Dec. 19, 2003
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| TIPOFF: 1 p.m. CST. | ||||
| ARENA: Roberts Stadium (11,600). Opened in 1956. MU is 157-177 (.470) all-time on the road, including 93-55 (.628) on the road vs. unranked non-conference opponents. MU is 1-1 in the state of Indiana, with both games coming in a 1990 tournament in Bloomington, Ind. | ||||
| RADIO: KWWC-FM 90.5 (David Lile, play-by-play/Kerensa Barr, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: None. | ||||
| SERIES: Mizzou leads, 4-0, including an 84-81 WNIT win in the two teams' last meeting in 2000. Sunday's game will be the first of the series in Evansville. | ||||
| RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked nor receiving votes. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 89-68 at MU (sixth season) and 154-93 overall (ninth season).
Evansville: Tricia Cullop (Purdue '93), 43-49 at UE and overall (fifth season). |
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WITH FINALS OVER, MIZZOU WOMEN HEAD TO HOOSIER STATE
The Missouri women's basketball team (5-2), fresh off an 11-day layoff for its fall-semester exams, travels to Evansville (4-3) for a Sunday matinee against the Purple Aces. The Tigers are coming off a nine-point loss to SMS last Wednesday, Dec. 10.
? ? ? The game will give Mizzou a chance to start a couple of new streaks: Not only did the loss to SMS snap the Tigers' two-game win streak en route to the Unilever Tiger Tournament title, it also ended MU's recent dominance of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Tigers had won their last 16 games against The Valley to push their all-time record against the league to 58-25 going into the SMS game.
PERKINS ELIGIBLE FOR EVANSVILLE GAME
Senior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS / Trinity [Texas] JC) has been declared eligible for competition following a successful semester in the classroom. Perkins was declared academically ineligible for the fall semester, and although she has been able to practice with the team, has had to wait until the semester's grades were posted and the necessary paperwork processed. That occurred late Friday afternoon, allowing Perkins to rejoin the team.
MORE ON EVANSVILLE
The Purple Aces have roller-coastered their way to their current 4-3 mark, alternating wins and losses since a season-opening 10-point win over Austin Peay. Their most recent outing was a four-point road win at Tennessee-Martin; Evansville has won each of its first two home games.
? ? ? Evansville is led by senior center Jamie Gray, who is the current Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after averaging 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in games at Butler and UTM. She has five double-doubles on the season, and is averaging a double-double with team-leading averages of 17.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT: SMS 79, MU 70
Evan Unrau and Stretch James combined for 49 points - including a game-high 28 for Unrau - yet the Southwest Missouri State women held on for a 79-70 win over Mizzou at the Hearnes Center last Wednesday, Dec. 10.
TIGERS SWATTING SHOTS AT A NATION-LEADING RATE
While it can be debated whether it is the product of good defense, or merely as a defense mechanism, this is not for debate: No one in the country is blocking shots at a higher rate than the Mizzou women, according to the latest rankings released Tuesday by the NCAA.
? ? ? The Tigers have swatted 51 shots in their first seven games, an average of 7.3 a contest. Big 12 colleague Oklahoma State is second at 7.1 bpg, followed by Jackson State and New Mexico.
? ? ? The Tigers are well ahead of a pace that would break the current school record of 128, set in 1999-2000.
? ? ? Mizzou is ranked in the top 25 (out of 324 Division I schools) in three other categories: Scoring Offense (80.1 ppg / 13th); Scoring Margin (+22.1 ppg / 14th); and Rebound Margin (+9.4 rpg / 23rd).
? ? ? Two Tiger seniors are ranked individually among the nation's leaders. Stretch James leads the Big 12, and is 14th in the country, in blocked shots (2.9 bpg). Evan Unrau has made half of her 28 3-point field-goal tries, which ranks her 18th in the country.