Dec. 9, 2002
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| TIPOFF: 7:05 p.m. CST. | ||||
| ARENA: West Gym (2,051). MU is 151-168 (.473) all-time on the road. | ||||
| 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), 70-55 at MU (5th season), 135-80 overall (8th season).
UNI: Tony DiCecco (Upper Iowa '71), 100-99 at UNI and overall (8th season). |
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MIZZOU HEADS NORTH FOR FINAL VALLEY SHOWDOWN
The Missouri women's basketball team makes its only non-conference mid-week road trip of the 2002-03 season this Wednesday night when the Tigers face Northern Iowa (3-2) in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
? ? ? Mizzou (3-3) is coming off a split in its own Unilever Tiger Classic, beating McNeese State by 21 points before falling to NCAA Tournament participant Austin Peay in the title game, 66-53.
? ? ? The Tigers were plagued by poor shooting in Saturday's finale, as MU connected on just 27.8 percent of its field-goal attempts, including 5-of-21 shooting from 3-point range against Austin Peay.
? ? ? This is Mizzou's final contest against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent this season. The Tigers already defeated Southwest Missouri State and Bradley.
ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA...
UNI is 3-2 on the year and has won its last two games after beating Iowa State in its home opener on Sunday, 65-58.
? ? ? Senior guard Katie Miller had a team-high 22 points, and sophomore forward Alex Cook had a game-high 13 rebounds to go with six points as the Panthers sent Iowa State to its third straight loss -- all against in-state opposition.
? ? ? UNI is led by Miller's 22.8 points-per-game average; Cook is averaging a team-high 10 rebounds per game.
NORTHERN IOWA SERIES...
Missouri leads the all-time series 3-0, yet Wednesday night's game will be the first-ever meeting between the schools in Cedar Falls.
? ? ? The Tigers took a 79-61 decision almost a year ago to the day in Columbia, and the Tigers also won the first-ever game of the series, 110-47, in Columbia in 1983.
? ? ? Between those two games came a 1986 contest during the Northern Illinois Fastbreak Fest, which the Tigers won, 85-54.
WARREN MAKES HOMECOMING
Missouri assistant coach Tanya Warren is making a homecoming of sorts in Cedar Falls on Wednesday.
? ? ? Before arriving at Mizzou prior to the start of the 2001-02 season, Warren served for five years as an assistant at UNI, helping the Panthers to their first-ever Division I postseason bid in her final year in Cedar Falls.
? ? ? A native of Des Moines, Warren starred at Lincoln High School.
NEXT UP...
After returning from Cedar Falls, the Tigers will take the next 10 days off from competition to take their fall-semester final exams.
? ? ? Mizzou returns to the court next Saturday, Dec. 21, for the annual Braggin' Rights matchup with Illinois at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. That game will tip off at 1:30 p.m.
? ? ? Missouri's next home game isn't until Thursday, Jan. 2, when the Tigers host IUPUI.
LAST TIME OUT: AUSTIN PEAY 66, MU 53
Brooke Armistead led four Austin Peay players in double figures, and the Lady Govs held Missouri to 28 percent shooting from the field to defeat Missouri, 66-53, and win the championship game of the 25th annual Unilever Tiger Classic, held Saturday night at the Hearnes Center. Armistead scored 17 points and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
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 2-0 against "The Valley" with its season-opening wins this past Saturday at SMS and Tuesday vs. Bradley.
? ? ? Mizzou is now 56-25 (.691) all-time against the Missouri Valley Conference. The Tigers have their third and final game against a Valley opponent this year with Wednesday's game at UNI.
UNRAU NAMED TO UNILEVER TIGER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Junior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) was named to the Unilever Tiger Classic All-Tournament Team.
? ? ? Unrau averaged 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over the two games. She earned her first double-double of the season in Saturday's championship-game loss to Austin Peay, when she posted totals of 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. She has led the Tigers in scoring in each of Mizzou's six games.
? ? ? It is the second such honor for the Tiger this season, as she was named to the Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic squad the previous weekend for her efforts at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
? ? ? For the season, Unrau leads the Tigers in both scoring (16.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). Her 51.9-percent accuracy from the field also leads the team.
TIGERS TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Any coach will tell you that preventing turnovers are paramount to the success of a team, and the Tigers are doing that better than at any point in Cindy Stein's five years at Mizzou.
? ? ? This season's team has committed 91 turnovers in its six games, an average of 15.2 per game. Helping the average was Mizzou's 10 turnovers against Austin Peay; those 10 were MU's fewest in a game since January 31, 2001 -- a span of 48 games -- when the Tigers had six vs. Iowa State. Here's how MU's 15.2 turnovers a game ranks against Coach Stein's previous four years at MU:
Season Gms. TO TO/Gm. 1998-99 28 571 20.4 1999-00 30 560 18.7 2000-01 32 556 17.4 2001-02 29 558 19.2 4-Yr. Avg. 119 2,245 18.9 2002-03 6 91 15.2As a result of fewer turnovers, Missouri's team assist-to-turnover ratio has also improved from previous years:
Season Ast TO Ratio 1998-99 428 571 0.75 1999-00 490 560 0.88 2000-01 507 556 0.91 2001-02 426 558 0.76 4-Yr. Avg. 1,851 2,245 0.82 2002-03 93 91 1.02
UNRAU'S REBOUNDING DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE
Junior forward Evan Unrau's 13 rebounds against Austin Peay on Saturday not only put her into the team lead in rebounding, it put her at the top of the Big 12 charts.
? ? ? Eleven of Unrau's 13 boards came on the offensive end, giving her 25 for the season. Her 4.17 offensive rebounds per game leads the Big 12 by a relatively comfortable margin.
? ? ? Overall, Unrau's 7.8 rebounds per game rank her sixth in the league.
BARR CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS
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 139 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.
? ? ? In addition, Barr has currently passed Julie Helm as Mizzou's most accurate free-throw shooter in its history. If she sinks 80 percent or more of her remaining free throws, Barr will finish as the record-holder.
MIZZOU JOINS THE 500 CLUB
With its 77-76 win against Bradley at the Hearnes Center on Tuesday, Nov. 26, Missouri became the 51st school in NCAA history to record 500 wins in its history.
? ? ? The Tigers are now 501-325 in their 29th year as a program.
? ? ? Only 29 schools are known to have achieved the total faster than Mizzou.
HOME SWEET HOME
Mizzou holds a 169-37 record against out-of-league foes at the Hearnes Center, an impressive 82.4 percent success rate at home. The Tigers are now 24-3 (.889) at home in the non-conference season in their five years under Cindy Stein.
OPEN HERE
With wins in its first two games at Southwest Missouri State and at home vs. Bradley, the Tigers have continued two streaks of success.
? ? ? Mizzou has identical 22-7 (.759) records in both season-openers and home-openers. The Tigers have now won its last three and six of its last seven home-openers, and MU has won its last eight and 15 of 16 games to start a season.
STREAKY SHOOTERS
With its five 3-pointers vs. Austin Peay on Saturday, the Missouri streak of making at least one 3-point field goal has extended to 107 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 55 straight games.