Jan. 30, 2003
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| TIPOFF: 2:06 p.m. CST. | ||||
| ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,611). Opened in 1972. MU is 267-90 (.748) here alltime, including 26-25 in Big 12 Conference play. | ||||
| RADIO: Available over the Tiger Network [KFRU-AM 1400, flagship]. David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color. Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: FOX Sports Net national telecast. Bill Land, play-by-play; Brenda Van Lengen, color. Kurt Deichert, producer. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 76-60 at MU (5th season), 140-85 overall (8th season).
Colorado: Ceal Barry (Kentucky '77), 387-210 at CU (20th season); 460-252 overall (24th season). |
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TIGERS INVITE FANS TO "HEAD TO THE HEARNES" ON SUNDAY
The Missouri women's basketball team will try to break the program's single-game attendance record this Sunday, Feb. 2, when the Tigers host Colorado at 2 p.m. in its annual "Head to the Hearnes" ticket promotion. The game will be broadcast live to much of the country on FOX Sports Net.
? ? ? The Tigers are looking to better last year's "Head to the Hearnes" mark of 10,321 fans, set against Kansas. Tickets are on sale for just $1, and blocks of tickets may be purchased and donated back to the athletic department for use by community groups.
ABOUT COLORADO...
The Buffs, under 20th-year veteran head coach Ceal Barry, carry a 15-3 overall record - and a fourth-place 5-2 conference mark - into Sunday's game.
? ? ? Colorado comes into Columbia on the heels of a 66-59 win at home against Baylor on Wednesday. Junior C Tera Bjorklund, who leads the Buffs in scoring (16.8 ppg) and is second on the squad in rebounding (6.7 rpg), tallied game highs of 23 points and nine boards in the contest. Senior F Sabrina Scott leads Colorado with 7.1 rpg and also averages 10.7 ppg, while junior G Kate Fagan is the third member averaging in double-figure scoring (12.3 ppg).
? ? ? Of CU's and Missouri's common opponents this season, their results against only one opponent differ: Colorado's last foe, Baylor, beat the Tigers by 11 in Waco on Jan. 8. Both teams have beaten Iowa State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech has defeated both teams.
COLORADO SERIES...
Sunday's matchup will be the 52nd all-time between the schools, making Missouri the team that the Buffs have played the most.
? ? ? CU leads the overall series, which started back in 1977, by a 30-21 margin and has won six of the last seven matchups. However, in Columbia, the Tigers have won three of the last four meetings between the schools.
LAST TIME OUT: #8 TEXAS TECH 84, MU 50
Plenette Pierson and Jia Perkins combined for 50 points to lead No. 8 Texas Tech to an 84-50 win over Missouri in Big 12 Conference action Wednesday night at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. Pierson set a career high with 32 points, and Perkins added 18 for Tech. Junior forward Stretch James led the Tigers with 16 points, and sophomore Melanie Fisher pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, just one off her career best.
BARR CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS
Senior guard Kerensa Barr, who is expected to make her 82nd start of her career on Sunday, became the 22nd member of Missouri's 1,000-point club after her 15-point performance against Oklahoma State on Jan. 25. She has played in each of Missouri's 107 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 50 away from equalling Amy Fordham's school record.
? ? ? With 11 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 third on that list after passing Sarah Campbell on Tuesday (Jan. 28) at Texas Tech.
? ? ? Barr is just the fifth player in Big 12 history to record 400 assists and 200 steals in a career.
? ? ? Finally, Barr is currently ahead of Julie Helm as Mizzou's most accurate free-throw shooter in school history (80.7 percent). If she sinks 80 percent or more of her remaining free throws, Barr will finish as the record-holder.
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 from 2001-02 posted her seventh double-double of the season - and third straight - after her 20-point, 10-rebound effort against Oklahoma State on Jan. 28. It followed performances of 11 points and 12 rebounds against Nebraska and 21 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa State.
? ? ? Unrau's seven double-doubles are the second-highest total in the league, and her four double-doubles in conference play leads the Big 12.
? ? ? Unrau has led the Tigers in scoring 11 times this season. Her totals of 14.9 points and 8.8 rebounds both lead the team.
? ? ? 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 3.4 offensive rebounds per game is the third-best total in the Big 12 Conference.
FISHER GOES DOUBLE-DIPPING
Junior F/C Melanie Fisher 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.
? ? ? Those two games were 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 19-of-28 shot attempts - a sizzling 67.9 percent - in Missouri's six Big 12 Conference games. That total leads the league in conference-only games by over 7 percent.
? ? ? For the season, Fisher is averaging 6.1 points (fifth on team) and 6.4 rebounds, which is second only to Evan Unrau. In addition, Fisher has led the team in steals three times this season. Her 28 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 nine games.
? ? ? For the season, Lozier is fourth on the squad with an 8.8 points-per-game average. She also is second on the team with 49 assists (2.9 apg) and 31 steals (1.8 spg).
? ? ? In addition, Lozier is ranked among the Big 12 leaders in conference-only games in the following four categories: assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.3); 3-pointers made per game (6th, 1.83); 3-point FG percentage (10th, 37.9%); and assists per game (11th, 3.50).
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 Jan. 22; she added 15 points in the win over Oklahoma State the following Saturday, and had a team-high 16 at No. 8 Texas Tech this past Tuesday.
? ? ? James has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games. She's also done so in each of her last four, putting up an average of 14.8 ppg in that span. In Big 12 Conference play, James is averaging 11.5 points (third on the team) and 4.3 rebounds per game, which is third on the team. That follows her season totals (9.4 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 4.9 points-per-game average, and 21 steals are fifth on the team (1.2 spg).
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 charity tosses. 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 75.6 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.