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Feb. 6, 2001

Up Next
The University of Missouri women's basketball team faces Kansas State for the second time this season in Manhattan, Kan., this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., in Bramlage Coliseum. The Tigers return from Manhattan to play Kansas Sat., Feb. 10 at 3:00 p.m., in the Hearnes Center. Missouri is looking to make history by packing the arena to capacity against the Jayhawks.

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.

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 12,000 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 are asked to call the Missouri Group Sales Office at (573) 882-0710. Come out and help the Tigers pack the house.

Missouri vs. Kansas State
Missouri (13-7) continues Big 12 Conference action after facing back-to-back ranked opponents. The Tigers are coming off losses to No. 10 Oklahoma (82-62) and No. 7 Iowa State (73-63). In conference play, Missouri is 4-5 taking four losses to Top 15 competitors. 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 have defeated one ranked team in then No. 12 Texas (68-52).

Kansas State is 11-9 overall with a 1-8 conference record. The Wildcats' only Big 12 victory is over Texas (72-63).

Much of the Missouri-Kansas State game will depend upon rebounding. The Tigers average 42.5 boards, including 15.9 offensive rebounds per contest. The Wildcats only average 34.4 rebounds per game. Mizzou is third in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds and fifth in defensive. Kansas State is 12th in the conference averaging 11.1 offensive boards and 23.35 defensive rebounds per game.

Another factor playing heavily will be the 3-point shot. K-State has four players on its roster shooting 35 percent and above from 3-point range. The Wildcats shoot 40 percent as a team and are tied for second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage.

Missouri has greatly improved its turnover ratio during Big 12 play. MU forced 20 Iowa State turnovers while giving up just eight in its last meeting. 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 turnovers. In Big 12 games, MU is sixth in the league averaging a 0.89 assist to turnover ratio. The Tigers are also fifth with a +1.78 turnover margin. Missouri averages 19.1 points per game from opponent turnovers.

Scouting the Wildcats
Kansas State has three athletes that average in double figures. Freshman Nicole Ohlde leads the Wildcats with 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She is shooting 49 percent from the field and 66 percent from the free throw line. Ohlde is seventh in the Big 12 in overall scoring and fifth in rebounding. In conference games, Ohlde is averaging 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest.

Kristen Rethman is second on the K-State squad with 12.1 points. She averages 4.6 rebounds and leads the team shooting 85 percent from the foul line. Rethman is second on the team with 61 assists. Kim Woodlee helps the Wildcats with 11.9 points per game. She is shooting 43 percent from 3-point range sinking 62-of-144 attempts. She leads the Big 12 with 3.10 3-pointers per game and is seventh in 3-point field goal percentage. In the last MU-KSU match-up, Woodlee led the Wildcats with 18 points, all scored from 3-point range. Guard Shalondra Booker is the Wildcat floor leader. She has 82 assists this season, 49 steals and six blocks. She averages 5.1 points and 2.6 rebound per game.

Last season, Kansas State finished 13-17 with a 6-10 record in the Big 12 Conference. The Wildcats were knocked out of the conference tournament in the first round by Oklahoma State (67-59). K-State finished eighth in league rankings. Deb Patterson is in her fifth season as head coach of the Wildcats (70-69).

Series Shorts
Missouri leads the MU-KSU series 30-27. The rivalry began in 1976 in Big Eight Conference pairings. Over the last 25 years, the two teams have had a topsy-turvy history. Kansas State won four of the first five outings and later went on a six-game win streak to carry the series from 1980-87. The Tigers came back to even the score 14-14 in 1988. Since that time, the series has gone back and forth. Missouri took over the lead 29-27 last year with back-to-back wins. MU increased its lead with a 65-60 come-from-behind victory over KSU earlier this season. MU has won 17 of 23 games played in the Hearnes Center. The Tigers are 8-13 in Bramlage Coliseum.

Last Time Against Kansas State
Missouri advanced to 12-5 with a 3-3 Big 12 Conference record following a 65-60 come back victory over Kansas State. The win extended the Tigers' home win streak to seven games on the season to mark their best home stand since 1987-88 when Mizzou won all nine of its home games. The loss droped K-State to 11-6 and 1-5 in league play.

The game was a struggle for the Tigers from the tip. K-State put itself on the board with a 3-pointer by Kim Woodlee--a shot that would prove troublesome for Missouri throughout the game. The Wildcats led through the entire first half taking its largest eight-point lead in the 12th minute. Missouri came back on a six-point run, but were unable to catch K-State in the first period.

Despite hitting only 33 percent in the first half, senior Amanda Lassiter scored 10 points. She also recorded a pair of assists, blocks and steals. Woodlee led Kansas State with 12 points making four 3-pointers.

The second half started off much like the first, with Kansas State pushing its lead and Missouri looking to catch up. The Tigers got tired of the race, however, and turned up the volume to go on a nine-point run and take their first lead in the game, 56-55, at 3:58. Senior Marlena Williams ignited Mizzou's rally. She had four-points, two rebounds and an assist within a two-minute span to spark the Tigers. Heavy rebounding and solid defensive play by Mizzou put MU over the top for a hard fought 65-60 triumph.

Missouri had three players score in double digits. Lassiter led the team with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore guard Kerensa Barr scored 11 points, pulled down seven rebounds and recorded a career-high two blocks in the game. Williams scored 10 points overall with six rebounds and three assists and sophomore Wannette Smith played 19 minutes and scored eight points shooting 67 percent from the field netting 4-of-6.

Missouri Falls to Oklahoma
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - LaNeishea Caufield scored 20 of her 28 points in the second half as No. 10 Oklahoma capitalized on 27 turnovers and beat Missouri 82-62 Saturday.

Stacey Dales added 11 points and nine assists for the Sooners (17-4, 8-1). Caton Hill had 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Tracy Franklin's 11 points led Missouri (13-7, 4-5). Amanda Lassiter scored just nine points, well below her season average of 20.

Oklahoma's 39 percent shooting in the first half allowed the Tigers to stay in contention.

Christa Millham's jumper off an inbound play gave Missouri a 25-23 lead with 7:41 left in the first half.

Oklahoma went on a 15-4 run and took a 38-29 lead with 42 seconds left after Desiree Taylor converted one of two free throws.

Missouri scored five points in the last 30 seconds of the first half to cut Oklahoma's lead to 38-34 at the break

Sunny Hardeman's 3-pointer at the start of the second half gave the Sooners a 41-34 lead and Caufield carried Oklahoma the rest of the way.

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 121 (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 19.9 points and is second on the team with 7.2 rebounds per game. Lassiter has scored in double digits in 19-of-20 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 6-of-9 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 143 rebounds, including a team-high 112 defensive boards. She also tops the Tigers with 61 steals and is second with 52 assists.

Blocking Report
Lassiter has 56 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. She moves up as Missouri's third all-time blocker (125) to tie with Nikki Smith (1992-95). Her season mark also ties for third in season-blocked shots with Mary Brueggestrass (1984-85). 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-10 games, including two +20 point games against Colorado and Iowa State. She has also scored in double figures in 6-of-9 conference games. Williams is second on the team averaging 12.2 points per game. She also has 11 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 56.8 percent from the field netting 67-of-118 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 60 offensive and 148 total rebounds on the season. She also tops the charts averaging 7.4 rebounds per game.

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 99 assists on the year. She averages 4.95 assists per game and hit her season-high with nine against No. 7 Iowa State (1/17).

Barr is fifth on the team averaging 6.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 41 offensive rebounds and 32 steals. The sophomore tops the Big 12 Conference with a 1.84 assist/turnover ratio.

Franklin Forecast
Guard Tracy Franklin scored a career-high 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. The senior led Missouri against No. 10 Oklahoma scoring 11 points.

Franklin is third on the team averaging 9.4 points per game. She tops the charts hitting 29-of-73 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.

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 boards against the Cyclones.

Bright is shooting 44 percent from the field overall and from 3-point range. She averages 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. She also has 47 assists on the season and five blocks.

Tigers Got Game
Missouri (13-7) are halfway through Big 12 Conference toting a 4-5 record. The Tigers got off to its best 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 four of its conference losses on the road, falling to Texas Tech (82-64) in Lubbock, Colorado (98-90) in Boulder, Iowa State (68-67) in Ames and Oklahoma (82-62) in Norman. The Tigers' only home loss this season was to Iowa State, 73-63 (1/31).

Mizzou averages 76.8 points per game with a +10.3 scoring margin.

Rebounding Report
Mizzou is averaging 42.5 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 39.7 rebounds per contest for a +2.8 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 323 assists so far this season to average 16.2 assists per game to top their opponents who only average 12.4 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 98 blocks on the year to average 4.9 blocks per game. MU's opponents have only knocked down 58 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 105 blocked shots, Texas A&M is second with 100 and 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 fifth in the Big 12 Conference with a 4-5 league record. Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma hold a three-way tie with 8-1 conference records. Colorado is third with a 6-3 league mark. MU is tied with Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma State. In Big 12 statistics, Missouri ranks in the Top 50 percent in 11 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 this 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 412 of its 1,536 season points to average 21.6 points per game. In comparison, only 17.5 points per game were scored by the opponent's substitutions.

Mizzou in the Rankings
For the fourth 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. Following their come-back victory over Kansas State and 65-60 triumph over Nebraska, the Tigers received 13 votes. With losses to two ranked teams, MU makes the Top 50 with two votes.

The Tigers come in 41st 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. 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 20 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-34). Tracy Franklin is shooting 39 percent hitting 29-of-73 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-20. 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 eight 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 (1/31) 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. 10 Texas Tech, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 20 Texas and No. 24 Colorado in Big 12 Conference action. MU also plays Baylor (34), Arkansas (8), Illinois (5) and Pepperdine (4).

In the Associated Press poll, Iowa State (9th), Oklahoma (10th), Texas Tech (11th) and Texas (21st) represent the Big 12 Conference. Arkansas and Oklahoma State all join Missouri (2) receiving votes in the poll.