March 24, 2003
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Junior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) scored a team-high 21 points to lead five Missouri players in double figures, and the Tigers shot 50 percent as a team in posting an 88-77 win over Ball State in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at the Hearnes Center on Monday.
The Tigers (17-13) advance to give Unrau a homecoming at Colorado State (20-12) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. MST in Fort Collins, Colo. The Cardinals see their season end at 21-10.
Junior forward Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Northland HS / Tyler [Texas] JC) poured in a season-high 20 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, junior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North HS) added 13 points with three 3-pointers, junior forward Melanie Fisher (St. Louis, Mo. / Principia HS / Southwest Missouri State) had her sixth double-figure game of the season, and senior guard Kerensa Barr (West Plains, Mo. / West Plains HS) had seven assists and eight rebounds to go with the 10 points she matched with Fisher.
In addition, freshman Cherice Mack (St. Charles, Mo. / St. Charles HS) tied her scoring high and set a new rebounding mark with her nine points and six boards.
Both teams shot well from the field in the first 5 minutes of the game, as Ball State out-shot the Tigers, 60-59 percent, on the way to a 13-all tie.
Mizzou did an excellent job containing MAC Player of the Year Tamara Bowie, who scored 40 points in the Cardinals' first-round win over Indiana State yet was held scoreless in the first half. Bowie finished with nine points - just the second time all season in which she was held to single-digit scoring. In her place, junior guard Johna Goff canned four 3-pointers on the way to 20 first-half points. Goff ended the night with 32 points.
Starting with a 15-foot baseline jumper from freshman center Cherice Mack (St. Charles, Mo.), however, Mizzou pulled within three (43-40) at halftime. It also propelled the Tigers on a 17-2 run that spanned the first 5:23 of the second half. When Dana Collins drove for a layup to break the Missouri streak, the Tigers had built a 55-47 lead. Although Missouri never pulled away, the closest Ball State would come is four points with 4:57 left.
"I thought it was a great game, and probably a great game for the fans to watch as well," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "That's what you get when you have two teams really working hard on both ends of the floor. I'm very pleased with the character that our team revealed to us and to themselves."
Unrau was equally ecstatic about returning home to Fort Collins over Missouri's spring break. "As soon as the WNIT brackets came out, I saw Colorado State and I wanted to get there. It will be great for my family and friends to get a chance to see me play. I grew up watching them, playing against them in the summer, and playing on that floor. It'll be fun."