University of Missouri
Truman State
Women Cruise to 92-46 Exhibition Win Over Truman State
11/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Freshman guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) hit for a game-high 17 points, and junior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Missouri women's basketball team rolled to an easy 92-46 win over Truman State in the Tigers' exhibition finale Friday night at the Hearnes Center.
Bond was 6-of-12 from the field, made half of her four 3-point attempts and added nine rebounds, while Unrau added a game-high six assists to go with her double-double. Three other Tigers - senior guard Kerensa Barr (West Plains, Mo. / West Plains HS), junior forward Melanie Fisher (St. Louis, Mo. / Principia HS / Southwest Missouri State) and junior forward Terianne Wolford (Nixa, Mo. / Nixa HS) - also hit for double-figure scoring.
The Tigers won their two exhibition games by an average of 43 points.
The Tigers' defense smothered Truman State, as Missouri held the Bulldogs to just 11 field goals for the game on 23.9 percent shooting. In addition, the Tigers forced 25 turnovers.
"I told our team that Truman State did a great job of coming in here and playing hard and pressing us. We love that," said head coach Cindy Stein. "That was a great opportunity for us, and it's exactly what we needed. They took it at us from the start, and that was a tremendous effort on their part. I thought the second half was the key."
In the first half, as Mizzou harassed Truman State into making just three of its first 19 shots (15.8 percent) through the first 17 minutes of the game. In that span, Missouri also forced 10 Bulldog turnovers and scored eight points off them.
While Mizzou's defense was clicking, its offense opened up a sizable gap in the second 10 minutes of the game. Up just 13-10 with 12:21 left in the first, the Tigers went on a 21-6 run. Six different Missouri players scored, including three of MU's five newcomers. Mizzou took a 37-26 lead into the locker room.
Offensively, Bond made 4-of-6 field goals, including one from long range, on her way to nine first-half points. Unrau had a balanced opening stanza, hitting for eight points and eight rebounds and adding four assists in 14 minutes of play.
Coming out of the break, Mizzou hit the Bulldogs for a 13-0 run to open the first 4:40 of the second half to register what at the time was its largest lead of the game at 24 points (50-26). Missouri forced five turnovers in that span, including a charge drawn by sophomore guard Lauren Podratz (Maple Grove, Minn.).
The Tigers kept the pressure up in the second half, allowing just three Truman State field goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half. By that time, the Tigers had extended their lead to 40 points at 74-34.
Missouri opens its 29th season next Saturday, Nov. 23, with a game at Southwest Missouri State. Tipoff is set for 2:05 p.m. at the Hammons Student Center in Springfield, Mo. The Tigers open their home schedule the following Tuesday, Nov. 26, against Bradley. For ticket information, call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in Mid-Missouri).
