University of Missouri
Iowa State
James' Double-Double Paces Tigers on Senior Day
2/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2004
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri women's basketball team turned 22 Iowa State turnovers into 20 points, and hit 17-of-19 free throws in the second half, en route to a 63-58 victory on senior day at the Hearnes Center Saturday afternoon. The occasion also marked the final women's regular-season contest ever to be played in the arena.
Senior forward Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Northland HS / Tyler [Texas] JC) led Mizzou with 21 points and 10 rebounds, notching her fifth double-double of the season. senior All-America candidate Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain HS) chipped in with 14 points and five boards, while also tying sophomore guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) for the team-high in assists, with four apiece.
Anne O'Neil led a trio of Cyclones in double figures with 13 points, and Fox's 11 rebounds for Iowa State were a game-high.
Senior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS / Trinity Valley [Texas] JC hit 3-pointers on each of Mizzou's first two possessions, and James hit a pair of free throws for an 8-0 lead in the first 58 seconds of the game.
A Perkins jumper gave her eight points in the first 11 minutes, and also made for a 22-13 Tiger lead. Yet the Cyclones (13-13, 6-9 Big 12), powered by five points from Mary Fox, used an 18-6 run over 8:44 that spanned halftime to open up a 31-28 with less than a minute gone in the second half.
James quickly responded for the Tigers (15-11, 6-9) by hitting a layup and drawing a foul by Iowa State's Katie Robinette. She converted the free throw to tie the score, 31-31.
Megan Ronhovde gave Iowa State its biggest lead at 43-38 with 10:30 to play before the Tigers reeled off eight of the game's next 10 points. Mizzou regained the lead at 46-45 with 8:00 left on a put-back by Unrau.
With less than seven minutes remaining in the game, James scored four straight points for the Tigers to give Mizzou a 50-49 advantage. The game's final 5:49 featured three ties and three lead changes. With 1:11 on the clock junior center Megan Roney (Independence, Mo. / Truman HS) nailed a jumper to give the Tigers a 56-54 lead, one which they would not relinquish. Unrau canned four free throws, and added three more, down the stretch to seal the 63-58 victory.
"I didn't think it was a well-executed game at times, but at the same time I'm really proud of our players," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "I'm probably more satisfied right now that the seniors got to walk off the Hearnes floor with a victory. I think that's probably the most important thing today."
The Tigers close out the regular season Wednesday at Texas A&M, and might have to wait until Thursday night's Kansas/Iowa State contest before knowing their seed for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Basketball Tournament. That will be played out next Tuesday-Saturday, March 9-13, at Reunion Arena in Dallas.
