March 21, 2001

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East Regional Semifinal
The 10th-seeded Missouri Tigers (22-9) head to Pittsburgh, Penn., where they will take on the No.3 seeded Louisiana Tech in the East Regional semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament. Tipoff is set for 11:30 a.m., EST, Saturday. The winner of the game will advance to the final round, where it will play the winner of the No. 1 seeded Connecticut (30-2) vs. No. 4 seeded North Carolina State (22-10) game. The East Regional final is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m., Monday. The games are hosted by Duquesne University and will be played in Mellon Arena.

Radio 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.

Television Coverage
ESPN2 will broadcast the Missouri-Louisiana Tech game on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., EST. ESPN will pick up Monday's game featuring the winners of the MU-LaTech game versus the winner of the Connecticut-NC State game at 7:00 p.m. Please consult your local cable company for channel information in your area.

Missouri in the NCAA Tournament
Missouri heads to the Sweet Sixteen toting a 22-9 record?its best since the 1984-85 season when MU was also 22-9 as the Big Eight Conference and tournament champion.

The Tigers defeated No. 7 seeded Wisconsin (78-65) in the first round and upset No. 2 seeded Georgia (71-68) in the East Regional Quarterfinal. Missouri advances to the third round of NCAA Tournament play for the first time in MU history. MU played in the West Regional during the inaugural year of the NCAA Tournament in 1982. Only 32 teams played in the first round.

The Tigers last NCAA appearance was in 1994 where they were defeated 75-61 by Texas Tech in the first round. Missouri made five consecutive visits to the "Big Dance" from 1982-83. Mizzou owns two tournament victories over Oregon (59-53) in 1982 and Arkansas (66-65) in 1986.

The Tigers played in their first-ever Women's National Invitation Tournament last season. MU defeated Evansville 84-81 in the first round before it was knocked out in an 89-88 overtime heartbreaker against Arkansas.

Mizzou vs. Louisiana Tech
Missouri enters the NCAA Tournament backed with back-to-back victories over ranked opponents. The Tigers downed No. 25 ranked Wisconsin 71-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and upset No. 4 ranked Georgia 78-65 in the quarterfinal. Missouri waltzed its way to the "Big Dance" backed with a 10-6 record in the competitive Big 12 Conference. The Tigers went 1-1 in the Big 12 Tournament as the leagues' fifth seed?its highest season finish as a Big 12 school. MU trampled Texas A&M in the first round (75-65), but were knocked out of the tournament by No. 17/21 Colorado with an 83-72 second round loss.

No. 6 Louisiana Tech is 30-4 on the season with a 16-0 record in the Sun Belt Conference. The Lady Techsters finished the year as league champions for the ninth straight year and bested Western Kentucky (86-63), North Texas (74-57) and Denver (67-55) to dominate the conference tournament. LaTech trampled Georgia State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament crushing the Panthers 84-48. Louisiana Tech took the same momentum into the second round devastating TCU 80-59. LaTech averages 19.2 points over its opponents.

The Tigers will have to hit the boards hard to contend with the Lady Techsters. LaTech averages 44.3 rebounds, including 16 offensive boards per outing, while keeping its competitors to just 35.5 rebounds per contest. Missouri averages 40.8 rebounds per game.

Despite being out rebounded by both Wisconsin and Georgia, Missouri's up-tempo style and formidable full court press put the Tigers on top. MU has averaged 9.5 steals and just 14.5 turnovers per game during tournament play while forcing its opponents to 18.3 turnovers per contest.

Scouting the Lady Techsters
Ayana Walker leads LaTech with 16.1 points per game and is second on the team with 8.2 rebounds. She also tops the Lady Techsters with 87 blocks on the season. She was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and to the all-conference first team. Walker is one of 48 finalists for the Kodak All-America team.

Takeisha Lewis leads Louisiana Tech with 8.9 rebounds is second on the team with 11.1 points per game. She is shooting 55 percent from the floor netting 163-of-299 attempts. She also has 33 blocks on the year and 41 steals. She was named to the all-conference first team.

Brooke Lassiter leads the Lady Techsters on the floor. She has 171 assists this season and is second on the team with 56 steals. She averages 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest. She is shooting 39 percent from 3-point range downing 40-of-104 shots. She also leads the team shooting 91 percent from the foul line making 101-of-111 attempts. Lassiter was named to the All-Sun Belt first team.

Series Shorts
This is the first match-up between the Missouri and Louisiana Tech. The Tigers are 3-2 against the Sun Belt Conference.

Scouting No. 1 Connecticut
Defending national champions and No. 1 ranked/seeded Connecticut is 30-2 on the season. The Huskies only losses this year have come at the hands of No. 2 Notre Dame (92-76) and No. 3 Tennessee (92-88). Connecticut came back to defeat Notre Dame in the championship game of the Big East Tournament (78-76)?its eighth straight league tournament title.

Svetlana Abrosimova leads the Huskies averaging 14.1 points per game. The 6-2 freshman from St. Petersburg, Russia, averages 6.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 54 percent from the floor (100-of-186). She was named to the Big East all-conference first team.

Junior guard Swin Cash is second for Connecticut with 12.4 points. She leads the team averaging 7.3 rebounds, including 82 offensive boards to date. She also has 31 blocks on the year. Cash is shooting 56 percent from the field netting 150-of-269 attempts. Cash was an All-Big East second team selection.

Freshman forward Diana Taurasi averages 10.5 points per game and 3.0 rebounds. She has 27 blocks on the year and 98 assists. She is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 46 percent from the floor. Taurasi was named to the All-Big East Rookie Team.

Junior guard Sue Bird is the Huskies' floor leader. She has 157 season assists and 60 steals. She averages 10.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per outing. She also leads the team shooting 44 percent from 3-point range netting 62-of-156 attempts. Bird was an All-Big East first team selection.

Series Shorts
This is the first meeting between Missouri and Connecticut. The Tigers are 0-5 against Big East Conference opponents.

Scouting No. 4 North Carolina State
No. 18 ranked North Carolina State makes its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance toting a 22-10 record. The Wolf Pack finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 9-7 league record. NC State was the ACC Tournament runner-up, falling to Duke 57-45. All 10 of North Carolina State's losses this season have come at the hands of ranked opponents.

Carisse Moody leads the Pack with 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The sophomore forward is shooting 52 percent from the field netting 182-of-350 attempts. Moody was selected as an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. She was also named to the ACC all-conference second team and all-tournament first team.

Junior Tynesha Lewis is second on the team with 13.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing. She leads NC State with 17 blocks, 97 assists and 50 steals. Lewis was a second team All-ACC pick.

Guard Ivy Gardner is third for the Wolf Pack with 8.1 points per game. She averages 3.8 rebounds and is second on the team with 14 blocks. She is shooting 48 percent from the floor netting 91-of-189 attempts.

Series Shorts
Missouri is 0-1 against North Carolina State. The Wolf Pack defeated the Tigers 70-64 in the AIAW Satellite III Championship during the 1977-78 season. MU is 2-4 against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Last Time Out: MU 71, UGA 68

By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATHENS, Ga. - Amanda Lassiter scored 22 points and 10th-seeded Missouri upset the second-seeded Lady Bulldogs 78-65 in the second round of the NCAA East Regional.

Missouri (22-9) snapped Georgia's 24-game winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum and became the first road team to win an NCAA game at Athens since 1990.

The Lady Bulldogs were beaten in the regional final a year ago and then watched Missouri pull away in the second half to hand Georgia the most surprising NCAA loss in school history.

Missouri moved on to the regional semifinals at Pittsburgh, advancing to the third round for the first time in school history.

"We came in confident, knowing we could compete with Georgia," Lassiter said. "We didn't want to seem timid. We wanted to get them out of their comfort zone and control the tempo."

Lassiter hit four 3-pointers and had seven rebounds and six steals. Marlena Williams added 19 points for the Tigers, who until this year had not won an NCAA game since 1986.

Missouri led 35-33 at the half and slowly pulled away to a 57-44 lead on Evan Unrau's basket with 8:51 remaining. Georgia cut the deficit to 57-52, but Williams converted a three-point play after Lassiter stole an outlet pass off a rebound.

Lassiter followed with a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double figures and the Lady Bulldogs never got closer than eight points.

Until this year, Georgia's most shocking home tournament defeat came 11 years ago to seventh-seeded Arkansas. Overall, the Bulldogs have lost only three times in 23 NCAA games at Stegeman Coliseum.

Missouri beat the Lady Bulldogs at their own game, forcing 19 turnovers to set up 23 points. The Tigers did a good job of handling Georgia's high-intensity, man-to-man defense. After running and gunning in the first half, Missouri slowed the pace over the final 20 minutes.

The Tigers repeatedly fooled Georgia with inbound plays and feeds inside. Missouri was also strong on the boards, collecting 14 offensive rebounds to set up 14 points.

Last Time Out: MU 78, UW 65
When Dante wrote the Divine Comedy outlining the Seven Deadly Sins, there surly must have been an exemption for the University of Missouri women's basketball team. "We're greedy and we want to win a lot," MU head coach Cindy Stein says. Despite admitting to a philosophical downfall, the only lightning that struck Stegeman Coliseum tonight was an electric jolt from the Mizzou bench. The No. 10 seeded Tigers upset No. 7 Wisconsin 71-68 in the NCAA East Sub Region First Round.

Missouri didn't waste any time testing the waters before jumping into its pressure defense. The Tigers opened the game with four offensive and two defensive rebounds. All-Big 12 first team selection Amanda Lassiter jumpstarted Mizzou on the scoreboard downing a 3-pointer to kick off a frenzy from behind the arc. MU scored its first nine points in the game with two more back-to-back threes from point guard Kerensa Barr and Lassiter.

Defensive jitters slowed up Missouri's game allowing the Badgers to build on a seven-point run to lead 13-9. Lassiter fought back posting up two points, but was unable to start a Tiger rally as Wisconsin recorded six more unanswered points to lead 21-11 at the 11:20 mark. Missouri rebuilt its composure to bring the score within five as the Tigers continued to dominate from behind the arc scoring 18 of their 32 first half points from 3-point range. Despite shooting 45 percent from the periphery, Missouri found itself with a six-point deficit (32-38) heading into intermission.

Reentering the second half, Missouri initiated an onslaught scoring six unanswered points and taking a one-point lead, 38-37. Just as Mizzou began boosting its characteristic second half comeback, Lassiter committed her fourth personal foul and was sidelined with 18:45 left in the game. Fellow senior Marlena Williams didn't waste any time filling the void as she sparked Missouri's scoring with seven back-to-back points. Despite the charge, the Tigers allowed Wisconsin to build another eight-point lead. Lassiter reentered the game with six minutes left to help the Tigers with a strong defensive presence. Missouri capitalized with an eight-point run to lead the game 71-68 with 23 seconds left. Fighting through the end, Williams captured a steal and put in two from the charity stripe to help Missouri to its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1986.

Despite playing just 20 minutes in the game, Lassiter led Mizzou with 20 points. She was 8-of-21 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. She also had two blocks in the game. Williams was second on the team with 16 points?her fifth straight scoring in double figures. She pulled down six rebounds and had a perfect game from the free throw line hitting 4-of-4. Barr was third with 13 points, led the team with five assists and posted a season-high with six steals. Junior Natalie Bright played some valuable minutes off the bench contributing a solid defensive effort and scoring nine points. She also dished out five assists and two steals. Freshman Evan Unrau pulled down six rebounds and had two blocks.

Post Season Honors
Missouri has enjoyed quite a bit of success in Cindy Stein's third year as head coach, and the accolades are beginning to flow.

_ Senior Amanda Lassiter was named to the All-Big 12 first team and to the Women's Basketball News Service's College AA fourth team.

_ Senior Marlena Williams was an honorable mention All-Big 12 player.

_ Three Tigers were named to the academic All-Big 12 first team. Kerensa Barr, Natalie Bright and Christa Millham each posted a grade point average above 3.2 for the honors.

In the Record Books
_ Senior Amanda Lassiter has set another Missouri record netting 63 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 180 (previously set by Stacy Williams with 100 in 1991-92). She ranks third in MU record books with 90 career 3-pointers.

_ Missouri set a new single-game attendance record when 10,126 fans came out to support the Tigers against Kansas. The mark tops MU's record set last season when 6,227 fans cheered for Mizzou against Oklahoma.

_ The Tigers tied a single-game team record for 3-point field goals made for the second time this season with 11 against Kansas. The mark tops their previous record when they knocked down 10-of-25 shot from 3-point range against Iowa State.

_ The Tigers set a season single-game team record with 12 blocked shots against Nebraska. The standing record was set in 1983-84 when Missouri had 14 blocked shots against Iowa State.

_ Senior Tracy Franklin looks to set a new record in 3-point field goal percentage this season. She is shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. She has netted 47-of-114 3-point attempts this year and ranks eighth in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage. The record is held by Sandi Prophete who shot 41 percent (13-31) during the 1987-88 season.

_ Missouri set a single-season team record netting 173 3-point field goals this season. The previous record was set in 1996-97 with 70 3-pointers made. Likewise, the Tigers topped the season-record for 3-pointers attempted with 485 besting the previous record of 228 also in 1996-97.

Looking at Lassiter
Senior Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 19.1 points and is second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game. Lassiter has scored in double-digits in 30-of-31 games this season including a career-high with 31 points against San Diego State--her second +30-point game of her career. She owns 17 games scoring 20-or-more points including 10-of-17 conference games. She led the Tigers with 20 points against No. 25 Wisconsin and 22 points against No. 4 ranked Georgia during the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds, respectively.

The forward is second on the team with 194 rebounds, including a team-high 148 defensive boards. She also tops the Tigers with 98 steals to post a Mizzou season record book. She is seventh with 184 career steals. She is also second on the team with 75 assists on the year.

Blocking Report
Lassiter has 64 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 (133) to top Nikki Smith who had 125 blocks from 1992-95.

Her 2000-2001 season mark also ranks second in season-blocked shots, just four away from her record high. Lassiter is the only athlete appearing in the Top 10 who has played under three years. She is averaging 2.2 blocks per game.

In the NCAA
Lassiter continues to top the charts as one of the country's finest players. According to the latest NCAA statistics released March 5, the senior is ranked 11th in the nation in blocked shots, is 22nd in overall scoring and 22nd in steals.

Watching Williams
Center/forward Marlena Williams is rounding out her collegiate career with a vengeance. The senior spearheaded the Tigers' come-from-behind victory against No. 25 Wisconsin to help MU advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She scored seven back-to-back points to boost Mizzou. She scored 16 points in the game grabbing six rebounds and two steals. Williams scored 19 points, pulled down eight rebounds and had two blocks and a pair of steals in MU's 78-65 victory over No. 4 ranked Georgia.

In the Tigers' game against Baylor, she scored a career-high 34 points to lead the team. It is the first +30 point game for the senior. She was 12-for-21 from the floor including 2-for-4 from 3-point range. She also had a perfect game at the foul line hitting 8-of-8. Williams had five rebounds, two blocks and three steals against the Bears.

In four other league games this year she has posted season highs in points and rebounds. She scored her previous 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, Williams led the team with 20 points to record her third highest career mark. She scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds against Texas A&M and had season-highs with eight rebounds and five steals against Texas.

Williams led the Tigers in their Big 12 Tournament victory over TA&M with 18 points. She also pulled down nine rebounds in the game and led the team with four assists. In Mizzou's second round game, she led the team with 14 points shooting 6-of-11 from the floor with four rebounds and two steals.

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. Against Kansas, Williams scored six of the last 11 overtime points to help the Tigers defeat the Jayhawks 89-84.

Williams scored in double figures in 11-of-17 conference games, including two +20 point games against Colorado and Iowa State. She has 23 double-digit games on the year. Williams is second on the team averaging 13.2 points per game.

Unrau Update
Evan Unrau has scored in double figures in eight games, including her career- high 18 points against then No. 12 ranked Texas, hitting 8-of-10 from the field. She scored 16 points against Wisconsin-Milwaukee shooting 6-for-7 from the floor 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. Against No. 25 ranked Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Unrau had six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

Unrau leads the Tigers shooting 57 percent from the field netting 100-of-176 attempts. The freshman has 14 games on the season shooting 60 percent or above, including perfect games against Eastern Illinois and Kansas (4-for-4). Unrau was 7-of-8 against Southern Illinois and 6-for-7 against Kansas (2/24). She also owns six 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 came back to top the Aggies in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament with 11 rebounds. She also led the team with nine boards against Colorado in the second round. Unrau pulled down 11 rebounds against No. 4 ranked Georgia in the NCAA Tournament second round game. Unrau leads the Tigers with 91 offensive and 227 total rebounds on the season. She has eight double figure rebound games to date and tops the charts averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.

Barr Brief
Starting point guard Kerensa Barr had a season-high six steals against No. 25 ranked Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She scored 13 points against the Badger hitting 5-for-9 from the field. She also pulled down five rebounds and had five assists. Against No. 2 ranked Georgia, Barr helped the Tigers with 12 points shooting 8-of-10 from the foul line. She also had four assists and three steals in the game.

Barr recorded her sixth double-digit game of the season and her second back-to-back scoring career-high points. Against Nebraska (2/13), she set a career mark with 17 to top her previous high of 13 points scored against Kansas (2/10). Barr had three consecutive games in double figures as she also scored 15 points against Baylor. She also hit her career-high with nine rebounds against the Bears. Barr scored 11 points against Kansas State (1/20) and had seven rebounds against the Wildcats. Barr was second on the team scoring 14 points against Colorado (2/28). She dished out six assists and pulled down eight rebounds.

In the Big 12 Tournament, Barr scored 13 points against Texas A&M, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the foul line. She also had eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in the game. Against Colorado, she scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds and five assists.

The sophomore leads the Tigers with 145 assists on the year. Barr is ranked fourth in Missouri's all-time season assists charts (Amy Fordham is third with 148 assists during the 1993-94 season). Barr averages 4.7 assists per game and hit her season-high with nine against No. 7 Iowa State (1/17). She has 244 career assists to date.

Barr is fifth on the team averaging 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 65 offensive rebounds and 67 steals.

Franklin Forecast
Guard Tracy Franklin was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 12-18. She led the Tigers to a come-from-behind victory over Kansas with a career-high 24 points, topping her previous career-high of 18 points against Eastern Illinois earlier in the year. The 5-10 senior guard shot 58 percent from the field, netting 7-of-12 shots in the game including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Against Kansas State, Franklin scored 15 points while playing 37 minutes without a single turnover.

Franklin also hit season marks against Southern Illinois pulling down 11 rebounds and grabbing nine steals. In conference play, she 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 was second on the team with 11 points against then No. 10 Oklahoma and 15 points vs. KSU.

Franklin is third on the team averaging 9.3 points per game. She has 12 games on the year scoring in double figures. She tops the charts hitting 47-of-114 shots from 3-point range to lead the team shooting 41 percent from behind the arc. 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. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, she scored nine points against No. 25 ranked Wisconsin hitting 4-of-8 from the field and dishing out five assists. She also helped the Tigers advance to the Sweet Sixteen scoring 12 points against No. 4 ranked Georgia. She shot 66 percent from the floor and 3-of-4 from the foul line.

In the second round of the Big 12 Tournament, she was second on the team scoring13 points. She was 4-of-9 from the field, including two 3-pointers. Against Iowa State (1/17) the junior rejuvenated the team's efforts hitting two key 3-pointers. She scored eight points and had two steals. Against Texas, she again revamped the Tigers with five points and three rebounds in 14 minutes of play.

Bright is shooting 44 percent from the field overall and 39 percent from 3-point range (20-of-51). She averages 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Tigers in the Big 12
Mizzou finished the season ranked fifth above No. 24 ranked Baylor and No. 22 ranked Texas in league standings, that finished sixth and seventh respectively.

The Tigers are coming off a record setting season. In their last victory over No. 17/21 ranked Colorado, Mizzou recorded its best conference record in a decade as a member of both the Big 12 and Big Eight conferences. Missouri's 10-6 conference mark is its first winning record as a member of the Big 12.

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

_ Missouri had a season mark with 12 blocked shots against Nebraska. It is the second best total in a single game this year.

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

Home Stand
Missouri finished the 2000-2001 season going 11-1 on their home court, including wins over two ranked teams in then No. 12 Texas and No. 17/21 Colorado. It is the most wins MU has recorded in the Hearnes Center since 1982-83 when Mizzou posted an 11-0 mark and finished second in the Big Eight Conference.

Sweeping the Field
The Tigers swept Kansas, Nebraska and Kansas State during regular season conference play. It is the first time MU has swept KU since 1985-86, the first time it has swept Nebraska since 1989-90 and the first time it has swept Kansas State since 1992-93.

The last time Missouri had a three-team conference sweep was the 1989-90 season when the Tigers topped Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma as a member of the Big Eight Conference.

Burning Down the House
Missouri blazed into Lawrence, Kan., to defeat the Jayhawks 69-55. It was the first time the Tigers have won in Allen Fieldhouse since 1989. Likewise, MU's victory over Nebraska in the Bob Devaney Center is the first game the Tigers have won in Lincoln, Neb., since 1990.

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).

Rebounding Report
Mizzou is averaging 40.8 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 39.1 rebounds per contest for a +1.7 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 491 assists so far this season to average 15.8 assists per game to top their opponents who only average 12.7 assists per outing. In their first five games this season, the Tigers out assisted their opponents 94-42. Missouri recorded a season-high 26 assists against Eastern Illinois (11/17).

Block Breakdown
Missouri is topping the charts with 126 blocks on the year to average 4.1 blocks per game. MU's opponents have only knocked down 96 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. MU recorded seven blocks against No. 25 ranked Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Missouri has also knocked down six blocks against Pepperdine, Lipscomb, Illinois State, Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas State.

Colorado finished the Big 12 Conference season with 156 blocked shots, Texas A&M was second with 119 and Missouri finished third. In their match-up against Texas A&M and their first game against Colorado, the Tigers bested both the Aggies (5-to-3) and Buffaloes (6-to-4).

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. The Tigers recorded their largest margin of victory over a Big 12 opponent when they trampled Nebraska 83-55 for a 28-point win. Missouri also posted its largest margin of victory during NCAA Tournament play with its 78-65 win over No. 2 seeded Georgia for a 13-point win.

Mizzou in the Rankings
For seven weeks this season, the Tigers received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. After defeating No. 12 Texas, Missouri received 18 votes from AP writers?its highest number of votes on the year. The Tigers enter the NCAA first round with 10 votes in the AP Poll.

The Tigers come in 42nd 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, its highest rank this year, after its one-point loss to ISU.

Tigers vs. Ranked Opponents
Missouri's 13-point triumph over No. 4 ranked Georgia with 13-points in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was the largest winning margin over a ranked team since the 1995-96 season when the Tigers defeated No. 20 Kansas 86-66. It was a monumental victory being the first tournament loss the Bulldogs had recorded since 1990 when they fell to Arkansas 81-70 in the second round. The victory snapped a 24-game home win streak for Georgia.

Missouri also topped then No. 12 Texas with 13-points and defeated No. 17/22 ranked Colorado in their final home game of the season.

In the last six seasons, Missouri has claimed ten victories over ranked opponents--eight in the Hearnes Center. The Tigers have defeated four ranked teams this season including No. 25 Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament first round.

Hitting the Three
The Tigers have shot 40 percent or above from 3-point range in 14 of their 29 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. Missouri shot 50 percent from the arc against Kansas setting a new MU record with 11 field goals made (22 attempted). Tracy Franklin leads the team shooting 41 percent from 3-point range (47-of-114). Natalie Bright is second for Tigers shooting 39 percent (20-of-51). Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 63 3-point field goals made and 180 shots attempted (35 percent).

Topping Ten
Four Tiger athletes routinely hit double figures, including Amanda Lassiter who is 30-for-31. She scored a career-high 31 points against San Diego State. Marlena Williams owns 23 double-digit games, including two +20-point and one +30-point games. She scored a career-high 34 points against Baylor, scored 24 points against Colorado and 20 points against Iowa State (1/31). Tracy Franklin has 12 double figure games and freshman Evan Unrau posts eight. Franklin and Unrau hit career-highs with 24 points against Kansas and 18 points against then 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 2,424 fans to rank 35th in the nation in women's basketball attendance.

Missouri has boosted its season high during Big 12 Conference play. 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.

Mizzou set a school record against Kansas when 10,126 fans cheered the Tigers to an overtime victory over the Jayhawks. The previous record was set at 6,227 last year against Oklahoma. The record is the nation's 47th largest crowd attending an NCAA Division I women's basketball game this season.