TIGERS BATTLE BIG RED FOR BIG 12 SUPREMACY
      The University of Missouri women's basketball team (7-5, 1-0 Big 12) hosts Nebraska (9-4, 1-0) Saturday night - on a game that will be televised statewide over the Mizzou Sports Network - in a unique situation: atop the Big 12 standings. Granted, the Tigers share the lead with the Huskers and four other league foes, but it's a position Missouri has never been in. Both teams are riding three-game winning streaks after posting impressive wins at home on Wednesday: Missouri by 18 over Oklahoma State, and Nebraska by 22 over Colorado.
      Missouri is looking to go 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 1993, when the Tigers beat Kansas and Kansas State at home to take an early Big Eight Conference lead.

THE NEBRASKA SERIES
      The Huskers snapped a six-game Missouri winning streak last January at the Hearnes Center, yet the Tigers won in Lincoln for the fourth straight year to claim seven out of the last eight meetings between the teams. Mizzou was without the services of then-sophomore guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) in the game in Columbia last season, which NU took by a 74-69 count. She was back for the rematch in Lincoln, which was won on a backdoor layup by then-freshman EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) in a 78-76 win.

SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
      Nebraska has rolled to an 8-0 record at the Devaney Center, yet is winless in three road games this season. That's not indicative of the Huskers' success under third-year Head Coach Connie Yori, though, as the three contests were at then-No. 10 Notre Dame, then-No. 10 Ohio State, and 2004 WNIT Champion Creighton. Saturday's game is NU's first trip outside of Nebraska since the Dec. 11 loss to the Buckeyes.
      Nebraska was picked to finish just behind Missouri by the coaches in their preseason poll, yet with just a two-point differential in the final voting - the closest of any of the slots - the league's mentors are certainly divided over the matchup.
      The Huskers are led in scoring by sophomore guard Kiera Hardy's 17.6 points per game, which is currently the third-highest average in the Big 12. She had a game-high 22 in Wednesday's win vs. Colorado. Sophomore forward Jessica Gerhart is NU's top rebounder (6.7 rpg) and second-leading scorer (12.9 ppg). Sophomore forward Chelsea Aubry, who is expected to miss the game with a foot injury, is the only other Husker in double figures at 10.1 points a game.

LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU 67, OKLAHOMA STATE 49
      For the first time ever, the Missouri Tigers can say they're in first place in the Big 12 Conference women's basketball race. That's because Mizzou snapped an 11-game winless streak in conference-openers Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena with a 67-49 win over Oklahoma State.
      Christelle N'Garsanet had a team-high 20 points and added seven rebounds and five blocks, and LaToya Bond and Tiffany Brooks each added 14 points for the Tigers.

VISE-GRIP YIELDS ONE OF BEST PERFORMANCES IN LEAGUE HISTORY
      Mizzou held Oklahoma State to just 10 first-half points on its way to its 18-point win on Wednesday. While that's neither a school or a Big 12 record (the Tigers spotted Saint Louis just seven points in 1978, and a couple of teams have allowed just eight in the eight-plus years of conference play), it's still darn impressive.
      In addition, the 49 points allowed by Mizzou is tied for the team's fifth-best defensive performance in Big 12 play. Here is the list:

 Date Opponent Score
1. Jan. 15, 2002 Nebraska W, 67-41
2. Jan. 8, 2000 Baylor W, 78-44
3. Feb. 14, 2004 at Oklahoma State W, 71-46
4. Feb. 7, 1999 Kansas L, 48-37
 Jan. 12, 2002 at Kansas W, 66-48
5. Feb. 8, 2000 Texas Tech W, 52-49
 Jan. 24, 2004 at Kansas W, 76-49
 Jan. 5, 2005 Oklahoma State W, 67-49

BUT WAIT - THAT'S NOT ALL!
      Mizzou has held its last two opponents - OSU and Saint Louis - to a total of 99 points. That's the best two-game defensive performance since the Tigers held Southern and Austin Peay (43 each) to 86 points on Nov. 26-28, 2003. The Tigers' defense has given up an average of 52 points the last three games, counting Mizzou's 58-57 win at Miami (Ohio).