Missouri Hosts Oklahoma State
2/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Feb. 21, 2001
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The University of Missouri women's basketball team rounds down the 2000-2001 season hosting Oklahoma State Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Hearnes Center.
The Tigers travel to Lawrence, Kansas, Saturday to play their final road game against the Kansas Jayhawks at 2:00 p.m. Missouri plays its final regular season game of the year at home against Colorado Wed., Feb. 28 at 7:00 p.m.
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.
Special Promotions
The Missouri-Oklahoma State game is Big 12 night. The first 100 fans through the door will receive Big 12 Million Fan March t-shirts. Fans bringing their ticket stubs from the men's Oklahoma game will get into the women's game for just $1.
One lucky fan will be selected to participate in a 3-point contest trying for an all-expense paid trip to the women's Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Kan.
The MU-Colorado game is Fan Appreciation Night where everyone gets into the game for just $3. It is also Girl Scout Night. All Girl Scouts wearing their uniforms will get into the game for just $2.
The final game of the season is senior night. The Tigers bid farewell to their three seniors: Amanda Lassiter, Marlena Williams and Tracy Franklin.
Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
Missouri (16-8, 7-6) rounds down Big 12 Conference action with a game against Oklahoma State. The Tigers are coming off a devastating 97-81 loss to Baylor. Despite the loss, Missouri has made many strides this season including its first two-game sweep over Nebraska since 1990. The Tigers triumph came on the coattails of an 89-84 overtime thriller against Kansas. Mizzou also defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 63-54 in their its second come back game of the year. The Tigers wins came off losses to No. 10 Oklahoma (82-62) and No. 7 Iowa State (73-63). In conference play, four of Mizzou's losses have been to Top 15 competitors. The Tigers have defeated one ranked team in then No. 12 Texas (68-52).
Oklahoma State trails Missouri in the Big 12 with a 13-11 record and a 5-8 conference mark. The Cowgirls own wins over Kansas (61-53), Baylor (69-66), Kansas State (69-56) and two victories over Texas A&M (85-69, 83-63). Oklahoma State is coming off a 73-69 loss to Texas.
The Tigers look to dominate from 3-point range. Missouri averages 6.4 3-pointers per game and shoots 36 percent from behind the arc. Oklahoma State only averages 4.7 3-pointers per game shooting 28 percent.
Much of the game will be decided on the boards. Mizzou averages 40.8 rebounds per game for a +1.3 rebounding margin over its opponents this season. Oklahoma State pulls down 39.9 rebounds per contest while allowing 41.1 to their opponents.
Scouting the Cowgirls
Forward Kara Faulk leads Oklahoma State averaging 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. She also leads the team shooting 82 percent from the free throw line. Faulk is currently ranked 25th in the Big 12 Conference in overall scoring.
Jessica Bates is second on the team averaging 9.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. She leads the team shooting 52 percent from the field and with 11 blocked shots on the season.
Guard Jessica Spinner is the Cowgirls' floor leader. She averages 7.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game and leads the team with 64 assists.
Last year, Oklahoma State finished 14-16 with a 5-11 Big 12 Conference record to rank ninth in league standings. The Cowgirls return four starters and 12 letterwinners to the 2000-2001 squad. Dick Halterman is in his 18th year as head coach at Oklahoma State.
Series Shorts
The Missouri-Oklahoma State rivalry began as part of Big Eight Conference parings. In 20 years of competition, the Tigers lead the series 22-16. Missouri won the team's first four meetings before OSU defeated the Tigers 80-78 in Stillwater, Okla. The victory sparked a four-season streak for Missouri from 1984-87 where MU claimed eight back-to-back wins. Oklahoma earned its first win in the Hearnes Center in 1989. Missouri is 11-5 overall against the Cowgirls on their home court. The Tigers have dominated the Cowgirls in both of their last two meetings.
Last Time Against Oklahoma State
The Tigers overcame a seven point halftime deficit to defeat the Cowgirls by a score of 77-73.
Amanda Lassiter led Mizzou with a career-high 30 points in what turned out to be a physical and emotional game. Natalie Bright added 14 points for the Tigers, 12 of them coming late in the game.
Missouri opened up the second half by going on a 14-0 scoring run to open up a 53-43 lead. The Tigers held OSU scoreless for the first 9:14 of the half. The Tigers led 55-45 until Marlena Williams was whistled for a foul, and then a technical foul at the 9:58 mark. OSU's Jennifer Crow sank six straight free throws to cut the lead to 55-51.
After two ties and one lead change, Oklahoma State jumped out to a four-point lead at 71-67 when Crow buried back-to-back three pointers. The Tigers answered with back-to-back treys of their own by Bright and Lassiter to give Mizzou a 73-71 lead. A Bright layup with 1:04 left gave Mizzou a 75-71 victory.
Missouri Falls to Baylor
Missouri fell to 16-8 with a 7-6 Big 12 Conference record after a 97-81 loss to Baylor. The Bears are 18-6 also toting a 7-6 league standing.
Missouri started the game with a rough first half shooting just 29 percent from the field. Baylor shot 60 percent from the floor scoring 48 points in the first half to leave the period with a 21-point lead over the Tigers (27).
Mizzou returned to the second half with a renewed fire. The Tigers heated up the floor scoring 14 points in just under two minutes to bring the score within nine. Senior Marlena Williams scored eight back-to-back points for the Tigers. Despite the charge, Missouri was unable to pull past Baylor for the win.
The Tigers shot 57 percent in the second period and 41 percent overall. Missouri was also 90 percent from the free throw line.
Williams, an All-Big 12 candidate, led the Tigers with 34 points. It is a career-high for the senior and her first scoring over 30. She was 12-for-21 from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point range and 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Williams also had five rebounds, two blocks and three steals in the game.
Senior Amanda Lassiter and sophomore Kerensa Barr also scored in double-digits for Mizzou with 15 points. Barr led the Tigers with nine rebounds, four assists and five steals on the evening.
Baylor forward Danielle Crockrom (36) and guard Sheila Lambert (30) carried the team scoring 66 of the Bear's 97 points.
In the Record Books
? Senior Amanda Lassiter has set another Missouri record netting 50 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 143 (previously set by Stacy Williams with 100 in 1991-92). She ranks third in MU record books with 85 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 the Cyclones.
? 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 43 percent from 3-point range. She has netted 40-of-94 3-point attempts this year and ranks seventh 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.
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).
Tigers Got Game
Missouri (16-8) are rounding down Big 12 Conference action toting a 7-6 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 5-1 on the home court defeating then No. 12 Texas (68-52), Texas A&M (69-61), Kansas State (65-60), Kansas (89-84 OT) and Nebraska (83-55). 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's 83-55 victory over Nebraska in the Hearnes Center is their largest margin of victory over a Big 12 team this season.
The Tigers averages 77.2 points per game with a +9.7 scoring margin.
Looking at Lassiter
Senior Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 20.0 points and is second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per game. Lassiter has scored in double digits in all 24 games this season including setting a career-high with 31 points against San Diego State. She owns 14 games scoring 20-or-more points including 9-of-14 conference games. She recorded 21 points against Texas Tech, 22 points against Texas and Kansas, 28 points against Colorado, 21 and 20 points against No. 7 Iowa State and 27 and 25 points versus Nebraska.
The forward is second on the team with 158 rebounds, including a team-high 124 defensive boards. She also tops the Tigers with 78 steals to rank seventh in Mizzou season record books. She is also second with 60 assists on the year.
Blocking Report
Lassiter has 57 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 (126) to top Nikki Smith who had 125 blocks from 1992-95. Her season mark also ranks third in season-blocked shots, just 12 away from her record high. Lassiter is the only athlete appearing in the Top 10 who has played under three years. She is averaging 2.4 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 Feb. 20., the senior is ranked 10th in the nation in blocked shots, is 21st in overall scoring and 23rd in steals.
Watching Williams
Center/forward Marlena Williams is taking the Big 12 Conference by storm. In the Tigers' last 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 als 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.
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 has scored in double figures in 9-of-14 conference games, including two +20 point games against Colorado and Iowa State. She has 17 double-digit games on the year. Williams is second on the team averaging 12.9 points per game. She also has 15 blocked shots.
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 57.5 percent from the field netting 77-of-134 attempts. The freshman has 12 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 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 69 offensive and 172 total rebounds on the season. She has six double figure rebound games to date and tops the charts averaging 7.2 rebounds per game.
Barr Brief
Starting point guard Kerensa 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 has three consecutive game in double figures as she also scored 11 points against Kansas State (1/20). She also tied her season-high with seven rebounds against the Wildcats. Barr also scored 15 points against Baylor and led the team with nine rebounds and five steals.
The sophomore leads the Tigers with 115 assists on the year. Barr is ranked 10th in Missouri's all-time season assists charts (Joni Davis is ninth with 119 assists during the 1984-85 season). Barr averages 4.79 assists per game and hit her season-high with nine against No. 7 Iowa State (1/17). She has 215 career assists to date.
Barr is fifth on the team averaging 7.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with 48 offensive rebounds and 45 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 No. 10 Oklahoma and 15 points against Kansas State (2/7).
Franklin is third on the team averaging 10.0 points per game. She tops the charts hitting 40-of-94 shots from 3-point range to lead the team shooting 43 percent from behind the arc. Franklin also leads the Tigers with a .793 free throw percentage. 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 and had two steals. Against Texas, she 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. Against the Lady Raiders, Bright downed 3-for-4 from the field (2-for-3 from 3-point range) and 5-for-5 at 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 41 percent from the field overall and 37 percent from 3-point range. She averages 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. She also has 53 assists on the season and five blocks.
Conference Season Highs
Missouri is currently tied for fifth-place in the Big 12 Conference with a 7-6 league record. Oklahoma leads the pack with a 12-1 conference record. Iowa State, Texas Tech and Colorado are tied for third going 10-3. Baylor and Texas are tied with Mizzou in fifth.
? 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.
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 just 39.5 rebounds per contest for a +1.3 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 387 assists so far this season to average 16.1 assists per game to top their opponents who only average 12.3 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 107 blocks on the year to average 4.5 blocks per game. MU's opponents have only knocked down 67 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 121 blocked shots, Texas A&M is second with 110 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).
Tigers in the NCAA
In the most recent NCAA statistics released Feb. 20, Mizzou was 23rd in the nation with 6.4 3-point field goals made per game. Senior Amanda Lassiter also tops the charts as the country's 10th leading blocker. She is also 21st in overall scoring and 23rd in steals.
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 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.
Off the Bench
Missouri is relying heavily on the production of its bench this season. The MU bench corps has scored 457 of its 1,854 season points to average 19.0 points per game. In comparison, only 16.7 points per game were scored by the opponent's substitutions.
Mizzou in the Rankings
For five 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. Following a come back victory over Kansas State, and their 65-60 triumph over Nebraska, the Tigers received 13 votes. With losses to two ranked teams last week, MU made the Top 50 garnering just two votes. With two more come-from-behind victories over Kansas State and Kansas the Tigers received six votes from AP writers. Missouri fell out of the polls after losing to Baylor last week.
The Tigers come in 48th 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.
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.
Hitting the Three
The Tigers have shot 40 percent or above from 3-point range in 13 of their 24 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 43 percent from 3-point range (40-of-94). Natalie Bright is second for Tigers shooting 37 percent (15-of-40). Amanda Lassiter leads the Tigers with 50 3-point field goals made and 143 shots attempted (35 percent).
Topping Ten
Four Tiger athletes routinely hit double figures, including Amanda Lassiter who is 24-for-24. She scored a career-high 31 points against San Diego State. Marlena Williams owns 17 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 10 double figure games and freshman Evan Unrau posts six. 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 2,470 fans to rank 37th 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.
Mizzou set a school record against Kansas on Saturday 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 45th largest crowd attending an NCAA Division I women's basketball game this season.
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 in the USA Today/ESPN Poll. The Tigers face No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Iowa State, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 20 Colorado and No. 21 Texas in Big 12 Conference action.
In the Associated Press poll, Oklahoma (8th), Iowa State (10th)Texas Tech (15th), Colorado (16th), Texas (22nd) and Baylor (24th) represent the Big 12 Conference.
