Nov. 25, 2002

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			Game #2:
			MISSOURI TIGERS (1-0) vs. Bradley Braves (1-0)
			Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002 - Columbia, Mo.
			TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. CST.
			ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,611). Opened in 1972. MU is 261-88 (.748) here alltime, including 167-36 (.823) vs. non-conference opponents.
			RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com.
			TV: None.
			COACHES:
				Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 68-52 at MU (5th season), 133-77 overall (8th season).
				Bradley: Paula Buscher (SMS '86), 27-29 at BU (3rd season), 70-67 overall (6th season).

TIGERS GO FOR NO. 500 IN HOME OPENER vs. BRADLEY
Fresh off a convincing 16-point win at Southwest Missouri State on Saturday, the University of Missouri women's basketball team begins its quest for the 500th win in program history on Tuesday night against Bradley.
? ? ? The Tigers have an all-time record of 499-322 entering Tuesday night's contest. Coming into this season, 50 teams have recorded 500 wins in their history; only 29 of the more than 300 Division I schools are known to have reached the milestone faster than Mizzou's 28-plus years.

ABOUT BRADLEY...
The Braves, of the Missouri Valley Conference, are coming off a 72-65 season-opening win at Butler on Friday night. Columbia Hickman High School graduate Dena Williams registered game highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Sara Bailey added 17 points.
? ? ? BU was 16-12 and 7-11 in the Valley for a seventh-place finish last year. Third-year Head Coach Paula Buscher returns three starters and five other letterwinners from that squad.

BRADLEY SERIES
Missouri leads the all-time series 4-2, including 2-1 in Columbia.
? ? ? The teams last met on Nov. 20, 1999, with the Tigers securing a 92-49 win in Peoria, Ill. That contest opened Mizzou's 1999-2000 season and began the Tigers' current streak of three straight postseason appearances.
? ? ? BU's last visit to the Hearnes Center resulted in a 73-57 Tiger win on Nov. 19, 1998; Bradley's only win in Columbia came on Nov. 27, 1994, when the Braves escaped with a 83-78 win.

NEXT UP...
The Tigers will celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend in Texas, as MU plays in the Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29-30, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
? ? ? Mizzou opens the four-team tournament against SMU (2-0) on Friday at 5 p.m., then host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi plays Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. The losers of Friday's games play Saturday at 5 p.m., and the winners play at 7 p.m.
? ? ? Missouri lost to SMU in the two teams' only previous meeting in 1990, while the Tigers have never played TAMU-CC or ULL.
? ? ? The Tigers then return home for their annual Unilever Tiger Classic the following Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7, by hosting UMKC, Austin Peay and McNeese State.

LAST TIME OUT: MU 68, SMS 52
Junior forward Evan Unrau led all players with 18 points and eight rebounds, and the Tiger defense forced 26 turnovers as the Missouri women's basketball team opened its 29th season with a convincing 68-52 win over Southwest Missouri State at the Hammons Student Center on Saturday. The win was the second straight for Missouri (1-0) over the Lady Bears, but MU's first in Springfield since 1987.

TIGERS IN HOME-OPENERS
Tuesday night's game is the first at the Hearnes Center for the 2002-03 season, and the Tigers will try to mirror the success of their record in overall season-openers.
? ? ? Mizzou is now 22-7 (.759) in the first game of a season, and a win on the Hearnes floor on Tuesday would give the Tigers the exact same mark in home-openers.
? ? ? MU has won its last two and five of its last six home-openers. This is the second time the Tigers have opened at home with Bradley; the Braves lost in 1998 by a 73-57 count. The Tigers' last home-opening loss came in 1999, when Arkansas came away with an 83-76 win.

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:

As stated before, Mizzou is just one win from recording No. 500 in its history. In its 29th season, the Tigers have an all-time record of 499-322, which yields a .608 winning percentage.

Senior guard Kerensa Barr is already a member of MU's career top-10 lists in 3-point field goals made and attempted, as well as assists and steals. She needs just 176 points to become the 22nd member of Missouri's 1,000-point club, and could finish her career as the Tigers' all-time assist leader, as well as the school's most accurate free-throw shooter in its history.

MIZZOU TAKES EARLY VALLEY LEAD
The Missouri Valley Conference schedule doesn't officially start until January 2, and the Tigers are still proud members of the Big 12 Conference, yet MU is still 1-0 against "The Valley" with its win Saturday at SMS and with a second straight game against an MVC opponent on tap Tuesday vs. Bradley.
? ? ? Mizzou is now 55-25 (.688) all-time against the Missouri Valley Conference. The Tigers will have a third game against a Valley opponent this year when MU plays at Northern Iowa on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

TIGERS LOOK TO START NEW HOME STREAK vs. BRADLEY
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. II
With its six 3-pointers at Southwest Missouri State on Saturday, the Missouri streak of making at least one 3-point field goal has extended to 102 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.

SATURDAY PROVIDES SEASON HIGHS
Just one game into a season, everything in the box score will result in a season high or low. However, there were two items of note from Saturday's game.
? ? ? Mizzou's 19 steals at SMS were one higher than the Tigers had in any game last year. In addition, their 12 turnovers were two fewer than in any game last year.

FISHER's SWEET VS. OLD TEAM
Junior F/C Melanie Fisher had an excellent performance in Saturday's game against her former teammates, as the one-time Lady Bear finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and a career-high six steals. In addition, her five field goals tied a career high.

LOZIER PLUNDERS WAY TO CAREER-HIGH
Fisher wasn't the only one picking the pockets of SMS players on a frequent basis Saturday. Junior G Tracy Lozier recorded a career-high five steals in the Tigers' win. Lozier was fifth on the team in steals a year ago with 31. She also had seven points, two rebounds and two assists. Lozier averaged 4.1 points and 2.1 rebounds last season.