Dec. 28, 2002
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| TIPOFF: 2:07 p.m. CST. | ||||
| ARENA: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500). MU is 152-168 (.475) all-time on an opponents' home floor. | ||||
| RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: None in Missouri. KCRG-TV Ch. 9 (Scott Unash, play-by-play/Amy Herrig, color commentary) will televise Sunday's game live to most of Eastern Iowa. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 71-56 at MU (5th season), 136-81 overall (8th season).
Iowa: Lisa Bluder (Northern Iowa '83), 46-23 at Iowa (3rd season), and 402-165 overall (19th season). |
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MIZZOU LOOKS TO REBOUND ON SECOND IOWA SWING
The Missouri women's basketball team, fresh off an eight-day layoff for the holidays, enters its final contest of the 2001 calendar year on Sunday at Iowa (7-2). It is Missouri's second trip to the Hawkeye State this month; the Tigers won at Northern Iowa on Dec. 11 to post its second straight road win.
? ? ? The Tigers (4-4) are coming off a 70-67 loss to Illinois in St. Louis on Dec. 21 in the annual Busch Braggin' Rights game. Mizzou held a small lead for most of the second half before the Illini surged to the win.
? ? ? Iowa is coming off a 20-point win over Coach Lisa Bluder's former team, Drake.
ABOUT IOWA...
The Hawkeyes are 7-2 this season, yet are not receiving any votes in either of the major national polls. Three of those wins came against Drake, Northern Iowa and Iowa State in capturing this year's mythical state title.
? ? ? Iowa's last game was a 20-point win at Drake on Dec. 21, giving the Hawkeyes the same eight-day layoff as the Tigers.
? ? ? Iowa is led by junior forward Jennie Lillis, who is averaging 14.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Although Kristi Faulkner is the only other Hawkeye in double figures (11.6 ppg), a total of eight Iowa players are scoring at least 5.8 or more points per game.
IOWA SERIES...
Just as the series is with its other state-bordering Big Ten school, Illinois, the Iowa series is surprisingly young at just three games old. Iowa has won all three contests, including both games that have been played in Iowa City.
? ? ? That's where the last meeting took place between Iowa and Missouri, as the Hawkeyes came away with a 75-68 win in the first round of the Hawkeye Classic on Nov. 27, 1998.
? ? ? The only other meeting at Carver-Hawkeye Arena ended with an 85-71 Iowa win to start the 1987-88 season; in addition, UI also won in 1991 in Columbia.
TRYING TO BREAK THE BIG TEN
Missouri is not participating in the challenge games set up by the Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences this year (those games will be played between Iowa/Kansas State and Ohio State/Texas on Jan. 5), yet the Tigers will be finishing their own challenges against the Big Ten with Sunday's game.
? ? ? Missouri is 13-14 all-time against the Big Ten; the Tigers' last game against a foe other than Illinois from that league was a 71-68 win against Wisconsin in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament in Athens, Ga. That win led to the Tigers' upset at No. 4-ranked and second-seeded Georgia, which put Mizzou into the Sweet Sixteen for just the second time in school history.
LAST TIME OUT: ILLINOIS 70, MU 67
Angelina Williams led four Illinois players in double figures to help the Fighting Illini squeeze out a 70-67 win over Missouri on Saturday afternoon in the annual Busch Braggin' Rights game, held at Savvis Center in St. Louis.
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 this year than at any point in Cindy Stein's five years at Mizzou.
? ? ? This season's team has committed 126 turnovers in its seven games, an average of 15.8 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. As a result of fewer turnovers, Missouri's team assist-to-turnover ratio has also improved from previous years.
BARR CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS
With her eight assists against Illinois on Dec. 21, senior guard Kerensa Barr moved past Dee Dee Polk as Missouri's No. 2 all-time assist leader. Barr now has 376 career assists, leaving her a little under 100 away from Amy Fordham's school record.
? ? ? Barr is already a member of MU's career top-10 lists in 3-point field goals made and attempted, as well as steals. She needs just 91 points to become the 22nd member of Missouri's 1,000-point club.
? ? ? 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.
UNRAU's REBOUNDING DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE
Junior forward Evan Unrau's 13 rebounds against Austin Peay on Dec. 7 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 (she now has 35). Her 4.4 offensive rebounds per game leads the Big 12 Conference.
? ? ? Overall, Unrau's 8.3 rebounds per game rank her sixth in the league.
? ? ? In addition, Unrau's 16.2 points-per-game average have her ninth overall.
BOND ... JAMES AND BOND
Freshman guard LaToya Bond and junior forward Stretch James have both impressed folks early on with their play.
? ? ? Bond, an Urbana, Ill., native, had a breakout game against her hometown's Illini at the Busch Braggin' Rights game on Dec. 21. She finished with career highs of 11 points and six rebounds, and keyed a Tiger first-half comeback along with James by making a pair of slicing layups, then hitting a runner as the halftime buzzer sounded.
? ? ? James, who is also in her first season with the Tigers after earning JUCO All-America honors at Tyler (Texas) JC, has scored in double figures in three of the last four games, including a season-high 14 points against McNeese State on Dec. 6.
? ? ? James (8.4 ppg) and Bond (6.9 ppg) are third and fourth, respectively, in scoring for the Tigers.
STREAKY SHOOTERS
In Missouri's game against Illinois on Dec. 22, the Tigers had missed their first nine 3-point attempts, endangering MU's record of consecutive games with a 3-pointer.
? ? ? Evan Unrau hit one with 3:18 remaining against the Illini, however, extending Missouri's streak to 109 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.