Feb. 2, 2001

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Up Next
The University of Missouri women's basketball team steps into a two-game road stint traveling to Norman, Okla., and Manhattan, Kan. The Tigers faces its fourth ranked team of the season against No. 10/12 Oklahoma on Saturday in the Lloyd Noble Center at 3:00 p.m. Missouri is scheduled to meet Kansas State again Wed., Feb. 7 at 7:00 p.m., in Bramlage Coliseum.

Missouri's next home game is Sat., Feb. 10 at 3:00 p.m. when it takes on Kansas.

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

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., Head Coach Cindy Stein dishes Tiger women's basketball live from Johnny's Beanery in Columbia, Mo. Listen on KFRU radio 1400 AM.

Travel Itinerary
The Tiger women's basketball team departs Columbia on a charter flight on Ozark Airlines at 7:30 p.m. The team returns Sat., Feb. 3 directly following the game. While in Norman, Okla., hotel accomodations will be provided by the Holiday Inn at 1000 N. Interstate D. (405) 364-2882.

Head to the Hearnes
The Tigers are looking to break new ground this season by packing the Hearnes Center during the MU-Kansas game on Sat., Feb. 10 at 3:00 p.m. Over 9,500 tickets for the event have already been sold. Tickets are just $1 and can be purchased from the Mizzou Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or 884-PAWS in Columbia. Organizations looking to purchase group tickets please call the Missouri Group Sales Office at (573) 882-0710. Come out and help the Tigers pack the house.

Missouri vs. Oklahoma
Missouri (13-6) continues Big 12 Conference play facing back-to-back ranked opponents. The Tigers are coming of a 73-63 to No. 7 Iowa State and heading into the lair of the No. 10th ranked Oklahoma Sooners (16-4). Thus far in conference play Missouri is 4-4 taking three losses to Top 15 opponents. The Tigers recorded a 65-68 victory over Nebraska taking their first win over the Huskers in Lincoln, Neb., in over 10 years. Missouri also owns an impressive 65-60 come-from-behind victory over Kansas State. The Tigers defeated one ranked team in then No. 12 Texas (68-52).

Oklahoma is 16-4 on the season and ties for first in the Big 12 with a 7-1 league record. The Sooner's only losses this season are to ranked teams. Oklahoma lost to No. 6 Georgia (94-70), No. 19 Wisconsin (97-77) and No. 13 Southwest Missouri State (69-61) and suffered its only conference loss to No. 7 Iowa State, 81-79. Contrasting its four losses, Oklahoma also owns five wins over Top 25 opponents. The Sooners downed SW Missouri State (89-82), No. 17 Stanford (102-98), No. 14 Texas (85-74), No. 24 Baylor (90-87) and No. 9 Texas Tech (84-66).

The MU-Oklahoma game will be a battle for the boards. Both teams top the conference in rebounding. The Tigers average 16.11 offensive rebounds per game to rank third in the Big 12. Mizzou also pulls down 26.63 defensive boards per contest to rank fifth in the league. Oklahoma is third in the conference with 28.10 defensive rebounds per game. The Sooners are seventh with 13.55 offensive boards. This season, Missouri has scored 226 second chance points to average 12.5 points per game while keeping its opponents to just 9.3 second chance points per contest.

Missouri continues to improve its turnover ratio. In its last Big 12 game, MU forced 20 Iowa State turnovers while giving up just eight. The Tigers opened conference play with 26 turnovers to Texas Tech. Since then however, Missouri has recorded eight games with less than 15 including back-to-back games with just eight. In Big 12 play, MU is fourth in the league averaging a 1.01 assist to turnover ratio. The Tigers are also fourth with a +2.88 turnover margin. Missouri averages 19.1 points per game from turnovers.

Scouting the Sooners
Oklahoma State has three athletes averaging in double digits. Guard LaNeisha Caufield leads the Sooners with 17.2 points per game shooting 52 percent from the field. She also averages 4.6 rebounds and leads the team with 90 steals. Caufield leads the Big 12 in steals and comes in sixth in overall scoring. She also ranks ninth in field goal percentage and assists.

Stacey Dales is second on the team with 16.3 points per game. She leads Oklahoma with 149 season assists to lead the conference with 7.45 assists per game. She is also second, behind MU's Kerensa Barr, with a 1.77 assist/turnover ratio. Sophomore Caton Hill rounds out the lineup averaging 13.2 points and leading Oklahoma with 8.8 rebounds per game. She shoots 51 percent from the field, 48 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line. Hill leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage and is fifth in offensive and defensive rebounds. She is fourth in overall rebounding and 16th in scoring.

Oklahoma is second in the Big 12 with a .487 field goal percentage. The Sooners also lead the league with 20.85 assists per game.

Last season, Oklahoma finished 25-8 with a 13-3 Big 12 Conference record to tie for first in league standings. The Sooners advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen where they were knocked out by Connecticut (102-80). Oklahoma returns four starters and 11 letterwinners to the 2000-2001 squad. Sherrie Coale is in her fifth season as head coach at Oklahoma.

Series Shorts
Missouri owns a 27-16 series record over Oklahoma. The Tigers and Sooners began their rivalry in 1977 as part of the Big Eight Conference. Missouri owns an impressive 6-2 Big Eight Tournament record over Oklahoma--the two teams have yet to match-up in a Big 12 Tournament. Oklahoma owns a five-game win streak (1994-96) to post the longest winning streak. The Tigers have claimed four of the last five games over the Sooners.

Last Time Against Oklahoma
Phylesha Whaley scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 23 Oklahoma beat Missouri 76-71 for its eighth consecutive victory.

Whaley scored 18 in the second half, making all three of her 3-point attempts. When Stacey Dales missed two free throws with seven seconds left Missouri was unable to grab the rebound. After a 33-33 halftime lock up, there were four ties and eight lead changes before Oklahoma took lead for good.

Amy Monsees led Missouri with 16 points, and Julie Helm added 15 points and nine rebounds.

A record crowd of 6,227 watched the game. Oklahoma is 8-0 on the road, the longest such streak in school history.

Missouri Falls to No. 7 Iowa State
Missouri fell to 13-6 and 4-4 in the Big 12 Conference losing its first home game of the season to No. 7 ranked Iowa State 73-63. The Tigers shot just 35 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range. ISU shot 51 percent from the field and overcame 20 turnovers.

Iowa State started the game with a nine-point run to lead 11-2. Amanda Lassiter broke into the game with a 3-pointer to help build some Missouri momentum. She and fellow seniors Tracy Franklin and Marlena Williams went on to score nine points within four minutes to bridge the lead 18-14 at the 8:45 mark. Despite Williams netting six points, ISU reestablished a commanding 17-point lead. In the last two minutes of play, Junior Natalie Bright scored five points and Franklin added two to leave the half 37-27.

The second period was a whirlwind. Characteristically the Tigers blew into the second half with ferocity scoring 10 points and bringing the score within two, 42-40. Lassiter drained a 3-pointer and freshman Evan Unrau put in a jumper to give MU a 45-43 lead. The game raged on keeping within three points before Lassiter fouled out at the 5:57 mark. ISU came back with a 16-9 run to leave the game with 10-point win, 73-63.

Lassiter and Williams each scored 20 points and had six rebounds. Bright scored nine points for the Tigers and Franklin put in eight off the bench. Unrau led the team with eight rebounds, including seven defensive boards. She also scored six points.

In the Record Books
? Senior Amanda Lassiter has set another Missouri record netting 43 3-point field goals in a single season. Julie Helm set the previous record during the 1996-97 season with 32. In conjunction, Lassiter also topped MU's record for 3-point field goal attempts in a single-season with 118 (previously set by Stacy Williams with 100 in 1991-92).

? The Tigers tied a single-game team record for 3-point field goals made and topped the record for 3-pointers attempted against Iowa State. Missouri knocked down 10-of-25 shot from 3-point range against the Cyclones.

? The Tigers set a season single-game team record with 12 blocked shots against Nebraska.

? Junior Natalie Bright looks to break the single season record for highest 3-point field goal percentage. Bright is shooting 45 percent from the 3-point arc hitting 15-of-33 shots. The record is held by Sandi Prophete who shot 41 percent (13-31) during the 1987-88 season.

Seeing Double
Evan Unrau has posted four double-doubles in her inaugural year on the Mizzou squad. She scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against No. 12 Texas shooting 80 percent from the field (8-of-10) and 100 percent from the foul line.

The forward also recorded double-double games this year with 16 points and 20 rebounds against Texas A&M, 15 points and 10 rebounds against Southern Illinois and with 14 points and 13 rebounds against Illinois State.

Senior Amanda Lassiter has also posted four double-double games in 2000-2001. She led the day in MU's 68-52 victory over Texas with 22 points and 10 rebounds. She also recorded doubles against Arkansas (22-11), Kentucky (19-10) and San Diego State (31-11).

Looking at Lassiter
Senior Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 20.5 points and is second on the team with 7.3 rebounds per game. Lassiter has scored in double digits in all 19 games this season including setting a career-high with 31 points against San Diego State. She owns 12 games scoring 20 or more points including six of eight conference games. She recorded 21 points against Texas Tech, 22 points against Texas, 28 points against Colorado, 21 and 20 points against No. 7 Iowa State and 27 points versus Nebraska.

The forward is second on the team with 139 rebounds, including a team-high 110 defensive boards. She also tops the team with 59 steals and is second with 51 assists.

Blocking Report
Lassiter has 53 blocks this season to lead the team and top the Big 12. Her six blocks against Nebraska set the Big 12 Conference 2000 single-game high. Lassiter set the Missouri single-game high with seven against Western Kentucky last year and set the single-season blocked shots record as a junior with 69. After her performance at Nebraska and Iowa State, she moves up another spot as Missouri's fifth all-time blocker (122). She is just three blocks from moving into third-place to best Nikki Smith who recorded 125 blocks from 1992-95 and Kesha Bonds who had 124 blocks from 1995-99. Lassiter is the only athlete appearing in the Top 10 who has played under three years. She is averaging 2.79 blocks per game.

Watching Williams
Center/forward Marlena Williams is taking the Big 12 Conference by storm. In four league games this year she has posted season highs in points and rebounds. She had a career-high 24 points against Colorado hitting 10-of-19 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point range. She also had five assists in the game. Against Iowa State last Wednesday, Williams led the team with 20 points to record her second highest career mark. She came just one point (17) and one rebound (7) shy of tying her previous season marks against Texas A&M and had season-highs with eight rebounds and five steals against Texas.

The senior sparked Missouri's 65-60 come-from-behind victory over Kansas State scoring four points, two rebounds and an assist in two minutes of play. Before fouling out with 41 seconds left in the game, Williams scored 10 points, had six rebounds and three assists.

Williams has averaged over 10 points in the last 8-of-9 games, including two +20 point games against Colorado and Iowa State. She has also scored in double figures in 6-of-8 conference games. Williams is second on the team averaging 12.5 points per game. She also has 10 blocks on the year.

Unrau Update
Evan Unrau has scored in double figures in six games, including her career- high 18 points against then No. 12 ranked Texas. She also scored 16 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line against the Panthers. She pulled down a season-high 11 defensive boards against Arkansas and had nine offensive boards against Illinois State.

Unrau leads the Tigers shooting 59.6 percent from the field netting 65-of-110 attempts. The freshman has 10 games on the season shooting 60 percent or above, including a perfect game against Eastern Illinois (4-for-4). Unrau was 7-of-8 against Southern Illinois and also owns five perfect games from the free throw line.

Bringing Down the Boards
Unrau recorded a career best 20 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards against Texas A&M. That marked the first time a Mizzou player has had 20 rebounds in a single game since the 1998 season when Kesha Bonds had 23 boards against Colorado. Unrau leads the Tigers with 58 offensive and 143 total rebounds on the season. She also tops the charts averaging 7.5 rebounds per game.

Bright Spot
Natalie Bright is proving her versatility in her new role on the Tigers' squad this year. The junior started 28-of-30 games she played in last season to average 7.3 points and come in second on the team with 86 assists.

This year, Bright has come off the bench as one of the key contributors. Against Iowa State (1/17) the junior rejuvenated the team's efforts hitting two key 3-pointers. She scored eight points in the game and had two steals. Against Texas, she once again revamped the Tigers with five points and three rebounds in 14 minutes of play.

Bright hit double figures against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Texas Tech. She had a perfect game against the Panthers 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 the Lady Raiders, Bright downed 3-for-4 from the field, was 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the foul line.

The junior has started two games this season against Nebraska and Iowa State (1/31). She scored four points for the Tigers with six rebounds, three assists and three steals against the Huskers. Bright scored nine points and pulled down four boars against the Cyclones.

Bright is shooting 44 percent from the field overall and hits 45 percent from 3-point range. She averages 5.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. She also has 46 assists on the season and five blocks.

Barr Brief
Starting point guard Kerensa Barr is making a name for herself on the Mizzou hardwood as the floor leader. Barr recorded her fourth double-digit game of the season scoring 11 points against Kansas State. She also tied her season-high with seven rebounds. The sophomore leads the Tigers with 94 assists on the year. She averages 4.0 assists per game and hit her season-high with nine against No. 7 Iowa State (1/17).

Barr is fifth on the team averaging 6.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 39 offensive rebounds and 30 steals. The sophomore tops the Big 12 Conference with a 1.84 assist/turnover ratio.

Franklin Forecast
Guard Tracy Franklin recorded a career-high scoring 18 points against Eastern Illinois. She also hit season marks against Southern Illinois pulling down 11 rebounds and grabbing nine steals. In conference play, Franklin has slowly emerged from a slump. She scored eight points against Colorado and hit her seventh double-digit game of the year against Iowa State with 11 points (1/17). Against Nebraska, she scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds. In her second match-up against the Cyclones, Franklin scored eight points and grabbed two steals.

Franklin is third on the team averaging 9.4 points per game. She tops the charts hitting 26-of-67 shots from 3-point range. Franklin leads the Tigers with a .882 free throw percentage. She has knocked down 15-of-17 on the season. Her nine steals against SIU set a Big 12 Conference 2000 season single-game record.

Tigers Got Game
Missouri (13-6) opened league competition with a 4-4 Big 12 Conference record. The Tigers got off to its conference start in history this season taking wins over Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Nebraska.

In conference action, the Tigers are 3-1 on the home court defeating then No. 12 Texas (68-52), Texas A&M (69-61) and Kansas State (65-60). Missouri has suffered three of its conference losses on the road, falling to Texas Tech (82-64) in Lubbock, Colorado (90-98) in Boulder and Iowa State (68-67) in Ames. The Tigers' only home loss this season was to Iowa State Wednesday, 73-63.

Mizzou averages 77.6 points per game with an +11.8 scoring margin to rank sixth in the Big 12.

Rebounding Report
Mizzou is averaging 43.3 rebounds per game, including a season-high 59 boards against Texas A&M. Freshman Evan Unrau recorded 20 rebounds in the game, including 11 offensive boards.

The Tigers are keeping their opponents to just 39.1 rebounds per contest for a +4.2 rebounding margin. Missouri owns a season mark against the Texas Longhorns with 33 defensive rebounds. The Tigers pulled down 26 offensive boards against Texas A&M for the season-high.

Assist Average
The Tigers have dished out 304 assists so far this season to average 16.9 assists per game to top their opponents who only average 12.0 assists per outing. In their first five games this season, the Tigers out assisted their opponents 94-42. Missouri recorded 26 assists against Eastern Illinois (11/17) and 24 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (12/30).

Block Breakdown
Missouri is topping the charts with 94 blocks on the year to average 4.9 blocks per game. MU's opponents have only knocked down 57 blocks this season. The Tigers have recorded 13 games in 2000-2001 with five or more blocks, including their season-high 12 blocks against Nebraska. Missouri has also knocked down six blocks against Pepperdine, Lipscomb, Illinois State, Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas State.

Colorado leads the conference with 96 blocked shots. Texas A&M is second with 95, while Missouri comes in third. In their match-ups against Texas A&M and Colorado, the Tigers bested both the Aggies (5-to-3) and Buffaloes (6-to-4).

Conference Season Highs
Missouri is currently tied for sixth in the Big 12 Conference with a 4-4 league record. Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma hold a three-way tie with 7-1 league records. Colorado is third with a 5-3 conference mark and Baylor is going 4-3. Texas is tied with MU. In Big 12 statistics, Missouri ranks in the Top 50 percent in 12 categories.

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

? Missouri had a season mark with 12 blocked shots against Nebraska to rank second in the league.

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

Tigers in the NCAA
Missouri is among the nation's leaders in several categories. In the most recent NCAA statistics released Jan. 28, Mizzou was ranked 16th in the nation with a 79.2 scoring average. The Tigers are 19th in scoring offense (78.4) and 25th in 3-point field goals made (6.3). Senior Amanda Lassiter is ranked sixth in the country averaging 2.8 blocked shots per game. She is 16th in overall scoring (20.5) and 28th in steals with 3.1 per game.

Victory Margin
The Tigers 96-43 win over Lipscomb tops the season as MU's largest margin of victory. The biggest margin an MU team has won by is 98 points versus Bethany College in 1977.

Mizzou has defeated seven teams this year by more than 20 points, including a 47-point triumph over Eastern Illinois and a 35-point win over Kentucky.

Missouri is repeating history opening the 2000-2001 season with seven 20+ wins. In 1999-2000, the Tigers also recorded seven victories scoring 20 or more points over their opponents.

Tigers vs. Ranked Opponents
Missouri's 13-point triumph over then No. 12 Texas was the largest winning margin over a ranked team since the 1995-96 season when the Tigers defeated No. 20 Kansas 86-66. In the last six seasons, Missouri has claimed seven victories over ranked opponents, all in the Hearnes Center.

Off the Bench
Missouri is relying heavily on the production of its bench this season. The MU bench corps has scored 393 of its 1,474 season points to average 20.6 points per game. In comparison, only 16.9 points per game were scored by the opponent's substitutions.

Mizzou in the Rankings
For the third week this season, the Tigers have received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. After defeating No. 12 Texas, Missouri received 18 votes from AP writers. After the Tigers' 90-98 loss to Colorado, MU dropped to four, but are back on the rise again with 13 tallies after their 65-60 come-back victory over Kansas State and 65-60 triumph over Nebraska.

The Tigers come in 40th in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index, which ranks teams according to strength of schedule versus that of their opponents. Missouri was 63rd at the beginning of the season, and climbed into the 35th slot after their one-point loss to ISU. Mizzou fell to 40th last week, but is back on the rise at 38th. There are seven Big 12 schools ranked in the Top 50.

Hitting the Three
The Tigers have shot 40 percent or above from 3-point range in 12 of their 18 games. Missouri hit a season-high 57 percent from the 3-point arc against San Diego State when the Tigers downed 8-of-14 attempts. Natalie Bright leads the Tigers from the 3-point arc shooting 44 percent (15-of-33). Tracy Franklin is shooting 39 percent hitting 26-of-67 attempts. Center Marlena Williams broke out of her inside game to sink three 3s against conference opponents. She is shooting 43 percent from the 3-point arc with 3-for-7.

Topping Ten
Four Tiger athletes routinely hit double figures, including Amanda Lassiter who is 19-for-19 and has yet to hit below 13-points in a game. She scored a career-high 31 points against San Diego State. Marlena Williams owns 14 double-digit games, including two 20-point games. She scored a career-high 24 points against Colorado and 20 points against Iowa State (1/31). Tracy Franklin has seven double figure games and freshman Evan Unrau posts six. Franklin and Unrau hit career-highs with 18 points against Eastern Illinois and No. 12 Texas, respectively.

Making the Grade
The Tiger women's basketball team is proving they can get it done on and off the court. Junior Christa Millham, an elementary education major, was one of 25 Missouri athletes to post an athletic department-high with a 3.82 grade point average for the 2000 fall semester. Joining Millham in the spotlight, seven other athletes were named to the Student-Athlete Dean's List: Kerensa Barr, Tracy Franklin, Amy Loftus, Tracy Lozier, Wendy Okeson, Evan Unrau and Terianne Wolford.

Tiger Cheering Section
The Missouri women's basketball program is on the rise and fans are taking notice. The Tigers began selling season tickets for the first time last year and recorded over 500 season purchases in 1999-2000. Midway through this season, Missouri has upped its season ticket numbers to over 800 holders. The Tigers average 1,663 fans to rank 47th in the nation in women's basketball attendance. Missouri has boosted its season high with each Big 12 Conference game. In the home opener against Texas, 2,422 fans populated the Hearnes Center for Toy Day. Missouri had its third-largest crowd of the year when 2,062 fans cheered on the Tigers in their win over Kansas State. Missouri hit a new season high against Iowa State Wednesday with 2,654 spectators.

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 take on five teams ranked in the Top 25 and three schools currently receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Polls. The Tigers face No. 7 Iowa State, No. 9 Texas Tech, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 20 Texas and No. 22 Baylor in Big 12 Conference action. MU also plays Arkansas (21), Colorado (18) and Houston (3).

In the Associated Press poll, Iowa State (8th), Oklahoma (10th), Texas Tech (12th), Baylor (20th), Texas (21st) and Colorado (23rd) represent the Big 12 Conference. Arkansas and Oklahoma State all join Missouri (13) receiving votes in the poll.

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 is scheduled to cover two Tiger home games, including the Kansas State (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.

Mizzou Sports Properties offered a similar package televising two home games and one from the road. MSP shot the Eastern Illinois and Saint Louis games in the Hearnes Center and the Iowa State game in Ames, Iowa.

Missouri on the Tube
The Tigers have had four games televised this season to post a 3-1 television record. Missouri defeated Eastern Illinois (106-59), Saint Louis (73-63) and Kansas State (65-60) and fell to Iowa State (68-67). The next televised game for MU is the Kansas game Sat., Feb. 10 at 3:00 p.m.