Dec. 30, 2003
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Sophomore guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) had a career afternoon in leading the Mizzou women to a solid 75-65 win over Iowa Tuesday at the Hearnes Center. Bond set or tied career highs with 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, and also had four steals. The nine assists are the most since Kerensa Barr tallied nine against UW-Green Bay three years ago to the day.
Senior All-America candidate Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) added 19 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, and senior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS / Trinity Valley [Texas] JC) chipped in 11 points for the Tigers (7-2).
Jamie Cavey and Jennie Lillis had 20 and 16 points, respectively, for the Hawkeyes before each fouled out. Mizzou held leading scorer Kristi Faulkner to eight points, just one off her season low and eight under her average.
Bond set the tone for the game just 1 minute and 7 seconds into the game when she made a steal in the Iowa backcourt, drove for a layup and converted the foul shot for a 3-point play. Despite missing six of their first seven shots, strong defense kept the Tigers within 6-5 with 14:55 left in the first half. Mizzou finished with a season-high 14 steals.
A pair of layups from Perkins both gave Mizzou the lead and started the Tigers on a 10-0 run, which was capped by buckets from Bond and senior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North HS).
The game's breakneck pace fueled a pair of buckets in the half's final seven seconds, including an 18-footer from Unrau as the halftime buzzer sounded to give Mizzou a 39-25 lead.
Only once did Iowa (6-5) trim the Tiger lead under 10 points, and that came on a chip-shot in the paint from Cavey with 12:30 left in the game to cap a 9-0 run. Perkins knocked down a jumper and Unrau canned one of her two 3-pointers on the ensuing possessions to boost the lead back to 14. Mizzou would add three more treys down the stretch to finish with seven on the day.
"I'm very pleased with the way our team played," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "I'm very proud of them, because you're always worried about how they're going to play after a long break. Our team came out ready to play, and we had such great play from everyone - out starters and off the bench."
The Tigers conclude their two-game homestand this Friday, Jan. 2, with a 7 p.m. tipoff vs. Miami (Ohio) at the Hearnes Center. For ticket information, call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in Mid-Missouri). As a reminder, holders of the student All-Sports Pass or the KMIZ-ZOU Spirit Pass gain free admission to all women's basketball games.