Feb. 10, 2000
Colorado Buffaloes (7-14, 2-8)
-vs.-
Missouri Tigers (15-6, 5-5)
TIP-OFF: 7:00 p.m. CST.
RADIO/TV: KFRU 1400 AM (David Lile, Gary Link)
INTERNET: www.mutigers.com (LIVE)
ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,300)
SERIES: Colorado leads the all-time series, 24-19.
COACHES
Missouri: Cindy Stein (93-46 overall, 28-21 at MU)
CU: Ceal Barry (406-225 overall, 323-183 at Colorado)
Tigers Hope to Make Colorado Fourth Straight Conference Victim
The Missouri Tigers (15-6, 5-5) will be looking for their fourth straight Big 12 Conference victory on Saturday night when they host the Colorado Buffaloes (7-14, 2-8) at the Hearnes Center at 7:00 p.m. CST. A victory would give Missouri 16 wins for the season, the most since the 1992-93 season when the Tigers won 19.
Missouri is coming off a 52-49 upset over seventh-ranked Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The Red Raiders are the highest ranked team that the Tigers have defeated since knocking off No. 2 Colorado in the championship game of the 1993-94 Big Eight Tournament.
Missouri's three-game conference winning streak is its longest regular-season conference streak since the 1992-93 campaign. The Tigers have not won four straight conference games since the 1991-92 season.
Colorado snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday night with a 78-75 victory over Nebraska in Boulder. The Buffaloes have won just two games since the new year.
Colorado leads the all-time series over Missouri, 24-19. The Buffaloes have won eight of the last 10 meetings.
The two teams split the season series last year. The Tigers won the first meeting in Columbia by a score of 63-60. After trailing 30-27 at halftime, Missouri made it a see-saw battle throughout the second half and found themselves down 60-59 with 19 seconds left. Kendra Jones drew a foul and buried two free throws for the Tigers to give MU a 61-60 lead. Following a Colorado miss, Kesha Bonds out-hustled everyone for the loose-ball rebound and was fouled. Bonds drained both free throws for the Tigers to give Mizzou the 63-60 victory.
The Buffaloes got the Tigers back in Boulder with 74-62 win in a game that saw Missouri shoot just 34 percent from the floor. As a matter of fact, Mizzou outrebounded Colorado, 56-39 led by 22 boards by Kesha Bonds. Bonds tallied 11 points to go along with her 22 rebounds, but she was off-set by CU freshman Britt Hartshorn who scored 17 points and 10 rebounds. Colorado generated a third of its points (25) from its' bench.
PROBABLE MISSOURI STARTERS
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER | |
| 24 | Amanda Lassiter | F | 6-1 | Jr. | 13.6 | 5.5 | 53 blocks | |
| 5 | Amy Monsees | F | 6-0 | Sr. | 10.2 | 5.0 | .823% FT | |
| 55 | Marlena Williams | C | 6-0 | Jr. | 11.7 | 5.4 | 12 blocks | |
| 32 | Natalie Bright | G | 5-8 | So. | 7.6 | 3.8 | 3.0 apg. | |
| 44 | Julie Helm | G | 5-11 | Sr. | 11.9 | 4.1 | .726% FT |
OFF THE BENCH
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | PPG. | RPG. | OTHER |
| 45 | Ekpe Akpaffiong | F/C | 6-0 | Sr. | 6.2 | 3.7 | .553% FG |
| 22 | Tracy Franklin | F/G | 5-10 | Jr. | 5.3 | 2.3 | .708% FT |
| 15 | Kerensa Barr | G | 5-10 | Fr. | 4.4 | 2.6 | 44 assists |
| 31 | Wannette Smith | F/C | 6-1 | Fr. | 0.9 | 1.0 | 5.9 min/g |
Scouting Colorado
It has been a rough season for veteran head coach Ceal Barry's Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado has won just two of its last 12 games and snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday night with a 78-75 win over Nebraska.
The Buffaloes are dangerous, as evident by an early season win over nationally-ranked Illinois. Colorado has played all but two games this season without last year's leading scorer Linda Lappe, who injured a knee back in November.
Sophomore Jenny Roulier has picked up much of the slack left by Lappe's absence. Roulier leads the Buffaloes in scoring at 16.0 ppg. and has connected for 36 three-pointers and shoots 40 percent from the beyond the arc.
Sophomore center Britt Hartshorn enters Saturday's game averaging 13.4 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds a contest. Hartshorn has also blocked 37 shots on the season.
Yet another sophomore, Mandy Nightingale, runs the show at the point guard position. Nightingale averages 10.4 ppg. and 4.3 assists, but has turned the ball over 87 times.
Missouri's Last Time Out
Perhaps the headline in the Columbia Daily Tribune on Wednesday said it all, "Ugly is Beautiful." It took an ugly game for Missouri to prevail over the seventh-ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech on Tuesday night, 52-49.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and led by as many as 10 points in the first half. Texas Tech closed out the first stanza by scoring the final eight points to give the Red Raiders a 26-22 lead at halftime.
Texas Tech led 37-32 at the 11:15 mark when Ali Johnston buried a three-pointer for the Tigers to cut the lead to two. Missouri continued to battle the next 3 1/2 minutes before a Julie Helm three-pointer gave the Tigers a 42-41 lead.
That lead was short-lived as Texas Tech regained the advantage and led all the way up to the 30 second mark of the game. Following a Red Raider turnover, Natalie Bright connected on a floater from the baseline to give Mizzou a 50-49 lead. After a Texas Tech timeout, Marlena Williams picked off an errant Red Raider pass and was fouled with eight seconds to go. Williams buried both free throws before Tech's Amanda Tarr missed on a last second three-pointer.
Lassiter Tabbed the Big 12's Top Rookie for the Third Time
Junior forward Amanda Lassiter has been everything the Tigers could have hoped for when she transfered to Mizzou from Central Arizona Junior College. For the third time this season, Lassiter was honored by the Big 12 as the Rookie-of-the-Week following strong performances at Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
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 21 games. She is Missouri's leader in scoring (13.6 ppg.), assists (73), blocks (53) and steals (61). She also leads the team in rebounding (5.5).
Lassiter 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 tied for fifth in the country in blocked shots with an average of 2.7 per game.
Lassiter's numbers have been even more impressive in Big 12 Conference play. She leads the club in scoring at 14.5 ppg. and is posting 6.3 rebounds per contest. Lassiter has also led Mizzou on the defensive end with 30 steals and 20 blocked shots.
Lassiter is coming off of a career-night in Stillwater, Okla. She poured in a career-high 30 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in 39 minutes of action. Lassiter also added four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.
She added another steady performance against Kansas State last Saturday. Lassiter netted 11 points, pulled down five rebounds and added three assists and two steals.
Helm Watch Continues
Senior Julie Helm has literally re-written the Missouri Tiger record books in every game that she has played this season. She enters Saturday night's game with a chance to add another feather to her cap.
Helm enters Saturday's game with 1,812 points in her career. She is just nine points away from becoming Missouri's third all-time leading scorer. Sharon Farrah currently holds the No. 3 spot with 1,820 points.
The other record to watch is the all-time three-point field goals mark. Helm has 111 treys for her career and is just six away from becoming Missouri's all-time leader. Stacy Williams is the current all-time leader with 116 three-pointers.
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 10 home games and have drawn an average of 2,087 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.
Against Oklahoma, Missouri broke the single-game attendance mark at the Hearnes Center when 6,227 fans braved four inches of snow to support the Tigers.
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 21 games, Missouri has forced an average of 23.9 turnovers per game. The Tigers have 278 steals as a team so far, an average of 13.2 per game. Missouri averaged just over 8 steals per contest last year and totaled 243.
Yes, the Tigers have already eclipsed last year's total number of steals.
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 then there was 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.
Most recently, the Tigers put on another impressive spurt at Oklahoma State. Down 43-36 at halftime, Mizzou began the second half with a 14-0 run covering 9 minutes, 10 seconds. OSU came back to take the lead in the game, but Mizzou prevailed in the end.
MISSOURI'S LONGEST SPURTS
- 34-0 vs. Centenary
- 31-0 vs. Illinois State
- 30-0 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- 23-1 at San Diego State
- 14-0 at Oklahoma State
Bright Days for Missouri Point Guard
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 21 games, Bright has turned the ball over 50 times in 25.0 minutes per game. She has 64 assists and is averaging 3.8 rebounds per contest. Bright is also scoring 7.6 points per game.
Bright has been the Missouri hero in each of the last three games. She scored 14 points, 12 in the second half to lead the Tigers down stretch on at Oklahoma State. She also added a career-high seven assists. Last Saturday, Bright poured in a career-high 24 points, 15 of them in the second half including 7-of-12 free throws. On Tuesday night, Bright had been held without a field goal until 30 seconds left in the game when she buried a short baseline jumper to give Missouri a 50-49 lead over Texas Tech.
Big Time Pep
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.
Lately, Williams has struggled with foul trouble, but she re-emerged in a huge way in the Tigers' 52-49 upset of No. 7 Texas Tech. Williams scored all 11 of her points in the second half and turned out to be a hero in the final seconds of the game. After Missouri went up 50-49, Pep picked off a pass and was fouled immediately. She stepped up to the free throw line and buried both free throws to give the Tigers a three-point lead.
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.
Eight Minutes of Fame
All 5-7 sophomore guard Ali Johnston knew heading into Missouri's game against No.7 Texas Tech was that coach Cindy Stein told her to be ready. At the 16:20 mark of the second half, Johnston, averaging 5.3 mintes per game in just four appearances in Big 12 contests go the call.
Johnston entered the game with Missouri trailing 35-24. Texas Tech missed two shots and Johnston, who's career high in rebounds entering the game was two, pulled down both rebounds.
Two minutes later, the Red Raiders had a chance to go up 12, but a missed shot was rebounded by Johnston marking a new-career high in rebounds. The Tigers brought the ball up the floor and Johnston found herself open for an open jumper and drilled it to cut the lead to eight.
Missouri cut the lead to seven, when Tech missed another shot and sure enough, it was the 5-7 Johnston there for the rebound. The Tigers scored on their next possession to cut the Red Raiders lead to 37-32.
The next trip down the floor, Marlena Williams picked up a steal giving Mizzou possession. The Tigers ran a play and the ball ended up in Johnston's hands for an open three-point attempt. She nailed it, giving her a career-high five points to cut the lead to two, 37-35.
Before her eight minutes were up, the Evergreen, Colo. native added a steal and another rebound to her credit.
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 6.2 points per game and is shooting a team-best .553 percent from the floor. Akpaffiong is also averaging 3.7 rebounds per contest while having to guard many of MU's opponent's taller post players.
Monsees Heating Up
Senior captain Amy Monsees is bound and determined to make her final season at MU a memorable one. After struggling in early January with a sprained ankle, Monsees has been red-hot as of late.
In her last six games, Monsees is averaging 13.1 points and 5.8 rebounds a contest.
For the year, Monsees is averaging 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. She leads the Tigers in minutes played at 27.2 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 93-46 as Mizzou is off to a 15-6 start in 1999-00, including an upset win over seventh-ranked Texas Tech. 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 RECORD ...
| Ahead at halftime | 12-0 |
| Behind at halftime | 2-5 |
| Tied at halftime | 1-1 |
| FG% of .450 + | 7-0 |
| FG% less than .450 | 8-6 |
| Better FG% than opponent | 15-0 |
| Worse FG% than opponent | 0-6 |
| Opponent shoots less than .450 | 13-3 |
| More 3FG made than opponent | 11-2 |
| Same or Fewer 3FG made than opponent | 3-5 |
| Try more FTs than opponent | 8-0 |
| Try less FTs than opponent | 7-6 |
| Outrebound opponent | 8-4 |
| Tied or outrebounded | 7-2 |
| More TO's than opponent | 1-5 |
| Same or fewer turnovers | 14-1 |
| Make 15 or more TO's | 10-5 |
| Make less than 15 TO's | 5-1 |
| Score 50-59 pts. | 1-0 |
| Score 60-69 pts. | 3-3 |
| Score 70-79 pts. | 4-3 |
| Score 80-89 pts. | 2-0 |
| Score 90 + pts. | 5-0 |
| Allow less than 50 pts. | 7-0 |
| Allow 50-59 pts. | 2-0 |
| Allow 60-69 pts. | 4-0 |
| Allow 70-79 pts. | 2-2 |
| Allow 80-89 pts. | 0-3 |
| Allow 90 + pts. | 0-1 |
| Bench outscores opponent bench | 11-2 |
| Opp. bench outscores MU bench | 4-4 |
| Overtime | 0-0 |
| vs. Top 25 teams | 1-3 |
| Home Games | 7-3 |
| Road Games | 7-3 |
| Neutral Site Games | 1-0 |
| Day Games | 4-1 |
| Night Games | 11-5 |
| Weekday Games | 7-4 |
| Weekend Games | 8-2 |
| Television Games | 3-2 |
| White Uniforms | 6-3 |
| Black Uniforms | 8-3 |
| Gold Uniforms | 1-0 |
GAMES DECIDED BY...
| 5 pts. or less | 4-1 |
| 6-10 pts. | 1-1 |
| 11-19 pts. | 2-4 |
| 20 or more pts. | 8-0 |
BY STARTING LINEUP
| Monsees, Lassiter, Williams, Bright, Helm | 11-4 |
| Monsees, Lassiter, Akpaffiong, Bright, Helm | 3-0 |
| Monsees, Franklin, Williams, Barr, Lassiter | 1-0 |
| Monsees, Lassiter, Williams,Barr, Helm | 0-1 |
| Monsees, Lassiter, Williams, Bright, Barr | 0-1 |
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12
(as of Feb. 10)
| Standings | BIG 12 | OVERALL |
| Iowa State | 9-1 | 18-3 |
| Oklahoma | 9-1 | 19-4 |
| Texas Tech | 7-2 | 18-3 |
| Kansas | 7-2 | 16-5 |
| Texas | 6-3 | 15-7 |
| Nebraska | 5-5 | 11-10 |
| MISSOURI | 5-5 | 15-6 |
| Oklahoma State | 4-6 | 12-10 |
| Kansas State | 3-7 | 10-13 |
| Texas A&M | 2-8 | 10-10 |
| Colorado | 2-8 | 7-14 |
| Baylor | 0-10 | 5-15 |
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12
Saturday, February 12
Baylor at Texas
Colorado at Missouri
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Sunday, February 13
Iowa State at Kansas State
Kansas at Nebraska
Tuesday, February 15
Oklahoma State at Baylor