Feb. 6, 2004
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| TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. CST | ||||
| ARENA: Hilton Coliseum (14,091). MU is 160-180 (.472) on the road, including 13-47 (217) in Big 12 Conference road contests. | ||||
| RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Kerensa Barr, color) and available to affiliates of the Tiger Radio Network. Also available on the Internet at www.mutigers.com. | ||||
| TV: None. | ||||
| SERIES: Mizzou leads, 41-15, including 16-9 in Ames. The Cyclones have won six of the seven meetings at Hilton since the formation of the Big 12 Conference, yet MU captured an 86-55 win there last year. | ||||
| RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked. Iowa State received one point in the Feb. 4 Coaches' poll. | ||||
| COACHES: | ||||
| Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 95-74 at MU (sixth season) and 160-99 overall (ninth season).
Iowa State: Bill Fennely (William Penn '79), 184-84 at ISU (ninth season) and 350-137 overall (16th season). |
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TIGERS GET "BREAK" IN SCHEDULE WITH TRIP TO AMES
Followers of the Missouri women's basketball team (11-8, 2-6 Big 12) know the strenuous schedule the Tigers have endured in Big 12 play; it has resulted in the seventh-toughest schedule in the country, according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Saturday's game at Iowa State (10-9, 3-5) marks MU's first contest against an unranked team in two weeks.
? ? ? Anyone who knows anything about the Big 12 also knows how facetious the headline above really is. Hilton Coliseum has been a graveyard for opponents the last decade, MU's lopsided 2003 win notwithstanding. Such is the setting for the weekend matchup between the Tigers and Cyclones.
? ? ? Mizzou is coming off a 34-point loss at No. 3-ranked Texas on Tuesday, while ISU made just 4-of-23 second-half shots Wednesday in a 61-47 home loss to No. 10 Kansas State.
MORE ON IOWA STATE
The Cyclones have had a see-saw season, posting back-to-back wins just twice, while also twice losing back-to-back games. Anne O'Neil - who with ISU coaches Bill Fennelly and Latoja Harris, and MU's Cindy Stein and Evan Unrau, participated in the World University Games - is the Cylones' only scorer in double figures (13.9 ppg). Lisa Kriener is ISU's leading rebounder at 5.1 rpg.
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 9.1 rebounds a game. Unrau leads the Big 12 in rebounding, and is third in scoring. In addition, the forward leads the league with nine double-doubles, including in four of her last six games.
? ? ? On top of her scoring and rebounding prowess, Unrau is ranked among the Big 12's top players in nine different categories to make her arguably the Big 12 Conference's MVP (Most Versatile Player). Unrau is ranked in more categories than any other player in the league; UT's Tiffany Jackson is second with eight categories, and Kansas State's Nicole Ohlde is ranked in seven. Here are Unrau's league ranks:
? ? ? 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: #3/4 TEXAS 89, MU 55
Stacy Stephens led five Longhorns in double-figure scoring as No. 3-ranked Texas eased its way to an 89-55 win over Missouri Tuesday night at the Erwin Center. Stephens was 10-of-11 from the floor in leading the Longhorns to their sixth straight win.
FINALLY, THEY'RE FREE!
The Mizzou women entered last week by making just 67.8 percent of their free throws, which ranked the Tigers near the bottom of the league.
? ? ? The Tigers set a school record in last Wednesday's upset of Oklahoma by making all 21 of their charity tosses, then hit 14-of-16 from the line last Saturday vs. Colorado. All told, Mizzou's 35-of-37 performance last week - an impressive 95 percent - boosted the team's season free-throw percentage nearly three points, up to 70.7 percent. In Big 12 games, the Tigers are shooting 72.9 percent from the line, which ranks MU fifth in the league.
RANK-AND-FILE THIS
The Tigers are nearing the end of a stretch that sees them play four of five games against ranked opponents (the unranked game is Saturday in Ames). In addition, each of Mizzou's next four games at home - a fifth came last Wednesday in an upset win over Oklahoma - are also against ranked squads.
? ? ? Although five straight games at home against ranked teams is a challenge, it likely won't match the difficulty faced by the 2001-02 squad. That team, which went 14-15, including 9-6 at Hearnes, had six games in an eight-game home stretch against ranked teams - all Big 12 opposition. MU's only win in that span came in its last home win over a ranked team until last Wednesday: Jan. 9, 2002, against then-No. 10 Texas Tech.
STRONG SCHEDULE HELPING TIGERS
Mizzou is listed at No. 37 as of Friday in the RPI coordinated by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, and despite the Tigers' recent struggles are by no means out of the running for postseason play. Much of that is due to MU's strong schedule, which is ranked No. 7 in the country by the WBCA.
? ? ? Four Tiger opponents - Austin Peay/Ohio Valley, Miami/Mid-American, Southwest Missouri State/Missouri Valley and UW-Green Bay/Horizon - lead their respective conferences, and another two (Iowa/Big Ten, Tulsa/Western Athletic) are third.
? ? ? In the Big 12 Conference race, just a game and a half separates 10th-place Mizzou from sixth. Six league squads have five or six losses, including the 2-6 Tigers.