Jan. 22, 2004
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| TIPOFF: 3:05 p.m. CST | ||||
| ARENA: Allen Fieldhouse (16,300). Opened in 1955. Mizzou is 159-179 (.470) all-time on the road, including 12-46 (.207) in Big 12 Conference play. | ||||
| RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Kerensa Barr, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: FOX Sports Net [see box on page 3 for clearances]. Bill Land, play-by-play; Brenda Van Lengen, color; Kurt Deichert, producer. | ||||
| SERIES: Kansas leads, 33-30. Kansas broke a series-record-tying six-game Tiger win streak on Jan. 10 in Columbia. Mizzou has not lost in Lawrence since 2000, and will go for its first series split since that season. | ||||
| RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked nor receiving votes. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 93-72 at MU (sixth season) and 158-97 overall (ninth season).
Kansas: Marian Washington (West Chester '70), 559-355 at KU and overall (31st season). |
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MIZZOU GOES FOR BORDER-WAR SPLIT SATURDAY ON FOX
Just two weeks have passed since the last time the Kansas and Missouri women met, and more important than the drama surrounding the last two weeks is the fact that neither team has won a game since. Both teams will try to correct that on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse in a game that will be televised across much of the country on FOX Sports Net.
? ? ? For the first time since that first KU game, the Tigers (9-6, 0-4 Big 12) will have a "full" roster - an injury to LaToya Bond notwithstanding - and Mizzou is hopeful for anything to stem the tide of a four-game losing streak. That's MU's longest since dropping the last seven games of the 2001-02 season.
MORE ON KANSAS
Sophomore F Crystal Kemp leads the team in scoring at 14.2 ppg, and she'll look to continue the success she had in the first game with Mizzou when she poured in 20 points. Aquanita Burras is second in scoring (11.3 ppg) for the Jayhawks, who have lost three straight (at home to Colorado, and at Kansas State and Baylor).
Evan Unrau: THE BIG 12'S MOST VERSATILE PLAYER
Senior All-America candidate Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) is the engine that pulls the Tigers' train, leading the team with her scoring and rebounding averages of 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. Unrau leads the Big 12 in rebounding, and is third in scoring. In addition, the forward leads the league with seven double-doubles.
? ? ? On top of her scoring and rebounding prowess, Unrau is ranked among the Big 12's top players in six other diverse categories to make her arguably the Big 12 Conference's MVP (Most Versatile Player): 3-point FG Percentage (eighth, 41.7 pct.); 3-pointers Made (t-ninth, 1.67 3FGpg); Blocked Shots (11th, 1.07 bpg); Assist/Turnover Ratio (sixth, 1.69); Offensive Rebounds (first, 3.80 orpg); and Defensive Rebounds (seventh, 5.20 drpg).
? ? ? Unrau was selected to Street & Smith's preseason women's All-America team, and the four-year starter continues to impress this season. 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.
LAST TIME OUT: CU 71, MU 54
Tera Bjorklund had a game-high 21 points to lead Colorado to a 71-54 win over Mizzou in Big 12 Conference women's basketball action Sunday afternoon at the Coors Events Center.
MIZZOU'S ON THE TUBE
Saturday is Mizzou's fifth televised game of the season out of a school-record-tying seven guaranteed appearances this year, and its second straight national cablecast on FOX Sports Net as part of the Big 12 Conference second-tier package.
LOZIER BREAKS CAREER TREYS MARK
Senior guard Tracy Lozier (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley North HS) nailed three 3-pointers on Sunday at Colorado to make her Mizzou's all-time record-holder in that category. One game earlier against Nebraska, she set the career 3-point attempts mark. Lozier is now 125-for-351 (35.6 percent) for her career; the record in both categories was previously held by Julie Helm (1997-2000).
? ? ? With the injury to LaToya Bond, the senior has moved over to the point-guard position, and has been plus-one (13-12) on her assist-turnover ratio in the four games since. For the season, her 58-35 ratio (1.66) ranks her eighth in the Big 12, just behind teammate Evan Unrau.
? ? ? Lozier was averaging 7.5 points a game coming into the Unilever Tiger Tournament, when she went off for 31 points in Mizzou's two wins to help the Tigers to the title. She had a career-high 20 in the title win over Tulsa, with the help of four 3-pointers. She also canned four treys vs. Kansas on Saturday on the way to a 19-point outing.
? ? ? For the season, Lozier's averaging an even 10.1 points (fourth on the team), 2.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. That follows a breakout junior season in which she tallied season averages of 9.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game.
PERKINS REJOINS TIGERS - AGAIN
Senior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS / Trinity [Texas] JC) has provided a boost to the Tigers' options at both ends of the floor in the six games she's played since becoming eligible on Dec. 19. Following a two-game suspension for her actions Jan. 10 vs. Kansas, she's once again eligible for competition.
? ? ? Perkins, who was academically ineligible for the fall semester, has twice hit for 11 points, including vs. Iowa (Dec. 30) and again Jan. 7 at Kansas State in the league opener. She has at least one assist in five out of her six games, and is shooting 46.7 percent from the field (14-of-30). Last season, Perkins was sixth on the team in scoring (4.4 ppg).