Jan. 3, 2000
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#10 Iowa State Cyclones (9-2) vs. Missouri Tigers (10-1)TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. CST.
RADIO/TV: KWWC 90.5 FM (David Lile, Gary Link)
INTERNET: www.mutigers.com (LIVE)
ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,300)
SERIES: First meeting between the two schools
COACHES: Missouri - Cindy Stein (88-41 overall, 23-16 at MU), ISU - Bill Fennelly (259-93 overall, 93-40 at Iowa State)
The Missouri Tigers (10-1), off to their best start since the 1992-93 season, take a nine-game winning streak into their Big 12 Conference opener against #13 Iowa State (9-2) on Wednesday night at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers, who are tied for the best overall record in the Big 12 with Texas Tech, face an Iowa State team that has won five straight games, including a 62-37 romp of the Lady Raiders of Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones, who reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament last season, was voted the preseason favorite by both the coaches and media to win the Big 12 Conference. Missouri was picked ninth in both polls.
Iowa State has won seven of the last eight meetings against Missouri, and have won three straight, all coming last season. The Cyclones defeated Mizzou in Columbia by a score of 80-54 and then beat the Tigers in Ames by a count of 84-58. Iowa State then ended Missouri's season in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City with a 63-44 win. Missouri led at halftime by a score of 27-26 before the Cyclones outscored the Tigers 37-17 in the second half.
Scouting Iowa State
As stated earlier, Iowa State entered the 1999-00 season coming off of an Elite Eight appearance at the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones return all five starters from a year ago, including senior All-American point guard Stacy Frese.
Frese, the nation's top three-point shooter last year, enters Wednesday's contest averaging 14.9 ppg. She is 31-of-58 (.534 percent) from three-point territory so far this season and shoots .852 percent from the foul line. In three games against the Tigers last season, Frese averaged 18.3 ppg.
Missouri must also contend with 6-4 sophomore center Angie Welle. Welle, who averaged 12.3 points and 9 rebounds against the Tigers last year, is off to a very fast start. She is averaging 14.7 points per contest and leads the club in rebounding at 8.4 boards per game.
Welle has led the Cyclones in scoring in four of their last five games and has been ISU's top rebounder in five straight contests.
Iowa State is coached by Bill Fennelly. Fennelly, in his fifth season at ISU, has led the Cyclones to two straight 25-8 campaigns and three straight NCAA Tournament births. Before his arrival in Ames, Iowa, Fennelly coached Toledo to six 20-win seasons in seven years, including three NCAA Tournament appearances.
PROBABLE MISSOURI STARTERS
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER | |
| 24 | Amanda Lassiter | F | 6'1 | Jr. | 12.7 | 4.3 | 33 blocks | |
| 5 | Amy Monsees | F | 6'0 | Sr. | 10.7 | 4.4 | .882% FT | |
| 55 | Marlena Williams | C | 6'0 | Jr. | 12.3 | 5.3 | .532% FG | |
| 32 | Natalie Bright | G | 5'8 | So. | 7.5 | 3.4 | 1.2 TO/gm. | |
| 44 | Julie Helm | G | 5'11 | Sr. | 13.6 | 4.3 | .407 3PT% | |
OFF THE BENCH
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER |
| 22 | Tracy Franklin | G/F | 5'10 | Jr. | 5.8 | 2.1 | 6 blocks |
| 45 | Ekpe Akpaffiong | F/C | 6'0 | Sr. | 7.3 | 4.0 | .566% FG |
| 15 | Kerensa Barr | G | 5'10 | Fr. | 5.5 | 2.5 | 2.9 asp. |
| 52 | Melissa Statham | C | 6'2 | Fr. | 1.5 | 1.4 | 9.0 min/g |
Missouri's Last Time Out
The Tigers are coming off of their ninth straight victory, a 90-47 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Missouri led just 30-27 at halftime, but went on a 30-0 run in the second half to runaway from the Panthers. The Tigers outscored UWM 60-20 in the second half.
Julie Helm led five players in double figures with 19 points. Amanda Lassiter scored 11 of her 15 points during the Tigers 30-0 run while Amy Monsees contributed 11 points. Ekpe Akpaffiong and Kerensa Barr came off the bench for 10 and 11 points respectively. Barr added a career-high 7 assists and tallied four rebounds and three steals.
Streaking Tigers
Missouri's 10-1 record to this point in the 1999-00 season is the Tigers' best start since the 1992-93 campaign. The Tigers got out of the gates with an 11-1 record that season and finished the season 19-8.
The 1982-83 Tigers also got off to an 11-1 start and finished the season with a 25-6 record and a final national ranking of 15th in the AP Poll.
You have to go back to the third season of women's basketball at Missouri for the Tigers best start of all-time. Missouri began the year 12-1 in 1976-77 and went 28-12 on the season.
As far as Missouri's nine straight wins go, this is the longest Mizzou win-streak since the 1984-85 season when the Tigers won 13 straight before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Northwest Louisiana in overtime.
Lassiter Does it All
Junior forward Amanda Lassiter has been everything the Tigers could have hoped for when she transfered to Mizzou from Central Arizona Junior College.
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 10 games. She is Missouri's leader in assists (44), blocks (33) and steals (31). She is the Tigers second leading scorer and second leading rebounder. 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 was tabbed Big 12 Rookie-of-the-Week following a 20 point, 11 rebound performance at Saint Louis. She also contributed 6 assists and 5 blocked shots in that game.
Lassiter entered this week ranked third in the country in blocked shots at 3.0 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 300 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 five home games and have drawn an average of 1,498 fans.
Missouri used "Pokemon Night" on Dec. 30 to draw 2,242 fans against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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 11 games, Missouri has forced an average of 27.0 turnovers per game. The Tigers have 168 steals as a team so far, an average of 15.2 per game. Missouri averaged just over 8 steals per contest last year.
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 are at the top of the Big 12 with a ratio of 1.29.
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
- 13-0 at Eastern Illinois
Missouri Among the Nation's Top Scoring Teams
Coach Cindy Stein wants her team to score and score a lot. The Tigers averaged 66.4 points a game last season, a number that Coach Stein wanted to see increase this season. That number has increased a lot.
Missouri is averaging 84.7 point per game, a figure that ranks among the nation's top 10. The Tigers have four players averaging double-figures and nine players averaging at least five points a game.
MISSOURI'S RECORD ...
| Ahead at halftime | 10-0 |
| Behind at halftime | 0-1 |
| FG% of .450 + | 6-0 |
| FG% less than .450 | 4-1 |
| Better FG% than opponent | 10-0 |
| Worse FG% than opponent | 0-1 |
| Opponent shoots less than .450 | 9-0 |
| More 3FG made than opponent | 10-0 |
| Fewer 3FG made than opponent | 0-1 |
| Try more FTs than opponent | 6-0 |
| Try less FTs than opponent | 4-1 |
| Outrebound opponent | 5-1 |
| Tied or outrebounded | 5-0 |
| More TO's than opponent | 0-1 |
| Same or fewer turnovers | 10-0 |
| Make 15 or more TO's | 7-1 |
| Make less than 15 TO's | 3-0 |
| Score 50-59 pts. | 0-0 |
| Score 60-69 pts. | 2-0 |
| Score 70-79 pts. | 1-1 |
| Score 80-89 pts. | 2-0 |
| Score 90 + pts. | 5-0 |
| Allow less than 50 pts. | 5-0 |
| Allow 50-59 pts. | 1-0 |
| Allow 60-69 pts. | 3-0 |
| Allow 70-79 pts. | 1-0 |
| Allow 80-89 pts. | 0-1 |
| Allow 90 + pts. | 0-0 |
| Bench outscores opponent bench | 7-0 |
| Opp. bench outscores MU bench | 3-1 |
| Overtime | 0-0 |
| vs. Top 25 teams | 0-0 |
| Home Games | 4-1 |
| Road Games | 5-0 |
| Neutral Site Games | 1-0 |
| Day Games | 2-0 |
| Night Games | 8-1 |
| Weekday Games | 5-1 |
| Weekend Games | 5-0 |
| Television Games | 1-0 |
| White Uniforms | 4-1 |
| Black Uniforms | 6-0 |
| Gold Uniforms | 0-0 |
| GAMES DECIDED BY... | |
| 5 pts. or less | 1-0 |
| 6-10 pts. | 1-1 |
| 11-19 pts. | 1-0 |
| 20 or more pts. | 7-0 |
| BY STARTING LINEUP | |
| Monsees, Lassiter, Williams, Bright, Helm | 9-1 |
| Monsees, Lassiter, Akpaffiong, Bright, Helm | 1-0 |
Back at the 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.
After a rough start to the season, Helm is back on a roll offensively, and is back on top of the team's scoring chart at 13.6 points per game. She busted out of a huge 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 last Thursday with a 19 point peformance against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Helm also notched two more milestones against Illinois State. She connected for her 100th career three-pointer while dishing out her 200th career assist.
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 1,713 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 81.1 percent. She is on her way to becoming the career leader in three-point field goals. Helm currently has 104 treys and is 13 away from all-time leader Stacy Williams.
Helm is averaging 17.3 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 passed the 100 steals mark. She also eclipsed the 3,000 minutes played mark for her career.
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 11 games, Bright has turned the ball over just 14 times in 23.8 minutes per game. She has 31 assists and is averaging 3.4 rebounds per contest. Bright is also scoring 7.5 points per game.
Freshman Kerensa Barr, the Missouri state High School Player-of-the-Year, 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 27and is averaging 2.5 rebounds from the point guard spot.
Offensively, Barr is improving with every game. She went the first two exhibition games and the first regular season game against Bradley without a turnover. Since, she has turned it over 18 times, but she does have 32 assists. Barr is averaging 5.5 ppg. and has connected on five 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 63 assists to just 32 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 third on the club in scoring with 12.3 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 20.0 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.
Monsees a Consistant Threat for Tigers
Senior forward Amy Monsees had a breakthrough season as a junior. Now a senior tri-captain, Monsees continues to quietly go about her business.
Monsees is fourth on the club in scoring at 10.7 ppg. The 6-0 Kansas City native has been money in the bank when she has had a chance to score. She is shooting .545 percent from the floor and .882 from the free throw line. Monsees has also hit 4-of-7 three-pointers this season.
Monsees led the Tigers with 17 points on against Portland State and added nine more against San Diego State and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Pacific Bell/San Diego State Tournament.
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 minutes of action in Missouri's 92-49 win over Bradley in the season opener. Akpaffiong has been huge off the bench for the Tigers thus far. She is Missouri's fourth leading rebounder at 4.0 per game and is averaging 7.3 points per game in 15.5 minutes per contest.
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 5.8 ppg. and has come up with several key rebounds and steals for the Tigers.
In 17.8 minutes per game, Franklin has collected 16 assists, 12 steals and has blocked six shots.
Franklin was the key to Missouri's victory at Southern Illinois. She matched her career high with 13 points, 9 of them in the second half. Franklin also came up with two key steals and a big blocked shot.
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 88-41 as Mizzou is off to a 10-1 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.
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12 (as of Jan. 2)
| Standings | W | L |
| MISSOURI | 10 | 1 |
| Texas Tech | 10 | 1 |
| Texas A&M | 8 | 1 |
| Iowa State | 9 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 3 |
| Kansas | 9 | 3 |
| Texas | 8 | 4 |
| Oklahoma State | 7 | 4 |
| Nebraska | 6 | 4 |
| Kansas State | 7 | 6 |
| Colorado | 5 | 6 |
| Baylor | 5 | 5 |
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12
January 5
Texas A&M at Baylor
Iowa State at Missouri
Kansas State at Texas
North Texas at Oklahoma
Santa Clara at Texas Tech
January 8
Baylor at Missouri
Iowa State at Colorado
Kansas at Kansas State
Texas at Nebraska
Texas Tech at Oklahoma
Oklahoma State at Texas A&M