How things have changed this season. The Tigers lead the Big 12 with a ratio of 1.09.
Dare We Say "Spurtability?"
So this SID is a Clark Kellogg fan.
Missouri has been a team that has been able to literally bury it's opponents with one big spurt.
Just ask the San Diego State Aztecs as to how devastating Mizzou's full court press can be. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead just 47 seconds into the game. In just five minutes, 11 seconds and 10 turnovers later, Missouri's lead was 25-1. The Aztecs were forced to call three of their five timeouts during that span.
Centenary also provides a sample of the Tigers disruptive press. The Ladies led Missouri 6-4. The next thing they knew, the Tigers had gone on a 34-0 run to take a 38-6 lead.
Illinois State also fell victim to the Tigers relentless press. Missouri jumped out to a 34-1 lead against the Redbirds and held ISU without a field goal for the first 13 minutes, 37 seconds of the contest. The Tigers led 3-1 and went on a 31-0 run forcing 13 turnovers in the process. At one point, ISU had 14 turnovers and had attempted just 12 shots.
And most recently, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who trailed the Tigers just 30-27 at halftime, and tied the game 34-34 before getting hit with a 37-5 run, and more impressive, a 30-0 run. Missouri found themselves up 71-39.
MISSOURI'S LONGEST SPURTS
34-0 vs. Centenary
31-0 vs. Illinois State
30-0 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
23-1 at San Diego State
Keeping Up With Helm
Senior Julie Helm continues to re-write the Missouri record books with every game she plays. Her numbers were expected to decrease a little bit this season with the additions of such scoring threats as Amanda Lassiter and Marlena Williams.
It has been an up-and-down season so far for the MU star. She busted out of a huge early-season shooting slump against Eastern Illinois with 30 points in 21 minutes of play. She answered that performance by leading the Tigers with 16 points in 19 minutes of action against Illinois State. Helm led Mizzou for the third straight time with a 19 point peformance against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Helm moved into fourth place on Missouri's all-time scoring list at Saint Louis on Dec 11. She passed Nancy Rutter by scoring her 1,642nd point in the first half in MU's 78-65 victory. She now has 1,757 points for her career. Next up for Helm is Sharon Farrah, who owns third place with 1,820 points.
She is currently the career-leader in free throw percentage at 80.7 percent. She is on her way to becoming the career leader in three-point field goals. Helm currently has 108 treys and is 9 away from all-time leader Stacy Williams.
Helm is averaging 16.8 ppg. for her career. She just passed 600 made FG plateau and the 400 rebound mark and is averaging over four boards per game for her career. Helm also passed the 400 free throw mark and just recorded her 200th assist and passed the 100 steals mark. She also eclipsed the 3,000 minutes played mark for her career. Helm played in her 100th career game against Iowa State on Jan. 5.
The Future at Point Guard is Bright and Secure with Barr
Sophomore point guard Natalie Bright has been one of the biggest factors in the vast improvement of the Missouri Tigers women's basketball team. Bright played in every game as a freshman last year and gained valuable experience, although struggling at times with turnovers.
Things have changed so far this season as Bright is playing with much more confidence and a better feel for the game. In 16 games, Bright has turned the ball over 31 times in 23.8 minutes per game. She has 43 assists and is averaging 3.8 rebounds per contest. Bright is also scoring 6.8 points per game.
Freshman Kerensa Barr, the Missouri state High School Player-of-theYear, has helped the point guard spot as well, especially at the defensive end. Barr is second on the team in steals behind Amanda Lassiter with 33 and is averaging 2.6 rebounds from the point guard spot.
Offensively, Barr continues to make strides. She went the first two exhibition games and the first regular season game against Bradley without a turnover. Since, she has turned it over 33 times, but she does have 39 assists. Barr is averaging 5.1 ppg. and has connected on nine 3-point field goals.
Last year, Missouri's point guards turned the ball over 122 times and recorded just 97 assists. Those numbers have changed dramatically this season. The Bright/Barr combination has 82 assists to just 64 turnovers thus far.
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 than perfection irritates "Pep."
Williams played her first career game for the Tigers in her own backyard in Peoria, Ill. at Bradley. Williams scored 13 points in 18 minutes and had tears in her eyes as she left the floor after fouling out.
In her Hearnes Center debut 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.
Williams is second on the club in scoring at 12.4 ppg., despite playing with chronic shin splints that may nag her the entire season. What is eye-popping about that figure is that she is only playing 21.0 minutes per game because of foul trouble, shin splints and Mizzou blowouts.
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.
Franklin a Force Off the Bench
After starting nearly half of Missouri's games last season, junior Tracy Franklin has been coming off of the bench this season. It has been a move that has been very effective for the Tigers this season.
Franklin's newly found aggression on the court this season has given Mizzou a huge lift. She is averaging 5.7 ppg. and 2.2 rebounds. Her 13-point performance at Southern Illinois keyed Missouri's 66-61 victory back on Dec. 7. At Texas, Franklin celebrated her 21st birthday with a career-high 15 points against the Longhorns.
New Role for Akpaffiong
Senior Ekpe Akpaffiong has also had to adjust to a new role this season. After starting 59 games in three seasons for Missouri, Akpaffiong has been coming off the bench this season and has been a real spark.
She is averaging 6.8 points per game and is shooting .545 from the floor. Akpaffiong is also averaging 4.0 rebounds per contest while having to guard many of MU's opponent's taller post players.
Threat of Monsees
Senior captain Amy Monsees broke out of a two-game slump this past Saturday with a season-high 18 points against Kansas State. She added six rebounds and a team-high 6 steals.
Monsees' numbers have dipped a little this season, but she remains a constant threat, especially because of her ability to handle the ball on the break and her capability of scoring from the paint or beyond the three-point arc.
She is averaging 9.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. She has also dished out 37 assists. Monsees is shooting .523 percent from the floor and is among the league leaders in free throw percentage at .805 percent.
Monsees leads Mizzou in minutes at 25.9 per game.
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 90-44 as Mizzou is off to a 12-4 start in 1999-00. 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.