University of Missouri
Eastern Illinois
Missouri Tramples Eastern Illinios
11/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2000
Columbia, Mo.-The University of Missouri women's basketball team opened the 2000-2001 season with a bang, trampling Eastern Illinois 106-59 tonight. The Tigers shot 52.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point arc to waltz away with the victory. Mizzou forced 33 Panther turnovers, including 19 steals and collected 44 boards, counting 27 defensive rebounds.
Missouri took control of the game from the tip off, going on an eight-point run to start the game with a 10-2 lead. The Tigers' full court defense slowed down the Panthers resulting in 15 turnovers in the first half of play and a 51-26 scoring deficit.
Mizzou came back for the second half with an even greater intensity to keep EIU from scoring a single point in the first six and a half minutes of play. The Tigers went on a rampage scoring 24 unanswered points. Although Eastern Illinois came back to score 33 points in the second half, the Tigers had six players score in double figures to claim the victory.
Senior Tracy Franklin led Mizzou with a career-high 18 points in the game. She was seven of 11 from the field and three for five from the 3-point arc. She also claimed four rebounds in the match.
"Tracy is an excellent ball player," MU Head Coach Cindy Stein says. "I always thought she could be one of the best players in the conference. Her success lies in getting up that mentality, and I really see her stepping up into a leadership role this season."
Amanda Lassiter (16 points) Marlena Williams (12 points), Evan Unrau (11 points), Tracy Lozier (11 points) and Kerensa Barr (10 points) also joined Franklin in the double digits.
"This was an excellent way to start the season," Coach Stein says. "Coming in we thought we could be dominant and it was great to see us meet most of our goals for the game. I am very pleased with our effort. I love it that six of our players hit doubles tonight. The more we are able to spread out our scoring, the better we'll be. I saw a lot of athletes playing very unselfishly and that says a lot about our depth. This was a great first game."
