Dec. 29, 2003
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| TIPOFF: 1 p.m. CST. | ||||
| ARENA: Hearnes Center (13,611). MU is 276-96 (.742) here alltime, including 167-36 (.823) vs. non-conference opponents and 31-4 (.886) in those games under Cindy Stein. | ||||
| RADIO: KWWC-FM 90.5 (David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: None. | ||||
| SERIES: Iowa leads, 4-0, including 1-0 in Columbia. The Hawkeyes took an 87-65 decision in Iowa City last year; UI won the game in Columbia in 1991 (89-62). | ||||
| RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked nor receiving votes. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 90-68 at MU (sixth season) and 155-93 overall (ninth season).
Iowa: Lisa Bluder (Northern Iowa '83), 63-40 at UI (fourth season) and 419-182 overall (20th season). |
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TIGERS TURN SCHEDULE INTO HIGH GEAR, START WITH HAWKEYES
The 6-2 Missouri women's basketball team looks to shake the rust off of a nine-day break from competition when the Tigers host Iowa (6-4) Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Hearnes Center. It's the second weekday matinee for the women, who beat Southern (La.) by a 79-43 count on Nov. 26.
? ? ? Mizzou's coming off a hard-fought 78-72 win on the road at Evansville last Sunday, Dec. 21, and after five days off for Christmas, the Tigers resumed practice Saturday morning in preparation for the Hawkeyes. Counting the win over the Purple Aces, the Tigers will have played just once in 20 days.
? ? ? The days go by much quicker this week, as the Tigers will play through their busiest week left in the schedule. Including games at home vs. Miami (Ohio) on Friday and at Saint Louis on Sunday, Mizzou will play three games in six days. The Tigers won't have more than two in a week the rest of the season until the Big 12 Tournament the second week of March.
DADDY, WHY ARE WE PLAYING NOW?
Well, son, it's for one simple reason: It's the only time the two teams could play. Between Mizzou's games this coming Friday and Sunday, and Iowa's game this past Sunday, Tuesday was the only day that was mutually available. Throw in the fact that the Tiger men play on TV Tuesday night, and voila - there's your answer.
MORE ON IOWA
The Hawkeyes have lost two of their last three - all at home - including an 84-72 loss in overtime to Creighton on Sunday. Iowa also lost to 11th-ranked Kansas State, 82-60, on Dec. 12, before defeating Drake by 14 (79-65) last Sunday, Dec. 21.
? ? ? Iowa has three upperclassmen averaging better than 15 points an outing. Senior guard Kristi Faulkner and junior center Jamie Cavey are both averaging 16.1 points per game, and senior forward Jennie Lillis is averaging 15.0 ppg.
? ? ? The Hawkeyes have won all four meetings with Mizzou, including and 87-65 decision in Iowa City last December 30.
LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU 78, EVANSVILLE 72
Buoyed by hot outside shooting at the end of the second half and excellent ball distribution in the second, the Mizzou women's basketball team registered a 78-72 win Sunday afternoon at Roberts Stadium.
BIG 12 TOPS IN CURRENT CONFERENCE RPI
The Big 12 leads the country in conference RPI in the WBCA/Summerville Conference RPI rankings through the games of Dec. 28. The Big 12 also leads the nation in non-conference winning percentage with an .809 mark.
? ? ? The Big 12 is one of only two conferences in the country that has its entire membership above .500; the ACC is the other, and is currently ranked fifth. In addition, the league is a combined 54-4 on its home floors this season.
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 NCAA. NOTE: Rankings have not been updated since prior to the Tigers' game at Evansville.
? ? ? 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.
PERKINS REJOINS TIGERS
Senior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS / Trinity [Texas] JC) rejoined the Tiger squad in Evansville, and had a successful debut by contributing four points and an assist in Mizzou's win. Perkins was declared academically ineligible for the fall semester, and although she had 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 on the afternoon of Dec. 19, allowing Perkins to rejoin the team.
? ? ? Last season, Perkins was sixth on the team in scoring at 4.4 points per game.
UNRAU MAKING GOOD ON PROGNOSTICATIONS
Senior forward Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) has been selected to Street & Smith's preseason women's All-America team, and the four-year starter continues to impress this season.
? ? ? While Unrau has taken advantage of the Tigers' increased depth this season - which has eased the scoring burden put on her - she still leads the team with her scoring and rebounding averages of 19.3 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. Those are the third-best numbers in the Big 12 Conference.
? ? ? Unrau was one of 50 players listed by Street & Smith's, and one of 30 players given Preseason Honorable Mention All-America status by the magazine. Ten others were each named to the "Terrific 10" and High Honorable Mention lists.
? ? ? Last year, Unrau became Mizzou's second First Team All-Big 12 Conference selection in the seven-year history of the conference. She led the Tigers in both scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg) in leading Mizzou to postseason play for the fourth straight year.
JAMES STRETCH-ING DEFENSES
Senior forward Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Northland HS / Tyler [Texas] JC) struggled early-on at UW-Green Bay on Nov. 29, hitting just one of her three field-goal attempts in just five minutes on the floor.
? ? ? Since then, James has been on fire. When the second half rolled around, James went into high gear, going 10-of-14 from the floor on her way to a career-high 24 points. She also pulled down four rebounds and made three blocks, including a clean stuff of the Phoenix' Tiffany Mor that unfortunately caused the UWGB star to seriously injure her knee with 9 minutes left. She averaged 17.0 ppg in Mizzou's two games in Wisconsin.
? ? ? The following weekend, James made a case for being named to the Unilever All-Tournament Team, and received several votes from the assembled balloters. She averaged 13 points and eight rebounds, and shot 65 percent (13-of-20) from the field.
? ? ? In the 4-1/2 games since that first half at UWGB, James is 38-of-68 (55.9 percent) from the field. In her last three games, James is averaging 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds. She has double-doubles in two of her last three games.
? ? ? James is second on the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg) after averaging 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds a game last year.
BOND MAKES HER POINT(S) AT THE POINT
Sophomore point guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) has adjusted well to taking the reigns at the point-guard position for the Tigers this season. A year removed from a support role behind all-everything Kerensa Barr, Bond has seized the spotlight this season with her status as the MU's third-leading scorer (12.0 ppg).
? ? ? She posted an excellent performance in her first collegiate start at Bradley Nov. 23, scoring a game-high and career-high 17 points, including an impressive 11-of-12 showing from the free-throw line. Bond also tied her career high with four steals against the Braves. She scored in double figures again Nov. 26 vs. Southern, tallying 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds vs. the Jaguars. With her five games of double-figure scoring in Mizzou's first seven outings, she's already surpassed her double-figure output from last season, when she scored 11 points each vs. Illinois and IUPUI.
? ? ? Bond came off the bench in 29 games last season is support of the departed Barr, and averaged 3.2 points and 1.3 rebounds a game. This season her numbers are higher across the board: 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.6 steals.