WITH TWO STREAKS SNAPPED, TIGERS LOOK TO START WINNING STRING
      The Missouri women's basketball team (8-13, 2-8 Big 12), fresh of a buzzer-beating win at Colorado on Wednesday, returns to Mizzou Arena for a 7 p.m. tipoff Saturday against Texas A&M (13-8, 3-7). The Tigers leapfrogged past both the Buffs and Oklahoma State with the win, and will look to do the same to an Aggie team that is a game ahead in the league standings.
      Associate Head Coach Betsy Yonkman will again serve as the Tigers' bench coach in the absence of Head Coach Cindy Stein, whose father, Dave, passed away Friday morning.

LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU 58, COLORADO 55
      LaToya Bond hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a 58-55 win over Colorado in Big 12 Conference action Wednesday night at the Coors Events and Conference Center. It is Mizzou's first win in Boulder since 1990, and earns the Tigers their first road league win of the year.

FIRST THINGS FIRST
      As mentioned previously, the Tigers' win at Colorado on Wednesday was Mizzou's first win in Boulder in 15 years. It also snapped an eight-game losing streak - MU's longest since 1991.
      Among other things, the 58-55 win was Mizzou's first this year when trailing at halftime; the Tigers overcame a nine-point deficit at intermission. Also, it was the team's first Big 12 on the road this year, and MU's second last-minute win of the season. Tiffany Brooks hit a turnaround jumper at Miami (Ohio) as the clock ran down to give Mizzou a one-point win on New Year's Eve.

"MAN, I LIKE WINNING..."
      "It's like... better than losing!" The sage wisdom of Bull Durham legend Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh certainly rings true for the Tigers after picking up their first win in over a month. It's also the Tigers' first Big 12 road win since sneaking away from College Station with a one-point victory in last year's regular-season finale.

THE TEXAS A&M SERIES
      Saturday's matchup against the Aggies will be just the 10th contest between the two schools - the youngest of any of Missouri's Big 12 foes. Missouri holds winning all-time series records against four Big 12 schools, and Texas A&M is one of them (6-3). The Tigers' 4-0 record in Columbia meshes with the league's success in general against TAMU; the Aggies have the fewest road wins - nine - of any league school in the nine-year history of the conference, though they did pick up a 49-44 win at Oklahoma State in the first weekend of Big 12 play.
      Last year, Evan Unrau hit a free throw with 7.9 seconds left to secure a 61-60 win at Reed Arena.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
      While the Tigers have a young and relatively inexperienced team, they're veterans compared with the roster that Texas A&M fields. Eight freshman are among Head Coach Gary Blair's 14 Aggies, and six have started at least one game this season. There have been three instances this season when five freshmen have been on the floor at the same time.
      Leading the group is Freshman of the Year candidate and forward Morenike Atunrase, who leads Texas A&M in scoring (10.6 ppg) and blocks (1.9 bpg), and is second in rebounding (5.3 rpg). Junior forward Tamea Scales is the Aggies' top rebounder (6.4 rpg) and is second in scoring (9.9 ppg).
      Unlike many Big 12 schools, the Aggies scheduled a non-conference game during their mid-week bye from league competition, turning back Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 88-64, on Tuesday in College Station.

TIGERS ALMOST HEALTHY!
      Nagging injuries have taken their toll on what started out as a relatively deep Missouri rotation. Junior F and leading scorer Tiffany Brooks was hobbled with an ankle sprain last month; junior C Christelle N'Garsanet recovered from a foot injury; and sophomore F EeTisha Riddle (foot) and freshman G Kassie Drew (leg) are both recovering from stress fractures. Brooks, N'Garsanet and Riddle are nearly fully healed, while Drew continues to see limited floor action.

RIDDLE ME THIS!
      Sophomore F EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) had a breakout game at Colorado on Wednesday, posting her first career double-double by setting or tying several other career highs.
      Her 12 points was just one shy of her single-game bests of 13 points set at KU last month, and her 10 rebounds was one better than the nine she had in the win at Miami (Ohio) on New Year's Eve. She also tied career higs with her three blocks and three steals in Boulder.
      Riddle is MU's fifth-leading scorer, averaging 5.9 points per game. She is also tied for third in rebounding (4.6 rpg) on the squad.