Jan. 3, 2004
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| TIPOFF: 2 p.m. CST. | ||||
| ARENA: Bauman-Eberhardt Center (2,200). MU is 158-177 (.472) on the road, including 94-55 (.631) vs. unranked non-conference opponents. MU is 8-6 all-time in the city of St. Louis, including 7-0 against SLU. | ||||
| RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: Charter Communications in the St. Louis metro area. Bob Ramsey, play-by-play; Kirstin Folkl, color. | ||||
| SERIES: Mizzou leads, 14-0, including 7-0 in St. Louis. The Tigers and Billikens resumed the home-and-home series in 1999 following a 16-year hiatus, giving MU a 4-0 lead in the recent series. | ||||
| RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked nor receiving votes. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 92-68 at MU (sixth season) and 157-93 overall (ninth season).
SLU: Jill Pizzotti (Southeast Missouri State '89), 107-131 at SLU and overall (ninth season). |
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TIGERS LOOK TO CLOSE OUT NON-CONFERENCE SLATE WITH WIN
The Missouri women's basketball team (8-2) is looking for a ninth win to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule Sunday afternoon at Saint Louis. The Tigers and Billikens will tip off at 2 p.m. in the Bauman-Eberhardt Center (also known as the West Pine Gym) in a game that will be televised throughout the St. Louis metro area on Charter Cable.
? ? ? The Tigers are coming off a pair of solid home wins over Iowa (75-65) and Miami [Ohio] (92-68) this week, and are seeking their third win in six days.
? ? ? Several Tigers will be making area homecomings on Sunday, particularly senior F Melanie Fisher (St. Louis, Mo. / Principia HS / SMS), who will play in her hometown for the final time. Sophomore F Cherice Mack (St. Charles, Mo. / St. Charles HS) and freshman F EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) also figure to have large fan contingents, along with freshman G Blair Hardiek (Effingham, Ill. / Effingham HS)
MORE ON SAINT LOUIS
Like the Tigers, Saint Louis (6-6) will play its final non-conference game of the season on Sunday. The Billikens are coming off of a 72-33 pounding at the hands of Southwest Missouri State on New Year's Day, and have four straight and five of their last six.
? ? ? Saint Louis is led by senior F Angie Lewis, who is averaging 17.8 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. Two others - senior G Kirsti Holloway and senior C Stephanie Solomon, are also scoring in double figures this year. The trio comprise the only players to start every game for the Billikens.
LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU 92, MIAMI [OHIO] 68
Senior forwards Stretch James and Evan Unrau combined for 46 points and 18 rebounds in leading the University of Missouri women to a 92-68 win over Miami (Ohio) Friday night at the Hearnes Center. With the win, the Tigers run their record to 10-0 under Cindy Stein when scoring 90 or more points. It's the third time this season that both of Mizzou's starting forwards scored 20 or more in the same game.
Evan Unrau: THE BIG 12'S MOST VERSATILE PLAYER
Senior F Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) continues to be the engine that pulls the Tigers' train, leading the team with her scoring and rebounding averages of 19.7 points and 9.4 rebounds a game. Those numbers rank third and tied for first, respectively, in the Big 12 Conference. In addition, Unrau has five double-doubles this season.
? ? ? On top of her scoring and rebounding prowess, Unrau is ranked among the Big 12's top five players in four other diversecategories: 3-point FG Percentage (fourth, 47.7 pct.); 3-point FG Made (fourth, 2.1 3fgpg); Offensive Rebounds (first, 4.1 orpg); and Defensive Rebounds (fifth, 5.3 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.
TIGERS PURSUING NINTH WIN
With a win Sunday vs. Saint Louis, the Tigers would finish the non-conference schedule with a 9-2 mark. That would tie the second-best record of a Cindy Stein-coached team along with the 2000-01 and 2001-02 squads; the 1999-2000 team finished 10-1 on the way to the WNIT, Mizzou's first postseason appearance in six years.
BOND MAKING 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 (12.9 ppg).
? ? ? A pair of dazzling performances this week against Iowa and Miami [Ohio] are the latest examples. Bond went off for career highs of 20 points, nine assists and a seven rebounds, and added four steals, which was just one off her best ever. The nine assists were the most since Barr had the same number exactly three years previous to the day, against UW-Green Bay.
? ? ? Against the RedHawks on Friday, Bond had 13 points, a career-high eight rebounds, and eight more assists.
? ? ? With her eight games of double-figure scoring in Mizzou's first 10 outings, she's already surpassed her double-figure output from last season, when she scored 11 points each vs. Illinois and IUPUI. Bond has also exceeded her totals for the entire season last year in scoring (129 points/12.9 ppg), field goals (42), 3-pointers (nine), free throws (36), assists (55), blocks (seven), and minutes played (314).
? ? ? 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: 12.9 points, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 steals. She's also knocking down 86 percent of her free throws.
? ? ? Bond is ranked third in the Big 12 Conference in three categories: Assists (5.5 apg); Steals (2.6 spg); and Free-Throw Percentage (85.7 pct.).
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 her last five games, James is averaging 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game. She also has a pair of double-doubles in that span.
? ? ? James is second on the team in scoring (14.2 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg) and blocks (2.8 bpg, which leads the Big 12 Conference) after averaging 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds a game last year.
? ? ? In addition, James has moved into the Mizzou career top-10 in blocks. She has 73 in less than a year and a half, putting her in ninth place all-time.