Feb. 8, 2003
LINCOLN, Neb. - The Missouri women's basketball team shot nearly 70 percent from the field in the second half to pull away for a 74-53 win at Nebraska on Saturday night at the Devaney Center to sweep the season series for the third straight year.
Junior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) tallied 23 points - the highest output of any Tiger this season - and junior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North HS) added 12. In addition, sophomore center Megan Roney (Independence, Mo. / Truman HS) notched a career-high seven rebounds for Missouri (11-9, 5-4 Big 12), which has now won five of its last seven games.
Alexa Johnson had 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds to lead the Huskers (8-12, 1-8).
"I'm proud of them - going on the road is tough, but they went in there like they had nothing to lose," said Head Coach Cindy Stein. "They hit some big shots, and Evan Unrau was so steady for us. MyEsha Perkins made some key shots in the second half. Megan Roney did a great job on the boards for us and got some key baskets. I felt good about everyone's play; this was a good win for us."
The Tigers contested every Husker shot from the outset, holding Nebraska to just 1-for-11 shooting in the first 7 minutes as Missouri took an 8-2 lead. Both of the Huskers' first field goals of the game were from 18 feet out.
Mizzou had trouble hitting shots of its own for much of the first half, yet its work at the free-throw line and continued defensive pressure extended the lead. The Tigers were 10-of-11 (91 percent) from the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes. In addition, Stein's troops made a pair of runs to pull ahead: a 7-0 spurt midway through the half, and another 6-0 run after an Alexa Johnson jumper. The Tigers took a 30-22 lead into the locker room despite shooting 32.3 percent from the field in the first half (10-of-31); Mizzou countered that performance by holding the Huskers to 27.3 percent shooting (9-of-33) and with a 26-22 edge on the boards.
Senior guard Kerensa Barr (West Plains, Mo. / West Plains HS) - who finished with seven points, seven assists and just one turnover on the night - hit a 3-pointer coming out of the break, and after junior forward Melanie Fisher (St. Louis, Mo. / Principia HS) took a charge on the next possession, Unrau hit another trey to put the Tigers up 38-22.
After Nebraska pulled to within nine with 14:35 left, Missouri increased its lead to 17 when Lozier hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 9:38 remaining. The Huskers pulled back to 13 with 3:39 left, yet Unrau and junior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS) sandwiched 3-pointers around a fastbreak layup by freshman guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) to salt the game away.
The Tigers return to the Hearnes Center this Wednesday, Feb. 12, for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Iowa State. For ticket information, contact the MU Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in mid-Missouri).