Nov. 27, 2001
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team will compete in this weekend's Unilever Lady Tiger Tournament at the Hearnes Center.
Friday's semifinal pairings are:
*Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Southeast Missouri, 6 p.m.
*Southeastern Louisiana vs. Missouri, 8 p.m.
Saturday's Games
*Consolation, 6 p.m.
*Championship, 8 p.m.
Broadcast: Both of Missouri's games will be on the Tiger Radio Network and can be heard on KFRU (1400 AM) and KLIK (1240 AM). The games can also be heard on www.mutigers.com.
The Foe: The Lady Lions of Southeastern Louisiana enter the week with a 1-1 record. Southeastern Louisiana, a member of the Southland Conference, plays Saint Louis Wednesday before facing the Tigers.
Tamika Williams leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game. Head coach Frank Schneider is in his 17th season at Southeastern Louisiana with a 212-231 record.
Possible Foes: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is 3-1 so far this season and plays Denver Tuesday night. Head coach Sheryl Estes is in her third season with a 33-24 record. The Islanders, who are not affiliated with a conference, are led in scoring by Kristin Rogers and her average of 16.8 points per game.
Southeast Missouri also is 3-1 heading into this week's action. Southeast Missouri faces Lipscomb Tuesday night. The Otahkians, members of the Ohio Valley Conference, are coached by Ed Arnzen who has a 327-191 record in 19 seasons. Junior forward Lori Chase averages 20.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
The Series: Missouri has not previously faced Southeastern Louisiana or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Missouri has met Southeast Missouri 12 times and MU holds an 11-1 edge.
MU's Last Time Out: Missouri opened Sunday's game against Davidson with a 16-0 run and never looked back as the Tigers rolled to an 101-63 victory at the Duke Classic. Kerensa Barr made a school-record 17 free throws on her way to a game-high 23 points. Barr sank her last 15 free throws to set the record. Evan Unrau had her fifth career double-double as she scored 17 points to go with 10 rebounds while Melanie Fisher had her first double-double, scoring 14 points and snaring 10 rebounds. Barr's performance from the free-throw line snapped the previous mark of 16 made free throws by Erika Martin against Kansas on Feb. 4, 1996. In the second half, Davidson made a run at Missouri and made it 64-53 with 11:41 to play but the Wildcats would only score two more field goals after that point. Missouri used a 15-0 run over the next five minutes to make it 79-53 and put the game out of reach for Davidson.
News and Notes on the Tigers: Terianne Wolford tied her career high with 14 points. Wolford also scored 14 points against Lipscomb in the 2000 Unilever Lady Tiger Tournament. Kerensa Barr set the Missouri all-time record for free throws made in a game as she sank 17 against Davidson. Barr's mark broke the previous record of 16 by Erika Martin against Kansas on Feb. 4, 1996. Barr finished the game by making her last 15 attempts. Speaking of free throws, Missouri had made 13 consecutive free throws in the past two games before being called for a lane violation. Evan Unrau had her fifth career double-double (17 points/10 rebounds) while Melanie Fisher had her first (14 points/10 rebounds). Fisher's 10 rebounds are a career-high mark. Missouri made a season-best 32 free throws in the win over Davidson. Missouri's school record is 38 against Jackson State on Dec. 28, 1994. The game against Davidson was Missouri's first one in which the winning team scored the game's first basket. Melanie Fisher scored on an offensive rebound to give MU a quick 2-0 lead.
100 and counting: MU scored 100 or more points for the third time under head coach Cindy Stein and 32nd time in school history. Missouri is 3-0 under Stein when topping the century mark and 31-1 overall.
Season-Opening Games: Missouri improved to 21-7 when opening the season by recording the 67-48 victory over UMKC. The Tigers are now 7-2 when playing the first game of the season on the road. MU won its last road opener by a 92-49 decision at Bradley on Nov. 20, 1999. Under head coach Cindy Stein, Missouri is 4-0 in season openers. The Tigers have won their last six games to open a season and 13 of their last 14 contests.
Home Openers: Missouri is now 21-7 in home openers. The Tigers have won their past two home openers and five of their last six contests to begin the season.
The Firsts of the Season: Wannette Smith scored the Tigers' first points of the season off an in-bounds play. Kerensa Barr got the assist ... Barr sank the team's first 3-point field goal.
Free Throws: Missouri has been successful at the foul line this season. After making 23-of-28 attempts in the win over UMKC, the Tigers sank 24-of-31 free throws against SMS. Missouri was 32-of-41 from the free-throw line against Davidson. MU made only 7-of-8 foul shots in its loss to South Carolina.
Missouri Head Coach: Cindy Stein is in her fourth season at the helm of the Tigers. She has a mark of 56-38 with Missouri and is 121-63 in seven seasons as a head coach. Stein is assisted this season by: associate head coach Betsy Yonkman, assistant coach Tanya Warren and assistant coach Edith Thompson. Former Missouri standouts Amanda Lassiter, Marlena "Pep" Williams and Tracy Franklin are serving as student assistants.
Career leaders: Kerensa Barr and Natalie Bright continue to make an impact on the Tigers' all-time career charts. Barr has made 32 3-point field goals in her career to rank seventh all-time at Missouri while Bright has made 60 to rank sixth. Bright ranks sixth with 177 3-point field goal attempts while Barr is seventh with 92. Barr ranks ninth in 3-point field goal percentage at 34.8 percent while Bright is now 10th at 33.9 percent. Barr has not quite cracked the program's all-time Top 10 list in career assists as she has 219 assists. Sarah Campbell (1983-85) is in 10th place with 247 assists.
Rankings: Missouri was picked by both the Big 12 Conference coaches and the media covering the league to finish 10th in the 2001-2002 league standings. The Tigers have been picked 43rd nationally by Basketball News, a publication which chose the schools it feels will make the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
Radio Coverage: Missouri women's basketball is covered live on KFRU (1400 AM), KWWC (90.5 FM) or KLIK (1240 AM). David Lile, Jessica Jenkins and Gary Link offer all the action. A majority of the Tigers' games can be found on KFRU but various games will be on KWWC and KLIK. Mizzou fans can also log onto the Missouri web site, www.mutigers.com, for coverage.
Television Coverage: The Tigers are 2-0 on TV this season. Missouri's next game on TV will be against Saint Louis on Dec. 7. Charter Communications (St. Louis) will broadcast the game.
Tough Opponents: Missouri's schedule could rank with the nation's toughest as seven opponents are ranked in the Associated Press poll and nine are ranked in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.
Youth is Served: Missouri's active roster of 11 consists of one senior (Natalie Bright), two juniors (Kerensa Barr and Wannette Smith), five sophomores (Tracy Lozier, Evan Unrau, Terianne Wolford, Amy Loftus and Melanie Fisher) and three freshmen (Lauren Podratz, Angie Carter and Megan Roney).
Exhibition Season: Missouri defeated Lincoln, 87-41, on Nov. 2 before suffering the 77-72 loss to the Houston Jaguars. Barr led the team in scoring for the exhibition contests as she averaged 21.5 points per game. She also had a team-high nine assists. Bright averaged 15 points per game and had eight assists to go with a team-high six steals. Evan Unrau averaged 14 points per game and snared a team-best 16 rebounds.
Last Year: The Tigers posted a 22-10 record and advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
Radio Show: Tiger Talk with Cindy Stein starts at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10. The show will originate from Harpo's and be aired by KFRU.
Signings: MU head coach Cindy Stein announced Wednesday (Nov. 14) the signing of Latoya Bond and Cherice Mack to National Letters of Intent.
Who's Next?: The Tigers play at Saint Louis on Dec. 7 before returning home to meet Northern Iowa on Dec. 9.