Tigers Begin Four-Game Road Stint
12/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2000
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Up this week
The University of Missouri travels to Normal, Ill., to open a four-game road stretch against Illinois State. Mizzou winds down a five-game home win streak with its first road game since Nov. 26 at the Pepperdine Classic in Malibu, Calif. The Tigers face the Redbirds Sun., Dec. 17 at 5:35 p.m., in Redbird Arena.
While in Illinois
The Tigers depart Columbia, Mo., Sat., Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m. While in Illinois, hotel accommodations will be provided by Jumer's Chateau at 1601 Jumer Dr., Bloomington, Ill., 61704, (309) 665-5671.
Missouri 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' Web site 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/).
Turn on the Radio
The Cindy Stein Show features highlights of recent games, upcoming matches and player profiles. Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m., live from Johnny's Beanery in Columbia, Mo., Head Coach Cindy Stein dishes Tiger women's basketball. Listen on KFRU radio 1400 AM.
Tigers Got Game
Missouri rounds down a four-game undefeated home stand with a 7-1 overall record. The Tigers claimed their 16th Unilever Lady Tiger Classic title defeating Lipscomb (96-43) and San Diego State (89-69). They then bested Saint Louis (73-63) and Southern Illinois (81-57).
Overall, the Tigers are outscoring their opponents by an average of 25 points. MU boasts 678 points on the season with an 84.8 point per game average. Mizzou is shooting 48 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range and 65 percent from the free-throw line.
Rebounding Report
Mizzou is averaging 43.2 rebounds per game while keeping its opponents to just 37.6 boards per contest for a +5.6 rebounding margin.
The Tigers own 121 offensive and 225 defensive rebounds to date. Missouri has yet to have a game with fewer than 10 offensive and 20 defensive boards.
Tiger Talk
The Tigers have dished out 139 assists so far this season to average 17.4 assists per game to almost double their opponents who only average nine dishes per match. Missouri is also above the competition in assist/turnover ratio. The Tigers are averaging 20.5 turnovers per game, while forcing their opponents to 25 for a +4.5 turnover margin and an 0.8 assist/turnover ratio.
In the League
Missouri is fourth in the Big 12 Conference with a 7-1 record and leads the league in shooting from 3-point range with 44 percent. The Tigers are second in the league in scoring margin and blocked shots with 36. Mizzou come in third in overall scoring, defensive field goal percentage and 3-point field goals made (60). The Tigers are in the top 50 percent of the conference in field goal percentage (.481), scoring defense (.351), offensive rebounding (43.2), defensive rebounding (28.1), rebounding margin (+5.6), assists (17.4), turnover margin (+4.5) and steals (11.9).
Conference Season Highs
? The Tigers set a 2000-2001 season high hitting 42 field goals against Eastern Illinois.
? Missouri owns the Big 12 season mark hitting a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line against Kentucky.
? Mizzou is second in the league field goal attempts with 80 against Eastern Illinois.
NCAA Division I
Missouri is popping up all over NCAA Division I top 25 teams in statistics. The Tigers are sixth in the in the nation in scoring offense, are seventh in 3-point field goal percentage, eighth in scoring margin and 14th in field goal percentage.
? Senior Amanda Lassiter comes in 14th in the NCAA Division I in blocked shots averaging 2.3 blocks per game.
? Senior Tracy Franklin ranks fourth in the division with a 59 percent 3-point field goal mark. She ties for third with an NCAA Division I single-game high nine steals against Southern Illinois.
Tigers Down Salukis
The Tiger women's basketball team handily defeated Southern Illinois 81-57, in a turnaround game from their performance against Saint Louis. The Tigers skimmed past the Billikens 73-63 with 18 turnovers and a 27 percent free throw average. Against Southern Illinois however, Mizzou forced 25 Saluki turnovers and hit 60 percent from the charity stripe.
After leading the first period, Missouri started the second half with a six-point run. But before the Tigers could get any more comfortable on the scoreboard, forward Amanda Lassiter went down with a knee injury. She left the floor with the assistance of athletic trainer Eric McDonnell and did not return in the game.
With Mizzou's leading scorer out for the remainder, MU Head Coach Cindy Stein was forced to rely on the depth of her bench. She wasn't to be disappointed by her young squad as four players, including Lassiter, hit double digits in the game.
Despite playing only 19 minutes, Lassiter pulled down seven rebounds and led the team with three blocks. Team physicians have diagnosed her with a mild knee sprain. Her playing status will be made day-by-day.
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State is 1-6 in 2000-2001 claiming its only victory against Wisconsin-Milwaukee 67-64. San Diego State 88-59 defeated the Redbirds--the Tigers defeated the Aztecs in the championship game of the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic.
The Redbirds are led by freshman forward Sharon Blade who is the only player in double digit scoring with 12.6 points per game. She also leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per match and five blocks on the season. Freshman Jaci McCormack is second on the team with 9.7 points per game. Senior Nadia Peruch leads the Redbirds with 20 assists and is second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game.
Last season, Illinois State rounded out the season with a 3-15 record and a 6-20 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Redbirds finished ninth in the MVC under first-year Head Coach Jenny Yopp.
Series Shorts
The Tigers own an impressive 10-4 series record over the Redbirds, including a three-game winning streak since the 1996-97 season. The MU-ISU rivalry stretches back to 1978 when the two teams met for the first time in Normal, Ill. Since that time, Illinois State has claimed two eight-point victories in 1980 (74-66) and 1996 (82-70). The Tigers kept the Redbirds to two point wins in 1983 (61-59) and 1993 (66-62).
Illinois State has a track record for playing the Tigers hard at home. All four of the ISU's victories over Missouri have been Redbird Arena.
Last Time Against Illinois State
Missouri used a 31-0 first-half run and held Illinois State without a field goal for the first 13 minutes, 37 seconds of the game to run away with a 91-44 victory. The win was the eighth straight for the Tigers on the season.
Missouri broke out to a 34-1 lead before Illinois State's Steph Reichle converted a lay-up off a Missouri turnover for the Redbirds first field goal of the game at the 7:27 mark of the first half. The Tigers played all 13 players on the roster in the first half and led 58-14 at halftime.
The Tigers forced 30 turnovers and shot 51.5 percent from the field. Julie Helm, who recorded her 100th career three-pointer, led Missouri with 16 points in 19 minutes. Amanda Lassiter added 15 points and Kerensa Barr netted a career-high 12 points.
New Arena on Horizon
The MU Board of Curators approved a presentation by Chancellor Richard Wallace on Nov. 9, to build a new arena that will house the Tiger men's and women's basketball programs.
The proposal called for a $75 million facility scheduled to be completed for the 2004-05 season. Chancellor Wallace announced a $25 million donation by an anonymous donor to go toward the arena--the largest gift given in the history of the University.
The $25 million, along with $2 million raised by the Athletic Department, gives MU $27 million up front to help fund the building. Dr. Wallace then asked the Curators to seek $35 million from the Missouri Legislature in general obligation bonds. Other donations/gifts, up-front seat payments and interest income would make up the remaining $13 million for the project.
The Board voted a unanimous 9-0 in favor of the project, and the next step is to get the appropriations from the state.
The arena would be located South of the Hearnes Center and would seat anywhere form 15,000 to 17,000 fans. The Hearnes Center would remain open to house the needs of MU Olympic sports such as volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling and indoor track and field.
Million Fan March
The Big 12 Conference and its member institutions will jointly embark on a fun and unique women's basketball promotional program for the 2000-01 season--The Million Fan March...to Madness.
The goal is for the Big 12 Conference to become the first to reach 1,000,000 in women's basketball attendance.
Last year the Big 12 led the nation in women's basketball attendance while setting all-time national highs in women's basketball total attendance and average attendance. The turnstiles clicked 802,419 times for an average of 4,720 fans per Big 12 contest, including the Big 12 Tournament.
In order to reach one million fans in 2000-01, the 12 schools and the conference tournament would have to increase their home attendance from last year roughly by 25 percent. Each institution would need to average about 1,500 fans per game or 16,000 over the course of the season.
Tiger Television
Catching all the action of Tiger women's basketball is now easier than ever, along with live radio coverage of every game on KFRU radio 1400 AM, six Mizzou games will be televised. Fox Sports Net and the Mizzou Sports Properties have each picked up three matches. This six game package offers the program the highest single season coverage to date.
Fox Sports Net will televise two Tiger home games, the Missouri-Kansas State game Sat., Jan. 20 and the Missouri-Kansas game Sat., Feb. 10. The network will also feature the Missouri-Baylor game in Waco, Texas, Sat., Feb. 17. All three games are scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.
Along with the networks 23 regular-season Big 12 game package, Fox Sports Net will also broadcast the Big 12 Tournament semifinals and championship games March 8-10.
Mizzou Sports Properties offers a similar package televising two home games and one from the road. MSP will shoot the Eastern Illinois game Fri., Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m., the Saint Louis game Thurs., Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the Hearnes Center. It will also cover the Iowa State game Wed., Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m. from Ames, Iowa.
The Stein Scoop
MU Head Coach Cindy Stein recorded her 100th career victory this season against Lipscomb Dec. 1, 2000. Stein entered 2000-2001 with a 96-52 record as a sixth-year head coach. The Tigers 7-1 record boosts her to 103-53.
Mizzou's success this season is due to a continually evolving program under Stein. The breakneck momentum characterizing the Missouri program for the past two seasons has proven to be effective as well as exciting. Under the tutelage of Stein and her exhilarating court style, the Tigers continue to break new ground on the Missouri hardwood. Last season, the Tigers re-wrote the record books finishing the year with an 18-12 record--Mizzou's winningest season since 1992-93. The Tigers also climbed two spots up the Big 12 championship ladder to finish seventh with a 7-9 conference record despite being predicted to finish ninth by Big 12 coaches in the preseason polls during the 1999-2000 campaign.
The Tigers up-tempo offense and full court defense also guided the team to its first-ever Women's National Invitational Tournament. Mizzou hadn't seen non-conference postseason play since 1994. The Tigers won their first game defeating Evansville 84-81 but dropped out of the tournament after falling to Arkansas in a grueling 89-88 overtime loss in Fayetteville, Ark.
Stein also led Missouri to two in-season tournament titles sweeping the Pacific Bell/San Diego State Classic and the Unilever Missouri Lady Tiger Classic.
In her first season at Mizzou, Stein guided the team to a 13-15 record. Although she was not able to incorporate her trademark style of play, she set a new standard of what was to be expected of the Missouri women's basketball program.
Riley Review
Missouri Associate Head Coach Lee Ann Riley was named the 2000 National Junior College Coach of the Year. Her appointment at Missouri ended a six-year stint with Tyler Junior College (Texas) where she led the team to the NJCAA national title last year and rounded out her coaching record with a 131-58 career mark.
Riley led the Apaches to a combined 60-7 record during the 1998-2000 season. Under Riley's tutelage Tyler was ranked in the top 25 during the past three seasons--stepping in as the No. 7 spot in 1998-99 and No. 21 in 1997-98.
Tyler was a Region XIV finalist in four of Riley's six years and won the regional title as well as the national championship last season. Riley's 1999-2000 Apaches won the Region XIV championship tournament and suffered only one conference loss on the way to the college's first national appearance since 1992. In addition to her NJCAA title, she was also named the National Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Region XIV Coach of the Year in 2000.
Overall, Riley coached four All-Americans, 12 all-region and 19 all-conference athletes. She also supported three Region XIV Freshman of the Year recipients, 22 academic all-conference picks and three academic All-Americans while at Tyler.
Tiger Tidbits
? Missouri's 81-57 victory over Southern Illinois boosts the Tigers to a 5-1 series record with the Salukis. It is the first time in the teams' six-year history that either has won back-to-back victories. MU defeated SIU 66-61 last season as well.
? Big 12 women's basketball teleconferences are right around the corner. The briefings will feature seven minutes with each head coach. The first teleconference is scheduled for Jan. 9 at 10:00 a.m. Coach Stein is scheduled to begin at 10:21 a.m.
#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 has played in all eight games this season and averages 5.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per match. 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 seven appearances, coming in as Mizzou's first substitution in five games. She averages 4.1 points per game. She also tops the charts with a .538 three-point field goal percentage, including a perfect game against Kentucky when she shot two-for-two from three-point range. Lozier averages nine minutes per game and has six assists and six steals on the season. The freshman is tied for third in the Big 12 Conference in three-point field goal percentage.
#13 Evan Unrau
MU's only starting freshman on the squad, Evan Unrau hit the first double-double of her collegiate career scoring 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds against Saint Louis. The forward has been hitting the boards hard averaging 6.4 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 from the field and three-of-three from the free throw line.
Unrau averages 8.1 points per game--fourth on the team. She leads the team with shooting 68 percent from the field. She also owns three perfect games from the free throw line against Eastern Illinois, Kentucky and San Diego State. She has hit 13-of-36 attempts for a .500 average from the charity stripe.
In the Big 12 Conference, Unrau comes in third in field goal percentage and is seventh with 39 defensive rebounds. She is 16th in the conference in overall rebounding.
#14 Christa Millham
After taking the 1999-2000 season off as a transfer, Christa Millham has played in four games as a junior. The guard opened the year against Eastern Illinois and has appeared in three 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 38 assists and averages 4.8 dishes per game. She is also third 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. Barr averages 7.3 points per game.
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 fourth in assists per game. She also comes in 10th with a 1.52 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 and against Saint Louis, the senior topped the charts with nine steals.
Franklin continues to be a major contributor for the Tigers as a starting guard. She has posted five double digit games this season, scoring 16 points against Arkansas and San Diego State, 15 points against Southern Illinois and 13 points against Kentucky to average 12.3 points per game--second highest on the team. Franklin leads Missouri with a perfect free throw percentage netting nine-for-nine this season. She also boasts 52 percent from the field (36-68) and a team-high 59 percent from 3-point range (17-29).
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 2.12 three-pointers per game. She also comes in 11th in steals and 22nd in overall scoring. Franklin set the conference season single-game record in steals.
#23 Wendy Okeson
Junior college transfer Wendy Okeson has appeared in seven 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
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 3-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.
The forward continues to make waves for Missouri in other areas as well, she leads the team with 18 blocks this season to climb another space up the Tiger record books as the sixth leading blocker in school history (87). Lassiter also leads Mizzou in the scoring column with 18.6 points and 7.8 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.
Lassiter was sidelined with a knee injury against Southern Illinois. Despite playing only 19 minutes, she tied Evan Unrau and Tracy Franklin to lead the team with 15 points. She also pulled down seven rebounds, had three blocks and four steals.
The forward leads the team with 27 steals. Lassiter was named Most Valuable Player at the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic and was selected to the Pepperdine Classic all-tournament team.
Lassiter leads the Big 12 Conference in blocks with 2.25 per game. She is third in defensive rebounds with 6.25 per game and fourth in overall scoring. She is fifth in the league in steals. Lassiter hit a single-game record in field goal attempts with 24.
#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, 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. She is also second on the team with five 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 48 percent from the field, 55 percent from the three-point arc and 79 percent from the free throw line. Overall, Bright averages 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game off the bench. She also owns 18 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 eight Missouri games averaging 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. She also owns four assists and two steals. Overall, the freshman is hitting 52 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range and 57 percent from the free throw line.
#51 Amy Loftus
Six-foot-four center Amy Loftus is working her way into the Tiger line-up. She has played in four games so far as a freshman scoring a career-high five points and seven rebounds against Lipscomb. She is shooting 75 percent from the foul line downing six-of-eight shots. Loftus averages 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
#55 Marlena Williams
Center/forward Marlena Williams opened her second season with the Tigers hitting six double-digit games. She scored 12 points against Eastern Illinois and Kentucky, put in 11 points against Arkansas and Southern Illinois, 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 63 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 six assists, four blocks and six steals on the season. She ranks 24th in the Big 12 in overall scoring.
