March 12, 2002

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team opens play in the 2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament against:

*Missouri (14-14) vs. Alabama (17-11)
*March 13 - 7 p.m., Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.
*Broadcast - Radio - KFRU, 1400 AM, KLIK, 1240 AM

WNIT History: Missouri previously appeared in the 2002 WNIT and posted a 1-1 mark. The Tigers defeated Evansville, 84-81, in overtime at the Hearnes Center before dropping an 89-88 overtime decision at Arkansas.

Wednesday's Foe: Alabama is a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Crimson Tide enter the game with a 17-11 record and posted a 7-7 regular season mark in the SEC. Alabama went 1-1 in the SEC Tournament. Alabama is led by senior guard Shondra Johnson who leads the team in scoring (15.1 points per game), rebounds (5.0 rebounds per game), assists (116) and steals (44). Beth Vice, a junior guard, has made 79 of Alabama's 172 3-point field goals. Head coach Rick Moody has a 253-118 record in 13 seasons at Alabama.

The MU-Alabama Series: Missouri leads the series, 1-0, after recording a 69-67 win over Alabama on Jan. 7, 1981, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Last Meeting: Missouri overcame a seven-point deficit to pick up the 69-67 victory on a basket by Daina Supstiks with 20 seconds remaining. Susptiks led MU with 27 points while Annette Schwander had 12 rebounds. The Tigers, who sank all nine of their free-throw attempts in the contest, were 30-of-64 from the field and outrebounded Alabama, 42-32.

Some Really Insignificant Stuff ... : Alabama has previously played in Columbia, posting a 1-1 mark in the 1981 Mid-America Classic. The Crimson Tide lost their first-round game to eventual champion Memphis State before beating Idaho State for third place. Missouri is 2-0 when playing on March 13 as it defeated Nebraska, 85-70, in the 1981 AIAW Region VI tournament and downed No. 9 Oregon, 59-53, the first round of the 1982 NCAA West Regional. MU is 37-37 all-time when playing in March.

The Matchup: Both Missouri and Alabama like to shoot the 3-point field goal and force turnovers. Alabama enters the contest shooting better (40.3 percent vs. 30.9 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc but the Tigers have forced more turnovers (558 to 486).

A Win Would ...: If Missouri defeats Alabama, it would ...
*be Missouri's second win in WNIT history
*give Missouri's two wins (2-0) in the series against Alabama
*push head coach Cindy Stein's record at MU to 68-51
*give Missouri 499 all-time victories
*give MU at least 15 wins for the third-straight season, something that has not been done since the 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons.

Against the SEC: Missouri has already faced one Southeastern Conference school this season in South Carolina at the Duke Classic. MU suffered a 72-60 loss to the Gamecocks. Missouri also faced Arkansas, a member of the SEC, in the 2000 WNIT. MU has posted an 8-15 all-time mark against SEC schools.

Postseason Foes: Eleven of Missouri's 22 opponents find themselves in postseason play, either in the NCAA Tournament or also in the WNIT. Also in the WNIT bracket are Southwest Missouri State and Illinois while South Carolina, UW-Green Bay, Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Oklahoma are in the NCAA Tournament.

Missouri's Last Time Out: KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Jia Perkins scored 24 points to lead No. 17 Texas Tech to a 78-51 victory over Missouri on March 5 in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament. Jolee Ayers added 11 points and Natalie Ritchie had 10 for Texas Tech. Reserve Cisti Greenwalt had 11 rebounds, and Candi White finished with 10 assists. Natalie Bright led MU with 11 points. Evan Unrau added nine points and 11 rebounds while Terianne Wolford had a career-high three steals. Texas Tech dominated from the outset and built a 39-24 lead by halftime. The Lady Raiders used a 19-9 run at the start of the second half to put the game out of reach. Texas Tech outrebounded Missouri 22-14.

Academic Honors: Last week, Kerensa Barr was named as a third-team selection to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America team. Barr becomes the first Tiger to be chosen since Joni Davis was a second-team pick in 1985. Barr has been chosen as a first-team selection to the Verizon Academic All-District VII squad. She becomes the first Tiger named to that academic team since Amy Monsees in 2000.

Big 12 Honors: Kerensa Barr and Evan Unrau were named as honorable mention selections to the 2001-02 All-Big 12 Conference Team. It is the first conference honor for each individual.

Long Time, No Three: Missouri went almost 33 minutes without making a 3-point field goal against Texas Tech (1/9). Natalie Bright finally made one with 7:24 left in the game to break the shutout. While the one 3-point field goal ties the low this season (also done against Davidson on Nov. 24), the last time MU was blanked in the 3-point field goal category was on Jan. 27, 1999, in a 78-54 loss at Baylor. Missouri's last time at home without a 3-pointer came on Dec. 5, 1998, in an 87-76 victory over Louisville. Since the Baylor game, the streak of Missouri making at least one 3-point field goal in a game is at 100 games.

Good Games: Wannette Smith blocked four shots against Kansas State (2/27) to set a personal best. She previously had blocked two shots in 11 games in her career. Angie Carter recorded three steals to tie her career high (set previously against UW-Green Bay on Dec. 30) while Lauren Podratz made two field goals to tie her top mark this season.

Single-Season Marks: Natalie Bright and Kerensa Barr continue making an assault on the single-season Missouri records. Bright ranks third all-time with 43 3-point field goals made and her 139 attempts rank second all-time. Barr's 38 made 3-pointers rank fourth all-time at Missouri while her 121 3-point field goal attempts now rank third. Barr's free throw percentage mark of 89.2 percent would be the program's all-time best mark if the season ended before the Alabama contest.

She's Back: Evan Unrau returned to action against Kansas State (Feb. 27) after suffering a fractured ring finger on her right (shooting) hand against Colorado on Feb. 13. Unrau, the Tigers' leading rebounder, had surgery on Feb. 15. Unrau had stitches removed Feb. 25. A native of Fort Collins, Colo., Unrau averages 12.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She has recorded six double-doubles this season. In 20 minutes of playing time against Kansas State, Unrau scored nine points and snared five rebounds. Despite shooting left handed, she also made 3-of-5 free throws. In fact, Unrau made her first three foul shots while shooting left handed. Unrau returned to the starting lineup against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Conference Tournament and scored nine points while snaring a game-high 11 rebounds.

Academic Success: Missouri had four players named to the 2002 Academic All-Big 12 Conference Team, as announced by the league office. Missouri's recipients are:
*Kerensa Barr, Natalie Bright, Tracy Lozier and Evan Unrau

Bright has been named to four straight Academic All-Big 12 squads while Barr has been named to the two teams.

Coach of the Year: The Columbia chapter of the Women's Intersport Network named Missouri head coach Cindy Stein as its 2001 Coach of the Year after guiding the Tigers to a 22-10 record and a berth in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last season.

Rebound Queens: By snaring nine rebounds against Colorado (2/13), Evan Unrau now has led the Tigers in rebounds 12 times. Unrau has collected 10 or more rebounds in seven games this season. Kerensa Barr has led the Tigers in rebounds nine times this season.

Get That Out Of Here: Wannette Smith blocked four shots against Kansas State (2/27) to set a season high for MU.

60,000 Points: Missouri has now scored 60,536 points during its time as a women's basketball program. Kerensa Barr scored the program's 60,000th point on a free throw this season at Iowa State (1/30).

In the starting lineup: Kerensa Barr has started 63 games and has made a team-high 60 consecutive starts in her career. Natalie Bright leads the Tigers with 68 all-time starts and Evan Unrau has made 55 starts.

NCAA Stats: Kerensa Barr ranks 12th nationally in free throw percentage, according to the March 5 statistical report released by the NCAA. Barr, who had led the nation during the season, is not doing poorly from the free-throw line this season, now making 89.2 percent of her shots (99-of-111).

In Wins, In Losses: In Missouri's 14 wins this season, the Tigers average 75.9 points per game and allow opponents only 55.7 points. MU shoots 42.9 percent from the field when it wins and forces opponents into shooting 38.9 percent and committing an average of 22.6 turnovers per game. When the Tigers lose, opponents average 77.4 points and 17.3 turnovers per game and shoot an impressive 50.4 percent from the field. By comparison, MU, when it loses, averages 56.7 points and 20.7 turnovers per game while shooting 36.2 percent from the field.

Offensive Rebounds: In addition to serving as the Tigers' top rebounders, Melanie Fisher and Evan Unrau are cleaning the glass on Missouri's offensive end of the floor, too. Of Fisher's 165 rebounds, 72 (43.6 percent) are offensive while of Unrau's team-high 203 rebounds, 84 (41.3 percent) are offensive.

Offensive Rebounds II: Missouri grabbed a season-high 23 offensive boards in the win over Texas Tech (1/9). MU's previous high of 18 offensive rebounds came against Southeast Missouri (12/1) and UMKC (11/16). Missouri has snared at least 20 offensive rebounds three times. The Tigers recorded 20 offensive rebounds (38 total) against Baylor (1/19), 21 (47 total) against Nebraska (2/2) and 20 against Kansas (2/9).

Forcing Turnovers: Missouri has forced opponents to commit 558 turnovers this season (average of 19.4). Opponents have committed 20 or more turnovers in 16 of Missouri's 28 games this year.

Barr and Free Throws: Kerensa Barr currently ranks second on the all-time Tiger free throw percentage chart. After making two free throws against Texas Tech on March 6, Barr has made 195-of-245 foul shots (79.6 percent) while Julie Helm (1997-2000) ranks first at 79.7 percent. Barr's performance this season (if it ended prior to the Alabama game) would set a school record. Barr's mark of 99-of-111 free throws for 89.2 percent easily surpasses the previous mark of 84.6 percent by Lisa Plummer in 1980-81. Barr saw her streak of 26 consecutive made free throws fall against Colorado (1/26). She also had a streak of 23 consecutive made foul shots earlier this year.

Top Performances: Evan Unrau's 5-of-5 effort from beyond the 3-point field goal line against Southeastern Louisiana ranks tied as the top mark in the Big 12. Kerensa Barr's 17 made free throws are the most this season in one game in the Big 12.