Dec. 8, 2000
Double Header
The Missouri women's basketball team continues a four-game home stand against Southern Illinois as part of a double-header with the Tiger men's team Sat., Dec. 9.
The MU men take the floor at 1:00 p.m., when they face Saint Louis. The Tiger women's team follows up with a match against the Salukis at 7:00 p.m.
Both games will be played in the Hearnes Center. Basketball fans that purchase tickets for the men's game are invited to come back and watch the women's game for a $1.00 admission. Just bring your men's game ticket stub to the Hearnes Center ticket office and get into the women's game for a buck.
Special Promotions
On Saturday, Missouri is hosting a canned food drive for the Central Missouri Food Bank. Bring a can of food and get $2.00 off the price of a regular admission. This promotion reduces the ticket price for adults to $3.00 and $1.00 for children.
Tiger Coverage
Missouri women's basketball is covered live on KFRU radio. David Lile, Gary Link and Jessica Jenkins offer all the action of Tiger women's hoops on 1400 AM.
Mizzou fans can also log onto the Missouri Tigers' website at www.MUTigers.com to get live coverage. Scroll down the left side of the MU Tigers main page and select Audio/Video. On the following page, scroll down and select the women's basketball Internet broadcast option. When the schedule of Mizzou women's basketball games is displayed, just choose the appropriate date and hit Go! (www.broadcast.com/sports/ncaa/Missouri/WomensBasketball/).
Mizzou Numbers
The Tigers are 6-1 on the season averaging 85.3 points per game. Missouri is shooting 49 percent from the field, 45 percent from 3-point range and 65 percent from the free throw line. In seven games, Missouri has recorded a +25.1 scoring margin over its opponents keeping them to just 60.1 points per game. The Tigers' full-court pressure defense has also limited the competition to shooting above 36 percent anywhere on the floor.
Missouri has hit the glass hard this season pulling down 295 total rebounds to average 42.1 boards per game and lead its opponents with a +6.3 rebounding margin. The Tigers also double the competition with 17.9 assists per game while keeping their rivals to just 8.9 dishes per match. The Tigers also boast 11.1 steals and 4.4 blocks per game.
Conference Team Highs
* The Tigers lead the Big 12 in single-game field goals netting 42 against Eastern Illinois
* Missouri is second in the league in single-game field goal attempts with 80 against Eastern Illinois.
* Missouri owns the single-game free throw percentage record this season hitting 14-for-14 against Kentucky in the Pepperdine Classic.
Big 12 Player of the Week
Senior Amanda Lassiter was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 4-10. The forward was named Most Valuable Player of the 23rd annual Unilever Lady Tiger Classic after she scored a career-high 31 points against San Diego State in the championship game. A native of San Francisco, Calif., Lassiter also posted career-high five three-point field goals and logged her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Lassiter also recorded five assists, two blocks and four steals in the game. Against Lipscomb, Lassiter contributed 13 points, three assists, three blocks and four steals to help the Tigers topple the Bisons 96-43.
Recent Results
The Tiger women's basketball team extended its season record to 6-1 after downing Saint Louis 73-63.
The Tigers began the game with their longest opening-winning streak of the season scoring 16 unanswered points. The Billikens weren't able to connect with the basket until the sixth minute of play. Saint Louis came back on an 11-to-two run to bring the score 18-11, but were unable to catch Missouri in the first half of play. Mizzou rounded out the half with 14 personal fouls, giving up 17 points to Saint Louis at the free throw line to exit the first half with a meager six-point lead.
Saint Louis entered the second period with a fever quickly tying the score 41-41. Both teams struggled through the remainder of the game giving up turnovers, rebounds and missed shots. The Billikens were kept to shooting just 32 percent from the field and going 0-1 from the three-point arc. Missouri shot only 45 percent from the floor and 27 percent from three-point range.
Overall, 49 personal fouls were called in the game. Bridget Beckmann and April McKinney of Saint Louis and Missouri's Marlena Williams each fouled out.
Senior Amanda Lassiter recorded her seventh game in double digits with 20 points and eight rebounds. She also led the Tigers with four assists, three blocks and six steals.
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Salukis are 2-4 on the season owning wins over the Illinois-Chicago (57-40) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (75-51). In three Southern Illinois' four losses, the Salukis have managed to keep the scoring margin within seven points. Overall, SIU is hitting 42 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three-point range.
Senior Tercia Hathaway leads the Salukis with 14.2 points and 5.7 points per game. She also tops SIU's charts with 11 steals, five blocks and 13 assists. Fellow guard Molly McDowell is second on the team averaging 12 points per game. She also leads the team shooting 62 percent from three-point range.
Southern Illinois rounded out the 1999-2000 season with an 8-20 record going 5-13 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Salukis return three starters and nine letterwinners to this season's squad.
Series Shorts
Missouri and Southern Illinois are tied 4-4 in a series record stretching back to the late 70's. SIU opened its first season in 1959, but didn't meet up with MU until the 1976-77 season. The Tiger-Saluki rivalry has literally been a back and forth battle from the beginning--the teams have alternated on the winners' podium every other match-up, with the Tigers claiming the latest victory 66-61 last season.
Last Time Against Southern Illinois
Amanda Lassiter scored 13 points and Tracy Franklin came off the bench to match a career-high 13 points to help lead Missouri to a 66-61 win over Southern Illinois.
Missouri jumped out to a 10-0 lead and held Southern Illinois scoreless for the first four minutes, 18 seconds of the game. Amy Monsees scored eight of the Tigers first 10 points in the first four minutes, nine seconds of the contest.
The Salukis answered Missouri's 10-0 lead with a 13-2 run of their own taking a 13-12 lead. It would be an up-and-down affair from there. The Tigers led 28-25 at halftime.
Both teams fought through sloppy play in the second half. Franklin sparked the Tigers off the bench in the second half with 9 points and several key defensive stops. With Missouri leading 57-55,
Freshman Kerensa Barr drained a big three-pointer for the Tigers with 2:30 to go in the game. Missouri hit 10-of-12 free throws in the final four minutes of the game to help preserve the win.
Tiger Profiles
#3 Aimee Michelson
Toppling two firsts in her NCAA Division I career, junior college transfer Aimee Michelson started her first game against Pepperdine Nov. 26, and quickly proved why she deserved the right to highlight on the Tigers' starting line-up. Michelson led the team with 14 points in the game and set a Mizzou record for highest three-point field goal percentage. Michelson hit three-for-three to post a perfect 100 percent game. The previous record was set in 1988 by Lisa Ellis who shot 100 percent when she netted two-for-two against Iowa.
Michelson averages 6.1 points per game and 2.1 rebounds. She is shooting 43 percent from three-point range overall and 71 percent from the free throw line.
#5 Tracy Lozier
Freshman Tracy Lozier opened the 2000-2001 season in double digits, scoring 11 points against Eastern Illinois. The guard has made six appearances for the Tigers and averages 4.3 points per game. She also tops the charts with a .600 three-point field goal percentage, including a perfect game against Kentucky when she shot two-for-two from three-point range.
#13 Evan Unrau
MU's only starting freshman on the squad, Evan Unrau, has been hitting the boards hard averaging 5.9 rebounds per game. Unrau led the Tiger defensive effort against Arkansas pulling down 11 defensive and one offensive rebound. In her first NCAA Division I game, she posted a perfect game netting four-of-four field goal and three-of-three free throw attempts.
Unrau averages 7.1 points per game-fifth on the team. She also owns three perfect games from the free throw line against Eastern Illinois, Kentucky and San Diego State. She has hit 12-of-22 attempts for a .545 average from the charity stripe.
In the Big 12 Conference, Unrau comes in 11th with 32 defensive rebounds and 18th in rebounding average.
#14 Christa Millham
After taking the 1999-2000 season off as a transfer, Christa Millham has played in three games as a junior. The guard opened the year against Eastern Illinois and has appeared in two other games since then. Against Lipscomb, Millham scored a career high seven points hitting perfect numbers from the floor going 2-2 from the field and 1-1 from three-point range. She also pulled down a career high four rebounds.
#15 Kerensa Barr
Starting point guard Kerensa Barr opened the season with back-to-back double digit games scoring 10 points against Eastern Illinois and 11 points against Arkansas. The sophomore leads the team with 32 assists and averages 5.3 dishes per game. She is also second for the Tigers with 14 steals. Barr is also a contributor to Mizzou's impressive 3-point percentage, she recorded a perfect 3-point game against Arkansas downing two-for-two.
In the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic she shot 55 percent from the field, including a perfect game against Lipscomb. She also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out six assists to help the Tigers to the championship podium. She was honored as an all-tournament team selection.
In Big 12 competition, Barr ranks sixth in assists per game and 13th in steals. She also comes in 15h with a 1.27 assist to turnover ratio.
#22 Tracy Franklin
Senior Tracy Franklin jumped into the season ready to smash the record books, in her first game against Eastern Illinois she scored a career-high 18 points shooting 64 percent from the field, 60 percent from 3-point range and 100 percent from the foul line. Against Saint Louis, the forward set another career best pulling down 11 rebounds. Franklin has continued to be a major contributor for the Tigers as a starting guard. She has posted four double digit games this season, scoring 16 points against Arkansas and San Diego State and 13 points against Kentucky to average 13.2 points per game-second highest on the team. Franklin leads Missouri with a perfect free throw percentage netting seven-for-seven this season. She also boasts 61 percent from the field (30-49) and 67 percent from 3-point range (12-18).
In the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic, Franklin scored a combined 24 points in two games, including a perfect record from three-point range hitting 2-2 against Lipscomb and San Diego State. She was also honored as an all-tournament team selection.
Franklin ranks second in the Big 12 in three-point percentage and fourth averaging two three-pointers per game. She also comes in seventh in field goal percentage and 19th in overall scoring.
#23 Wendy Okeson
Junior college transfer Wendy Okeson has appeared in six games this season as a Tiger. In MU's 86-51 victory over Kentucky, the guard posted a season high seven points shooting two-for-four from the field and hitting three from the penalty line. Against Lipscomb, Okeson repeated her career scoring record posting seven points and pulled down a career-high three rebounds. The guard hit shot a perfect game against Saint Louis netting three-for-three from the floor.
#24 Amanda Lassiter
Forward Amanda Lassiter continues to make waves for Missouri, the senior leads the team with 15 blocks this season to climb another space up the Tiger record books as the seventh leading blocker in school history (83). Lassiter also leads Mizzou in the scoring column with 19.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She has posted three double-doubles this season when she scored 22 points and 11 rebounds in MU's 79-67 win over Arkansas, when she scored 19 points and 10 rebounds to down Kentucky 86-51 and when she posted a career-high 31 points and 11 rebounds against San Diego State to win the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic. The forward also leads the team with 25 steals. Lassiter was named Most Valuable Player at the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic and was selected to the Pepperdine Classic all-tournament team.
Lassiter challenges the Big 12 Conference coming in second in blocks, third in defensive rebounds with 6.5 per game, fourth in overall scoring and three-pointers and sixth in rebounding and steals. Lassiter has also set a single-game league records in three-point percentage. She is second in points, field goals made and attempted and three-pointers made.
#31 Wannette Smith
Sophomore Wannette Smith is another example of the continued improvement on the growing Tiger squad. In her first game back this season, Smith toppled her career record grabbing eight rebounds and scoring nine points against Eastern Illinois. She hit four-of-six from the field and recorded one steal. The forward posted a career-high seven points against Lipscomb this season. Smith has plays a key role off the bench, she averages 11 minutes, 4.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She is also second on the team with four blocked shots.
#32 Natalie Bright
Looking at the numbers, Natalie Bright is shooting for an above average season. The junior has shot 100 percent from three-point range in three games. She is hitting 52 percent from the field, 55 percent from the three-point arc and 79 percent from the free throw line. Overall, Bright averages 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game off the bench. She also owns 15 assists, three blocks and two steals this season. Bright is tied for third in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage.
#34 Jennifer Simpson
Sophomore Jennifer Simpson has made three appearances for the Tigers this year against Eastern Illinois, Kentucky and Lipscomb. The forward scored two points against the Panthers netting one-of-two shots. She also owns two assists on the season.
#44 Terianne Wolford
Freshman Terianne Wolford opened her collegiate career shooting 67 percent from the field and penalty line against Eastern Illinois. The forward scored seven points in her first game out, also downing a three pointer. Wolford led the Tigers against Lipscomb scoring the first double-digit of her collegiate career netting 14 points. She hit six-for-10 shots from the field and was one-for-two from three-point range. The freshman also pulled down a career-high six boards against the Bisons. Wolford has played minutes in all six Missouri games averaging 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. She also owns four assists and two steals.
#51 Amy Loftus
Six-foot-four center Amy Loftus is working her way into the Tiger line-up. She has played in three games so far as a freshman scoring a career-high five points and seven rebounds against Lipscomb. She is shooting 67 percent from the penalty line downing four-of-six shots. Loftus averages 2.7 points and rebounds per game.
#55 Marlena Williams
Center/forward Marlena Williams opened her second season with the Tigers hitting five double-digit games. She scored 12 points against Eastern Illinois and Kentucky, put in 11 points against Arkansas, hit 13 points against Saint Louis and netted a season-high 16 points against San Diego State. Overall she ranks third on the team with 11.4 points per game. She is shooting 47 percent from the field and 67 percent from the foul line. She averages 2.6 rebounds per game pulling down a season-high four boards against Eastern Illinois. Williams also has five rebounds, three blocks and six steals on the season. She ranks 24th in the Big 12 in overall scoring.