Dec. 6, 2000
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Up this Week
The Missouri women's basketball team continues a four-game home stand against Saint Louis and Southern Illinois. The Tigers host the Billikens Thurs., Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. and bring in the Salukis Sat., Dec. 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Both games will be played in the Hearnes Center. Tickets are still available by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS, or at the Hearnes Center ticket office.
Special Promotions
Thursday is Military Appreciation Day. In honor of the anniversary of the battle of Pearl Harbor, the Tiger women's basketball team invites American military veterans to the MU-St. Louis game. Veterans with a military ID will get into the game for just $2.00.
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
Television
Mizzou Sports Properties is proud to offer the second of three Tiger women's basketball games on the air this season. Catch all the action of the MU-St. Louis game on the Mizzou Sports Network, airing on AT&T Cable in Columbia and St. Louis, Metro Sports in Kansas City, and KBLE 36 in Springfield.
Radio
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 5-1 on the season averaging 87.3 points. Missouri is shooting 50 percent from the field, 48 percent from 3-point range and 68 percent from the penalty line. In six games, Missouri has recorded a 27.7 scoring margin over its opponents keeping them to just 59.7 points per game. The Tigers' full-court pressure defense has also limited the competition to shooting above 40 percent anywhere on the floor.
Missouri has hit the glass hard this season pulling down 255 total rebounds to average 42.5 boards per game and lead its opponents with an 8.2 rebounding margin. The Tigers also double the competition with 18.3 assists per game while keeping their rivals to just 9.2 dishes per match. The Tigers also boast 11.3 steals and 4.3 blocks per game.
In the League
Missouri leads the Big 12 Conference with a .475 3-point field goal percentage and 47 3-point field goals made (of 99). The Tigers also come in second in field goal percentage downing 199 of 398 shots for 50 percent. The feat sets Mizzou in third-place in the conference in scoring average and scoring margin.
The Tigers come in fourth in rebounding margin, steals and averaging a 34.3 rebounding defense per game. Missouri is sixth in the league with a 3.83 turnover margin. Mizzou is fifth in the Big 12 with averaging 27.8 defensive boards per game and seventh with 14.67 offensive boards per match.
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 won their 16th Unilever Lady Tiger Classic title defeating Lipscomb (96-43) and San Diego State (89-69).
Missouri vs. Lipscomb
The 2000-2001 Tiger women's basketball season continues to be a record breaker. Tonight, Missouri claimed its fourth win of the season and boosts MU Head Coach Cindy Stein to her 100th career victory. The Tigers branded the Lipscomb Lady Bisons (4-2) 96-43 to bring Mizzou to a 4-1 season mark.
The Tigers made a turn around from their previous game against Pepperdine, where they allowed the Waves 24 penalty points. Tonight, Missouri came up with only 11 personal fouls and two Lipscomb free throw attempts.
Missouri opened the game scoring eight unanswered points before Lipscomb leading scorer Renee Logan buried a 3-pointer to put the Bisons on the board. The Tigers went for two more runs in the first half scoring 19 total consecutive points to leave the half with a 44-23 lead.
After intermission, Missouri continued to dominate keeping Lipscomb to just seven points in the first five minutes of play. Meanwhile, the Tigers posted 14 points to lead 60-30. A 16-point run kept the Bisons from scoring for another seven minutes. Junior Wendy Okeson capitalized the Tigers final points on a field goal at the buzzer.
Freshman Terianne Wolford led Missouri with 14 points-the first double digit of her collegiate career. The forward also posted six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the game.
Senior Amanda Lassiter came in second for the Tigers with 13 points. She pulled down four rebounds, dished out three assists and led Mizzou with three blocks and four steals.
Missouri vs. San Diego State
History can sometimes repeat itself, and in tournament play the Missouri women's basketball team has proven they won't lie down for San Diego State. The Tigers rolled over the Aztecs 89-69 in the championship game of the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic taking their tournament record with SDSU to 2-0.
Missouri relived some of the previous year's excitement when they downed San Diego State 85-61 in the Pacific Bell Classic. The Tigers and the Aztecs also relived some similar problems, both games were plagued with turnovers. SDSU had 32 turnovers in the Pacific Bell Classic, this time around, both teams recorded 22 possession losses.
The game was destined to be a showcase for MU senior Amanda Lassiter from the tip-off. She hit double digits within seven minutes of play, downing two 3's and two field goals to score 10 points. The Tigers latched onto the forward's scoring momentum putting several players on the board with five or more points in the first half to lead the period 40-31.
The second half creeped along, with each team only posting nine points in the first five minutes of play, Lassiter kept the game alive however, lighting up the scoreboard with a career high 31 points. The forward also set a career mark hitting five 3-pointers. She led the team with five assists, two blocks and four steals and posted her third double-double of the season leading the Tigers with 11 rebounds. Lassiter was selected as the 2000 Unilever Lady Tiger Classic Most Valuable Player.
Also topping the charts, senior Tracy Franklin recorded her third double digit game of the season with 16 points. Both she and sophomore Kerensa Barr were named to the all-tournament team, along with Renne Logan of Lipscomb, Tanisha Knight of San Diego State and Cheria Wood of Alcorn State.
Scouting St. Louis The Billikens are 5-0 on the season owning wins over Drake (59-54), Jackson State (73-42), Murray State (73-62), Loyola-Chicago (49-39) and Dayton (56-53). Saint Louis averages 62 points and 41.6 rebounds per game. The Billikens are out scoring their opponents by 12 points per match and own a 7.2 rebounding margin.
Guard Christian Shelton who averages 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per match leads Saint Louis. She is shooting 48 percent from the floor and 79 percent from the penalty line. In the paint, April McKinney leads Saint Louis with 7.4 rebounds per game and 12 blocked shots. She is the only Billiken shooting above 50 percent from the floor and averages 9.2 points per game.
Last season, Saint Louis finished 11-17 with a 4-12 mark and a ninth-place standing in the Conference USA. The Billikens are led by sixth-year Head Coach Jill Pizzotti.
Series Shorts
Missouri and Saint Louis have re-ignited a rivalry stretching back to the early 1970's and the birth of the MU-SLU women's basketball programs. The Tigers kicked off their women's basketball program in 1974-75 with Saint Louis following in 1975-76. The teams paired up in SLU's first season, with Missouri winning the contest 51-38. The Tigers claimed victories over the Billikens eight consecutive years.
After a 15-year reprieve, Saint Louis and Missouri re-instituted the match-up in 1999-2000, where the Tigers defeated the Billikens 78-65 to stretch their series record to 9-0.
Player 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 shooting three-for-three from three-point range. The feat breaks new ground for Missouri's highest three-point field goal percentage set back in 1988 by Lisa Ellis who shot 100 percent when she netted two-for-two against Iowa.
Michelson averages 5.8 points per game and 2.2 rebounds. She is shooting 48 percent from three-point range overall and 68 percent from the penalty 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 five appearances for the Tigers and averages 5.2 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 6.3 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 7.3 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-20 attempts for a .600 average from the penalty line.
#14 Christa Millham
After taking the 1999-2000 season off as a transfer, Christa Millham has played in two 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 28 assists and averages 4.7 dishes per game. She is also second for the Tigers with 12 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.
#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 penalty line. Franklin has continued to be a major contributor for the Tigers as a starting guard. She has posted four double digit games this season also 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, hitting two perfect three-point games. She was also honored as an all-tournament team selection.
#23 Wendy Okeson
Junior college transfer Wendy Okeson has appeared in five games this season as a Tiger. She opened her NCAA Division I career against Eastern Illinois recording two offensive rebounds. In MU's 86-51 victory over Kentucky, the guard posted a season high seven points shooting two-for-four from the field and downing a record setting three-for-three from three-point range. Against Lipscomb, Okeson repeated her career scoring record posting seven points against Lipscomb. She also pulled down a career high three rebounds.
#24 Amanda Lassiter
Forward Amanda Lassiter continues to make waves for Missouri, the senior leads the team with 12 blocks this season to climb another space up the Tiger record books as the seventh leading blocker in school history (81). Lassiter also leads Mizzou in the scoring column with 19.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. She 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 19 steals. Lassiter was named Most Valuable Player at the Unilever Lady Tiger Classic and was selected to the Pepperdine Classic all-tournament team.
#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, 3.8 points and 3.7 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 55 percent from the field, 60 percent from the three-point arc and 79 percent from the free throw line. Overall, Bright averages 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game off the bench. She also owns 14 assists and two steals this season.
#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 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. She also owns three 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 four double-digit games. She scored 12 points against Eastern Illinois and Kentucky, put in 11 points against Arkansas and netted a season-high 16 points against San Diego State. Overall she ranks third on the team with 11.2 points per game. She is shooting 48 percent from the field and 79 percent from the penalty line. She averages 2.5 rebounds per game pulling down a season-high four boards against Eastern Illinois. Williams also has four rebounds, three blocks and six steals on the season.