Jan. 27, 2003
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| TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. CST. | ||||
| ARENA: United Spirit Arena (15,050). Opened in 1999. MU is 152-165 (.479) alltime on the road, including 0-4 (.000) at Texas Tech and 10-41 (.196) in Big 12 Conference road play. | ||||
| RADIO: Available over the Tiger Network [KFRU-AM 1400, flagship]. David Lile, play-by-play/Jessica Jenkins, color. Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: None. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 76-59 at MU (5th season), 140-84 overall (8th season).
Texas Tech: Marsha Sharp (Wayland Baptist '74), 495-155 overall (21st season). |
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MIZZOU SEEKS FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN AT No. 7 TEXAS TECH
The Missouri women's basketball team heads Southwest to the Texas Plains for a rare Tuesday night Big 12 Conference game at No. 7-ranked Texas Tech.
? ? ? The Tigers are in possession of a three-game winning streak and are currently sixth in the Big 12 following their 22-point win over Oklahoma State on Saturday.
? ? ? Texas Tech, which had a 15-game winning streak snapped at Texas last Wednesday in Austin, got back on the winning track Saturday with an 80-58 win at Colorado. The Lady Raiders are currently tied for second behind Kansas State.
ABOUT TEXAS TECH...
The Lady Raiders are in their customary top-10 position after winning 16 of their first 18 games of the year. Both losses (Louisiana Tech, Texas) have come to ranked teams.
? ? ? Marsha Sharp is quickly closing in on her 500th career win, as she is just five wins from that plateau.
? ? ? Plenette Pierson leads Tech with a 17.8 points per game average; Jia Perkins is also in double-figure scoring at 16.3 ppg.
? ? ? Both Missouri and Texas Tech beat Oklahoma State and lost to Texas, while the Lady Raiders beat Baylor. The Tigers lost to the Bears in the first game of the Big 12 season.
Texas Tech SERIES...
The Lady Raiders lead, 6-2, including winning all four games that have been played in Lubbock, including eliminating Missouri from the Big 12 Conference Tournament. Missouri, however, won the last regular-season game, which came on Jan. 8, 2002. The Tigers pulled out the 82-71 upset of the Lady Raiders, who were ranked No. 10 by the Associated Press and 12th by the coaches.
LAST TIME OUT: MU 87, OSU 65
Senior guard Kerensa Barr scored her 1,000th career point in leading the Missouri women's basketball team to an 87-65 win over Oklahoma State at the Hearnes Center on Saturday for its season-best third straight win. With her 15 points, Barr is the 22nd player in Missouri history to reach the plateau.
BARR CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS
As just mentioned above, senior guard Kerensa Barr, who is expected to make her 81st start of her career on Tuesday night, became the 22nd member of Missouri's 1,000-point club after her 15-point performance against Oklahoma State. She has played in each of Missouri's 106 games over her four-year career.
? ? ? With her eight assists against Illinois on Dec. 21, Barr moved past Dee Dee Polk as Missouri's No. 2 all-time assist leader. She added five assists against No. 20 Texas on Jan. 11, making her the 10th player in Big 12 history to record 400 career assists. She is 53 away from equalling Amy Fordham's school record.
? ? ? With 12 games guaranteed to remain on the Tigers' schedule, Barr needs to average roughly 4.6 assists per game to surpass Fordham's mark.
? ? ? Barr is already a member of MU's career top-5 lists in 3-point field goals made and attempted, as well as steals after passing Sandie Prophete (1986-89) with her 200th career pick Jan. 8 at Baylor. She's currently fourth on that list after passing Fordham on Jan. 22 vs. Nebraska.
? ? ? Barr is just the fifth player in Big 12 history to record 400 assists and 200 steals in a career.
? ? ? Finally, Barr has currently passed Julie Helm as Mizzou's most accurate free-throw shooter in school history. If she sinks 80 percent or more of her remaining free throws, Barr will finish as the record-holder.
TIGERS GEAR UP FOR FEB. 2 "HEAD TO THE HEARNES" CAMPAIGN
The Tigers' game against Colorado next Sunday, Feb. 2, has been designated as the annual "Head to the Hearnes" ticket promotion. Missouri will attempt to sell out the Hearnes Center at 2 p.m. that afternoon and break the school's all-time women's basketball attendance record of 10,321 fans set last year against Kansas.
? ? ? Fans, community and business groups may buy tickets for just $1, and may also buy blocks of tickets to donate back to the athletic department for use by local youth organizations. To place an order, call (573) 882-0710.
THROW THIS NOTE AWAY
Coaches preach the value of making free throws, and this season, the Missouri coaching staff has set a goal for the team to make 80 percent of its free throws every day in practice and games.
? ? ? So far this season, the Tigers have accomplished that goal eight times in games, and it may not be surprising to find out that Missouri is 6-2 when it makes 80 percent of its free throws. MU's losses at Baylor and against Texas in the first week of the Big 12 season are the Tigers' only losses in such a situation.
? ? ? For the season, the Tigers have shot 76.2 percent as a team from the line, which is the second-best mark in the Big 12. In conference-only games, that accuracy improves to a league-leading 79.2 percent.
? ? ? If the Tigers' free-throw accuracy holds for the season, it will shatter the previous school record of 71.7 percent set by the 1980-81 team.
UNRAU ... AND HOW!
That would likely be the reaction from Spanky, the chubby-cheeked member of the Little Rascals gang regarding the play of junior forward Evan Unrau. The honorable mention All-Big 12 member posted her seventh double-double of the season - and third straight - after her 20-point, 10-rebound effort against Oklahoma State on Saturday. It followed performances of 11 points and 12 rebounds against Nebraska and 21 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa State.
? ? ? Unrau has led the Tigers in scoring 11 times this season. Her totals of 15.6 points and 8.7 rebounds both lead the team.
? ? ? In MU's five Big 12 Conference games, Unrau is averaging a double-double with 16.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. The rebounding total is second in the league, while her scoring average ranks sixth.
? ? ? Eleven of Unrau's 13 rebounds vs. Austin Peay on Dec. 7 came on the offensive end, giving her 25 for the season (she now has a team-high 58). Her 3.6 offensive rebounds per game is the third-best total in the Big 12 Conference.
FISHER GOES DOUBLE-DIPPING
Junior F/C Melanie Fisher has put together back-to-back excellent offensive games against Nebraska and Oklahoma State, making 10-of-11 shots in the two games on her way to scoring 10 and a career-high-tying 14 points, respectively.
? ? ? These two games are her first in double figures since her previous season high of 13 vs. Bradley on Nov. 26.
? ? ? Against Nebraska, Fisher was 4-of-4 from the field and made both of her free throws to get the 10 points; she added six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Against the Cowgirls, Fisher was 6-of-7 with six rebounds.
? ? ? She has made 16-of-22 shot attempts - a sizzling 72.7 percent - in Missouri's five Big 12 Conference games. That total leads the league in conference-only games by over 11 percent.
? ? ? For the season, Fisher is averaging 6.1 points (fifth on team) and 5.9 rebounds, which is second only to Evan Unrau. In addition, Fisher has led the team in steals three times this season. Her 26 are third on the team.
TIGERS HIGH ON LOZIER
Early in the season, some questioned the decision to start junior guard Tracy Lozier because of her perceived lack of offensive firepower. In addition to her defensive prowess, leadership, and steady, consistent play, Lozier found her shot in a big way on Dec. 11 at Northern Iowa, and has continued her offensive prowess since.
? ? ? Lozier was averaging under 5 points per game coming into the UNI game, yet she poured in a career-high 19 points in the Tigers' win, hitting six of her seven field-goal attempts and all five of her 3-point tries.
? ? ? Lozier has shown that that performance was no fluke, as she has scored in double figures in five of the last eight games.
? ? ? Over those last eight games, Lozier is averaging 11.8 points per game.
For the season, Lozier is fourth on the squad with an 8.9 points-per-game average. She also is second on the team with 46 assists (2.9 apg) and 31 steals (1.9 spg).
JAMES...
Junior forward Stretch James, who earned JUCO All-America honors at Tyler (Texas) JC before arriving in Columbia this fall, has adjusted well to the rigors of the Big 12.
? ? ? James tallied a Missouri career-high 18 points and added a season-best three assists in the game against Nebraska on Wednesday; she added 15 points in the win over OSU.
? ? ? James has scored in double figures in four of the last six games. In Big 12 Conference play, James is averaging 10.6 points (third on the team) and 4.6 rebounds per game, which is third on the team. That follows her season totals (9.0 ppg / 4.4 rpg), which are also both third on the squad.
... BOND
Bond, an Urbana, Ill., native, had a breakout game against her hometown's Illini at the Busch Braggin' Rights game on Dec. 21 in St. Louis. She finished with career highs of 11 points and six rebounds, and keyed a Tiger first-half comeback by making a pair of slicing layups, then hitting a runner as the halftime buzzer sounded.
? ? ? Bond is sixth on the squad with her 5.1 points-per-game average, and 21 steals are fifth on the team (1.3 spg).
ALL GOOD THINGS...
Stat junkies worldwide were saddended on Wednesday upon hearing that the Missouri women failed to hit at least one 3-pointer in a game for the first time in nearly four years - a streak of 115 games. The Tigers had not been held without a trey since a 78-54 loss at Baylor on Jan. 27, 1999.
? ? ? In addition, MU's streak of 58 straight games at the Hearnes Center - spanning more than four years dating back to an 87-76 win over Louisville on Dec. 5, 1998 - also came to an end. Missouri started a new streak against Oklahoma State on Saturday by hitting their first five long-distance tries of the game.
? ? ? Despite the broken string, streak-watchers are relieved to see, however, that Missouri's 507-game winning streak when out-scoring the other team remains mercifully intact.