University of Missouri
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Rallies Past Tigers
1/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2002
Final Stats?|? Quotes?|? Notes
STILLWATER, Okla. - The Oklahoma State women's basketball team used an 11-0 run to open Sunday's Big 12 Conference game against the University of Missouri. However, the Cowgirls' 41-13 run to close the game was the key in OSU's 73-57 win over the Tigers at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The loss drops Missouri to 9-3 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12. Oklahoma State is now 9-5 and 1-0.
After rebounding from a sluggish start, Missouri rallied to take a 32-27 lead at halftime. Kerensa Barr, who scored the Tigers' first six points of the game, had 11 points in the first 20 minutes. But the biggest contributions might have come from the Missouri bench as Amy Loftus scored six points and Lauren Podratz added five in the first half.
Loftus, a sophomore center, scored four straight points to give MU a 25-24 lead. After an OSU basket, Podratz sank a 3-point field goal to give MU a 28-26 edge. Loftus scored inside again to give the Tigers a 30-27 lead before Evan Unrau scored for the halftime edge.
The Tigers kept things rolling once the second half started. Natalie Bright and Wannette Smith each scored to stretch the lead to eight points, 36-28. After Unrau made a 3-point field goal and a layup, MU held a 42-32 lead. Kerensa Barr sank a jump shot after a short drive to give the Tigers a 44-32 lead. However, Oklahoma State got things going its way from there on.
Trisha Skibbe, who finished with a game-high 26 points, scored seven of the next 14 points to tie the game, 46-46. Skibbe, who made 10-of-11 shots from the field, sank a 3-point field goal from the top of the key to tie the game. Skibbe scored 13 points during OSU's run to close the game. But Skibbe was not the lone scoring threat for the Cowgirls during the run as Tari Cummings scored 10 of her 22 points during that stretch and Thia Willis scored all 12 of her points during that time. Willis, who did not play in the first half, sank two long 3-point field goals to go with two assists and one steal.
The Cowgirls also took advantage of a strong performance from the free-throw line as they made 24-of-33 foul shots. Missouri, on the other hand, made only 4-of-6.
Barr led Missouri with 18 points while Unrau added 15 points.
Next up for the Tigers is Texas Tech (9 AP/11 Coaches) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hearnes Center.
