Nov. 14, 2002
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| Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 - Columbia, Mo. | ||||
| TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. (central time). | ||||
| ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,611). | ||||
| RADIO: None on the Tiger Network. KRES-FM 104.7 in Moberly will broadcast the action from the Truman State bench. KRES Sports Director Brad Boyer and Hank Janssen will call the action, which can also be heard on the Internet at RegionalRadio.com by clicking on "KRES" and then the "listen live" button. | ||||
| TV: None. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| ? | Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 67-52 at MU (5th season), 132-77 overall (8th season). | |||
| ? | Truman State: John Sloop (Maryville '91), 23-30 at TSU (3rd season) | |||
| ? | ||||
With one game against an opposing team in the books, the University of Missouri women's basketball team gets set to play its final tuneup in preparation for the 2002-03 season, as the Tigers welcome Truman State to the Hearnes Center on Friday.
? ? ? The Tigers are coming off of an 86-46 exhibition win over the Solna Vikings, who are the reigning Swedish national champions. Senior guard Kerensa Barr hit for a game-high 20 points, and a total of six Mizzou players tallied double figures in scoring.
? ? ? Missouri forced 26 Solna turnovers, and the Tigers out-scored the Swedes, 50-16, in the second half.
ABOUT TRUMAN STATE...
Nearly half of Truman State's squad is new for 2002-03, with the Bulldogs losing some key all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Assocation players to graduation.
? ? ? With their personnel changes, Truman State will likely move from a post-oriented offense to more of a motion offense this season.
? ? ? Truman is picked ninth in the 10-team MIAA preseason coaches poll.
? ? ? Players to watch: Junior forward Annie Westhoff is the team's leading returning scorer at 8.4 points per game. In addition, senior forward Jennifer Fisher led the team last season in assists (63) and steals (29), and was second in 3-pointers (35) and rebounding (6.5 rpg).
TRUMAN STATE SERIES
Although Friday's game doesn't count as an official game, we can relay the history of the previous ones that have come between the Tigers and the school formerly known as Northeast Missouri State University.
? ? ? The teams have played eight times since Missouri started its varsity program in 1974-75, though they've met just once in the past 15 years, in 1994-95. In that game, Mizzou came away with a 97-40 win in Columbia.
? ? ? This will be the first meeting of the teams since the institution changed its name to Truman State on July 1, 1996.
NEXT UP...
The Tigers officially open their 29th season of basketball next Saturday, Nov. 23, at Southwest Missouri State. Tipoff at the Hammons Student Center is slated for 2:05 p.m. in a game that will be televised locally in Springfield by KYTV.
? ? ? Mizzou plays its regular-season home opener the following Tuesday, Nov. 26, against Bradley at 7 p.m. in the Hearnes Center.
LAST TIME OUT: MU 86, SOLNA 46
Senior guard Kerensa Barr led all scorers with 20 points, and the Missouri women's basketball team forced 26 turnovers to defeat Solna, Sweden, by an 86-46 count in its exhibition opener Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center.
? ? ? For more about the game, consult the recap and box score on page 6 of these notes.
TIGERS SIGN THREE TO NATIONAL LETTERS-OF-INTENT
Three prep standouts have signed National Letters-of-Intent to enroll at the University of Missouri and play women's basketball, head coach Cindy Stein announced on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
? ? ? Blair Hardiek, a 5-foot-7 guard from Effingham (Ill.) High School, EeTisha Riddle, a 6-foot-3 forward from O'Fallon (Ill.) Township High School, and Carlynn Savant, a 6-foot-1 forward from Trinity High School in Euless, Texas, are Stein's newest crop of Tigers.
? ? ? "I see all three of these players having an immediate impact on our program," said Stein. "We are very excited about this class and feel strongly that they will establish themselves among Missouri's best. These three young women are talented competitors, excellent students and wonderful people. They will bring class, intensity and a strong work ethic."
? ? ? Hardiek earned First Team All-State honors from the Chicago Sun-Times, Second Team All-State plaudits from the Champaign News-Gazette and special mention on the Chicago Tribune All-State team last season, when she averaged 24.5 points and seven rebounds in leading Effingham to a school-record 20 wins. She also had a school-record 40 blocks as a point guard. Hardiek has earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from Street & Smith each of the past two years. Effingham's Most Valuable Player each of her three seasons to date and its captain this year, Hardiek chose Mizzou over USC, Kansas State, Xavier, Tulsa, and Cal.
? ? ? "Blair is a true point guard with a fierce competitiveness and confidence that is needed to be successful at this level," Stein says. "She is quick and can defend in the full court with endless energy. Blair has fine passing skills and sees the floor extremely well. She is also a scorer whether it's through penetration or spotting up for the 3-point shot."
? ? ? Riddle averaged 20.2 points and 11 rebounds and helped the Panthers to a 22-5 record last season. She also had 94 blocks, and was an 85-percent free-throw shooter. An Honorable Mention All-Stater by the Chicago Tribune and a Champaign News-Gazette Second-Team All-State member, Riddle chose Missouri over Illinois, Southwest Missouri State, Indiana and Kansas State. She is also a two-time Belleville News-Democrat first-team all-conference and all-area performer.
? ? ? "EeTisha is an excellent athlete who will just get better and better," comments Stein. "She is a force inside. She has the athleticism to jump and shoot over taller defenders, the quickness of a guard and the soft hands that can catch anything thrown her way. She is a great rebounder, and her aggressiveness on the boards is a key strength."
? ? ? Savant is a two-time Player of the Year for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Northeast area; she earned first-team selection to the Texas Assocation of Basketball Coaches Class 5A (largest-school classification) last season, when she averaged 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds. Savant participated last summer in USA Basketball's Women's Youth Development Festival as one of the nation's top 48 rising prep seniors, and she was recognized as an adidas Top Ten Camp Upperclass All-Star. She chose Mizzou over Arkansas, TCU, Rice and Southwest Missouri State. Carlynn's twin brother, Zach, plays high-school football.
? ? ? "Carlynn is a prolific scorer - she can score from anywhere! She has the ability to post up, penetrate to the basket or pop the 3-point shot. Her versatility will be one of her key assets in our program. Carlynn is an intense competitor with excellent court sense. She is also a tremendous student and active member of the student organizations at Trinity High School."
? ? ? The three signings comprise Missouri's complete recruiting class for the 2003-04 basketball season.
TIGERS SEVENTH, EIGHTH IN BIG 12 POLLS
Both the coaches and the media have weighed in on the Big 12 Conference race; the coaches have selected the Tigers eighth, while the media came out last week with a seventh-place prediction for MU. The Big 12 sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament last year.
? ? ? Texas Tech was chosen by both the coaches and the media to win the Big 12 Conference regular-season title.
BARR AMONG BIG 12's FINEST
Along with the release of the media poll, senior guard Kerensa Barr (West Plains, Mo. / West Plains HS) received votes for the Preseason All-Big 12 Conference Team.
? ? ? Barr earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 plaudits last year after leading the Tigers with her 15.0 points-per-game average.
TIGERS SEEKING TO CONTINUE POSTSEASON STREAK
With its appearance in last year's Women's National Invitation Tournament, the Tigers have advanced to the postseason in each of the past three seasons. It's the longest such streak since the Tigers went to five straight NCAA Tournaments from 1981-82 through 1985-86.
? ? ? The streak of success began with a trip to the second round of the WNIT in 1999-2000 - Cindy Stein's second season as head coach at Mizzou - and continued in 2001-02 with the Tigers' first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1994, as MU advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
STREAK, PT. II
While one streak continued last year with MU's postseason success, one will start anew this season. Missouri had its 17-game non-conference home winning streak snapped with its WNIT loss to Alabama at the end of last season.
? ? ? Coming into that game this past March, the Tigers had not lost a game at the Hearnes Center to a non-conference opponent since Arkansas left Columbia with an 83-76 win on Nov. 22, 1999.
? ? ? Mizzou still holds a 167-36 record against out-of-league foes at the Hearnes Center, an impressive 82.3 percent success rate at home. The Tigers are now 22-2 (.917) at home in the non-conference season in their four years under Cindy Stein.
STREAK, PT. III
With its six 3-pointers against Alabama last season, the Missouri streak of making at least one 3-point field goal was extended to 101 games.
? ? ? The Tigers have not been held without a trey since a 78-54 loss at Baylor on Jan. 27, 1999. At the Hearnes Center, the span of time is even longer, as the Tigers have made a 3-pointer in every home contest since an 87-76 win over Louisville on Dec. 5, 1998 - a streak of 52 straight games.
WHO's BACK ... WHO's NOT
The Tigers return all but two letterwinners from last year's team: guard Natalie Bright, who graduated, and center Amy Loftus, who transferred to UNLV.
? ? ? Bright was the team's third-leading scorer with her 11.6 points-per-game average, yet the Tigers still return 78.2 percent of their scoring from last year.
? ? ? Of the nine returners, three (Kerensa Barr, Evan Unrau, Melanie Fisher and Wannette Smith) started more than half of the team's 29 games, and five more started at least four games. Only Megan Roney did not start a game last year.
SOME THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
Grammar teachers everywhere will cringe at the sight of a note header ending in a preposition, but we're on the clock and need to get information out quickly; besides, we're not interested in writing a note that reads "Some Things On Which To Keep an Eye."
? ? ? As we digress, there are a couple items of note for those with an interest in the Tigers to be made aware:
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FANS FLOCKING TO HEARNES
Bolstered by the strength of record single-game crowds, the Missouri women's basketball program has seen its attendance rise in each of Coach Stein's four years.
? ? ? Missouri averaged 2,561 fans last season, a 14 percent increase from the 2000-01 campaign, when the Tigers averaged 2,246.
? ? ? A record crowd of 10,321 fans witnessed Mizzou's 69-57 win over Kansas this past Feb. 9.