Jan. 5, 2001

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Up this week
The University of Missouri women's basketball team returns home after a four-game road stint to take-on the No. 12 ranked Texas Longhorns this Saturday at the Hearnes Center.

The Tigers continue Big 12 Conference play when they host the Texas A&M Aggies on Wed., Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for Missouri women's basketball are still available by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or at the Hearnes Center ticket office.

Special Promotions
Saturday's game is Toy Day sponsored by Walmart, Burger King, KB Toys and Toys 'R US. These organizations have donated toys to be given out during timeouts and at half time during the game. The first 300 kids through the turn stiles will receive a free Pokemon poster.

Kids can obtain free admission to the game by picking up a coloring contest entry at any Columbia Walmart, Burger King, KB Toys or Toys 'R Us location. Present your contest entry and receive free admission to watch Tiger women's basketball.

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 match-up 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 rounded out a four-game road tour with a 2-2 travel record. The Tigers claimed an 83-63 victory over Illinois State, lost to Illinois 92-74 in the inaugural Busch Braggin' Rights rivalry and defeated 88-64 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Tiger dropped an 82-64 loss to No. 13 Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas on Wednesday.

Overall, the Tigers are outscoring their opponents by an average of 17.3 points. MU boasts 987 points on the season with an 82.2 point per game average. Mizzou is shooting 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 66 percent from the free-throw line.

Rebounding Report
Mizzou is averaging 42.0 rebounds per game while keeping its opponents to just 37.0 boards per contest for a +5.0 rebounding margin. The Tigers own 180 offensive and 324 defensive rebounds to date.

Tiger Talk
The Tigers have dished out 207 assists so far this season to average 17.3 assists per game to almost double their opponents who only average 11.3 assists per outing. Missouri is also topping the charts with 51 blocks on the year to average 4.3 blocks per game. MU's opponents have only knocked down 33 blocks this season.

Conference Season Highs
Missouri ranks in the Top 50 percent in the Big 12 Conference in 11 categories. MU is second in the league with a .404 3-point field goal percentage. The Tigers are third in field goal percentage, blocked shots, 3-point field goals made with 6.67 per game and with an 82.2 scoring offense. Missouri ranks fifth averaging 15 offensive rebounds per game.

? The Tigers set a 2000-2001 season high hitting 42 field goals against Eastern Illinois that ranks second in conference records.

? Missouri went 14-for-14 from the free throw line against Kentucky to lead the Big 12 in single-game free throw percentage.

NCAA Division I
Missouri is popping up all over in the NCAA Division I statistics leaders. As of Dec. 19, the Tigers are eighth in the nation in scoring offense (84.6) and field goal percentage (48.3). MU is ninth in scoring margin (24.4) and blocked shots (21). Missouri rankes 22nd in 3-point field goal percentage (39.3) and 18th in 3-point field goals made per game (6.9). (New NCAA statistics should be available after Jan. 8 updates.)

? Senior Amanda Lassiter is in 12th in the nation in blocked shots averaging 2.3 blocks per game. She is 30th in scoring with 20.2 points per game.

? Senior Tracy Franklin ranks fourth in the country shooting 54.3 percent from 3-point range. She is tied for third with an NCAA Division I single-game high with nine steals against Southern Illinois.

Missouri Falls to No. 13 ranked Texas Tech
The Tiger women's basketball team fell to 9-3 on the season after a 18-point loss to No. 13Texas Tech in its first Big 12 Conference game. The Raiders defeated the Tigers 82-64 claiming their 67th consecutive home win.

The game was a battle from the tip, Marlena Williams started the game off with a jumper and went on to score the Tiger's first seven points in the game, including her first 3-pointer of the season. Despite her efforts however, Texas Tech took control and established a lead that Missouri would not recover from. Both Williams and starting forward Amanda Lassiter were benched early on in the first period with foul trouble. The Raiders capitalized on the youth of the Tiger team to enter halftime with a 14-point lead.

Texas Tech took off early in the second period with a nine-point run to lead 54-34 at the 14:27 mark. Mizzou fought back posting eight points by junior Natalie Bright and six points by Lassiter to help the Tigers get within 10. The rally wasn't enough to bring Missouri all the way back however, as repeated fouls brought the Lady Raiders to the free throw line. Seven of Texas Tech's last nine points in the game were scored from the charity stripe.

Despite the loss, Missouri had three players score in double figures. Lassiter led the team scoring 21 points to hit her 12th double-digit game of the year. She also led the Tigers with seven rebounds, one block and three steals. Bright scored 13 points and dished out two assists. The junior guard was 3-for-4 from the field, 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the foul line. Williams posted her ninth double figure game of the season netting 12 points. She also had two steals.

Scouting Texas
Texas is 13-2 on the season and is currently ranked 12th in the Associated Press and 17th in the USA Today/ESPN Polls. The Longhorns suffered their only losses of the season to No. 2 ranked Tennessee 67-59 and No. 6 ranked Purdue 71-49. In Big 12 Conference play, Texas is 1-0 defeating Texas A&M 62-49 on Wednesday.

Texas is led by senior guard JoRuth Woods who averages 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds. Freshman Stacy Stephens leads the Longhorns in rebounding with 8.6 boards per game. She is second on the team with 10.9 points per outing. Texas has two other athletes averaging above 10 points per game, junior Tracy Cook hits 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest and sophomore Tai Dillard averages 10.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Last season, the Longhorns were 21-13 with a 9-7 Big 12 record. Texas finished sixth in the league and advanced to the NCAA first round where they were defeated by St. Joseph's 69-48.

Series Shorts
Texas leads the MU-UT series 7-0. The Tigers have only played the Longhorns twice in lumbia, but kept the scoring deficit within seven points in each outing.

Last Time Against Texas
Missouri dropped an 80-64 loss to the Texas Longhorns in their lone meeting. Missouri shot just 32.5 percent from the field while committing 25 turnovers. The contest in Austin, Texas, was the first Big 12 road game for the Tigers.

The Tigers shot just 26.3 percent from the floor in the first half and trailed 35-23 at halftime. Mizzou's five starters combined for 15-of-61 for the game. Amanda Lassiter led the Tigers with 16 points, all scored in the second half. Marlena Williams added a double-double, 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Tracy Franklin came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points.

Strength of Schedule
The 2000-2001 Missouri schedule is ranked in the top third of NCAA Division I schools by the WBCA/Summerville Women's Basketball pre-season poll.

Overall, the Tigers will take on four teams ranked in the Top 25 and six schools currently receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Polls. The Tigers face No. 7 Iowa State, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 17 Texas in Big 12 Conference action. MU also plays Illinois (14), Baylor (12), Kansas (10), Arkansas (3), Colorado (3) and Pepperdine (2).

Also adding to Mizzou's schedule, the Tigers face nine teams that made post-season play in 1999-2000. Arkansas who advanced to the semifinals of the WNIT, Texas, Pepperdine, Nebraska and Kansas each traveled to the NCAA first round and Illinois was an NCAA second round participant. Iowa State and Oklahoma highlighted in the Sweet Sixteen and Texas Tech advanced to the Elite Eight.

Barr Brief
Sophomore Kerensa Barr has proven that history does sometimes repeat itself, the Tigers have faced Wisconsin-Milwaukee two years in a row on Dec. 30th. In both games, the guard recorded a career-high seven assists against the Panthers.

The sophomore leads the Tigers with 59 assists on the season and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 4.92 assists per game. She is also sixth in the league with a 1.74 assist to turnover ration.

Looking at Lassiter
Senior Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 20.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. In MU's last four outings the forward has hit above 20 points. She scored 28 points against Illinois State, netted 23 against Illinois and downed 21 points against both Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Texas Tech. She leads MU with 40 steals and 28 blocks. Lassiter also tops the Big 12 in blocked shots and comes in third in overall scoring.

Lassiter's 28 blocks this season boosts the forward into sixth in Missouri all-time leading blocks records with 97.

Watching Williams
Marlena Williams jumped back into the MU starting line-up after taking a four-game reprieve. In her last three games, the center/forward has averaged over 11 points, including a season-high 19 points against Illinois. She also pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists for a season high mark against the Illini. Williams shot 75 percent against Wisconsin-Milwaukee hitting 6-for-8 shots from the field. She downed her first 3-pointer of the season against Texas Tech. Williams is 23rd in the Big 12 Conference in overall scoring.

Bright Spot
Natalie Bright has come off the bench in the last two games to hit double figures. She had a perfect game against Wisconsin-Miwaukee hitting 4-for-4 from the field, 1-for-1 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. In the conference opener against Texas Tech, Bright downed 3-for-4 from the field, was 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the foul line. She is shooting 54 percent from the field overall and hits 56 percent from 3-point range.

Franklin Forecast
Senior Tracy Franklin is third on the team averaging 10.6 points. She tops the charts with a .489 3-point field goal percentage. She ranks sixth in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage and is eighth averaging 1.83 3-pointers per game. Franklin leads the Tigers with a perfect tally from the free throw line. She has hit 11-for-11 on the season. Franklin ranks 29th in the Big 12 in overall scoring.

Unrau Update
Freshman Evan Unrau scored a career-high 16 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The forward hit 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line agaisnt the Panthers. She currently leads the Tigers shooting 63 percent from the field netting 39-of-62 attempts. The forward has recorded two double-double games this year scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds against Southern Illinois and knocking down 14 points and 13 rebounds against Illinois State. Unrau is third in the conference in field goal percentage and 15th in rebounding averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. She pulled down a season high 11 defensive boards agaisnt Arkansas and nine offensive boards against Illinois State.

Victory Margin
The Tigers 96-43 win over Lipscomb tops the season as MU's largest margin of victory. Mizzou has topped seven teams by more than 20 points, including a 47 point triumph over Eastern Illinois and a 35 point win over Kentucky.

Hitting the Three
The Tigers have shot 40 percent or above from 3-point range in 10 of their 12 games. Missouri hit their season high 57 percent from the 3-point arc against San Diego State when the Tigers downed 8-of-14 attempts. Bright leads the Tigers from the 3-point arc shooting 56 percent. Senior Tracy Franklin also posts an impressive 49 percent hitting 22-of-45 attempts.

Topping Ten
Four Tiger athletes routinely hit double-figures, including Amanda Lassiter who is 12-for-12 and has yet to hit below 13-points in a game. Marlena Williams owns nine double-digit games, senior Tracy Franklin has six and freshman Evan Unrau posts four including a career-high 16 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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 9-3 record boosts her to 105-55.

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 at Tyler. 2000-2001 Experiment

This season the Tigers take the floor with a unique corp of youthful athletes. Missouri has seven "rookies" on the roster looking to help build Coach Stein's program. MU has four true freshmen in starter Evan Unrau, Tracy Lozier and Terianne Wolford, who have seen minutes in all MU games so far this season and 6-foot-4 center Amy Loftus. Starter Aimee Michelson and guard Wendy Okeson serve as two junior college transfers fresh to the Tiger program and junior Christa Millham helps the squad from the bench after taking last year off as an NCAA Divison I transfer.

Big 12 Teleconferences
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.

Teleconference Schedule
10:00 Sherri Coale, Oklahoma
10:07 Paul Sanderford, Nebraska
10:14 Peggie Gillom, Texas A&M
10:21 Cindy Stein, Missouri
10:28 Jody Conradt, Texas
10:35 Ceal Barry, Colorado
10:42 Marian Washington, Kansas
10:49 Marsha Shar, Texas Tech
10:56 Dick Halterman, Oklahoma State
11:03 Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Baylor
11:10 Bill Fennelly, Iowa State
11:17 Deb Patterson, Kansas State