University of Missouri
Texas A&M
Missouri Takes Texas A&M, 69-61
1/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2001
Columbia, Mo.--Contain, contest and box were the Missouri women's basketball team's goals coming in against Texas A&M tonight. Pulling down 59 rebounds, including a season high 26 offensive boards, the Tigers accomplished the task. Missouri took Texas A&M to a 69-61 loss to boost its season record to 11-3 with a 2-1 Big 12 Conference mark. The loss drops the Aggies to 11-3 and 1-2 in league play. The win also extends the Tigers home win streak to six on the year.
Evan Unrau, a 6-2 freshman forward, led the Tigers with a career high 20 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards. She is the first Mizzou player to pull down 20 rebounds in a single game since the 1998 season when Kesha Bonds had 23 against Colorado.
The Tigers took off to a strong start posting the first five points in the game. Missouri quickly ran up the score to lead 14-3 in the 15th minute. The Aggies fought back, bolstered by a six-point run led by forward Jaynetta Saunders (22 points). But before Mizzou could be overtaken, Unrau helped rebuild the Tigers lead scoring six in an eight-point run. Texas A&M continued to chisel away at MU's lead however, bringing the score within six-points to leave the half 37-31.
Tracy Franklin and Marlena Williams helped Missouri jump back into the second period with an eight-point run. The seniors alternated jumpers to boost the Tigers to 48-35. The rest of the game continued with a sporadic overtone as each team hit mini-runs to finish out the game. The Tigers carried a 10-point lead through the last six minutes of play before the Aggies were able to score four points to edge the final 69-61.
Both teams struggled to post points, the Tigers shot just 35 percent from the field while the Aggies hit 36. Despite the low score, Missouri had a season best giving up just 14 turnovers in the game.
Unrau hit a double-double in the first half with 12 rebounds and 13 points. She scored 16 points overall, including six points from offensive rebounds. She also tied her career record with three steals. This marks the fourth double-double game for the freshman and her sixth in double figure scoring.
Adding to the Tiger's victory, Williams led the team with 17 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. Both figures fall just one point/board shy of her season marks. Senior Amanda Lassiter hit her 14th double-digit game scoring 14 points. She also had six rebounds and three blocks.
"I was very discouraged because we are so much better than that, but I'm also encouraged that we can play that bad and win," MU head coach Cindy Stein says. "I think it's one of those things where you just have to play through it. We've got to look at how we're practicing. I mean, that looked like yesterday's practice. It's a direct correlation, they need to understand that, and we need to work on it. We aren't going to win many games playing like that."
More Quotes by Stein...
"Our goal right now is to just get better. Keep our heads up because we did win and we've got to be excited about that and we're back on track. We start off so well, our kids kind of get complacent and for good reason. They were controlling things, hitting their shots and playing pretty good defense. We've still got to keep adjusting throughout the game because they're (the opponent) is going to do something different and we've got to adjust to that."
"The key for us is that we didn't shoot well. When we shoot well things usually go a little bit better. Our problem was that we didn't hit the shots, so we tightened up a little bit, we got sloppy and we got hesitant. But, those things are curable."
"The rebounding was the key, Evan Unrau kept us in this game, and it kept us alive. I think she had a great day. She is a very grounded young lady who could be one of the best to ever play at Missouri."
