TIGER WOMEN HOPE TO BLOW CYCLONES OUT OF TOWN
      The Missouri women's basketball team (9-15, 3-10 Big 12) hosts No. 21-ranked Iowa State on Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena, and will look to avenge a Jan. 15 loss in Ames that broke a four-game Tiger winning streak against the Cyclones.
      In that game at Iowa State, Missouri held a double-digit lead until just before halftime, and held on to tie the game with eight minutes remaining before the Cyclones pulled away.

THE IOWA STATE SERIES
      As prefaced above, the Tigers have fared well against Iowa State in the all-time series, going 43-16 since the first matchup in 1977. Among Big 12 schools, the Tigers' success rate against the Cyclones (74.1 percent) is by far the best winning percentage against any Big 12 school. In addition, Missouri is 19-5 all-time against Iowa State in Columbia. There is an important caveat with this series, however: Iowa State has won all 10 meetings - all since 1999 - in which the Cyclones have been ranked.

SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
      Only three teams have held Iowa State to fewer points than the 65 they scored against the Tigers last month: Kansas State (52 in Manhattan), Texas Tech (62 in Lubbock), and Nebraska (59 in Lincoln). The Cyclones are, however, coming off their most explosive offensive road performance in the Big 12 this year, hitting for 77 in a five-point loss at Baylor on Saturday.
      All five Cyclone starters are averaging in double-figure scoring: Senior G Anne O'Neil (16.6 ppg); senior F Katie Robinette (14.9 ppg); senior G/F Mary Fox (10.7 ppg); sophomore G/F Megan Ronhovde (10.3 ppg); and sophomore G Lyndsey Medders (10.1 ppg). Robinette and O'Neil are both averaging over six rebounds a game for 10th-year Head Coach Bill Fennelly, who guided the Big 12 All-Stars in Korea at the 2003 World University Games, along with Missouri mentor Cindy Stein.
      As is their trademark, Iowa State lives and dies by the 3-point shot. Entering last week's games, O'Neil was the top 3-pointer shooter in the nation, making 52.2 percent of her treys. As a team, the Cyclones are making a national-leading 9.1 3-pointers a game.

LAST TIME OUT: OKLAHOMA 73, MIZZOU 59
      Leah Rush had a game-high-tying 20 points, and Erin Higgins added 18 on six 3-pointers to lead Oklahoma to a 73-59 win over Missouri on Saturday afternoon at Lloyd Noble Center.

N'GARSANET TAKES OVER INSIDE
      Junior Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) has taken over as MU's presence in the paint this season. After averaging just 11 minutes of playing time per game last year, N'Garsanet has started all but one game this season.
      She's gone for 20 or more points in two of Mizzou's last three games, posting her second- and third-highest scoring outputs of her two-year MU career with 23 points against Texas A&M two Saturdays ago, and 20 at Oklahoma this past Saturday.
      After going without a bucket (0-for-10) for just the second time this season in the win Feb. 9 at Colorado, N'Garsanet made up for it with 10 rebounds, then bounced back against the Aggies by going 10-for-11 from the field. N'Garsanet's 90.9-percent accuracy from the field is the highest by a Tiger in the last six years, and the best in the Big 12 this year.
      N'Garsanet has a pair of double-doubles: a 16-point, career-high 14-rebound effort at SMS on Dec. 8, and a breakout performance against Mississippi Valley State the previous Friday night in the first round of the State Farm Tiger Classic, when the 6-foot-3 center exploded for career highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds against the Delta Devilettes, propelling her to all-tournament honors. She just missed another double-double New Year's Eve, hitting for 10 points and nine rebounds at Miami (Ohio).
      N'Garsanet is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg, and she is also Mizzou's top rebounder (6.3 rpg). She set a career high with four steals vs. Texas A&M, tied her career high with five blocks vs. Oklahoma State, and leads the team and is tied for fifth in the Big 12 with 1.42 blocks a game.

BROOKS HAS ADDED SCORING PUNCH
      Now eligible after sitting out the last year (two semesters) under NCAA transfer rules, sophomore G Tiffany Brooks (Leavenworth, Kan. / Leavenworth HS / Kansas State) is certainly making good use of her time. Her 30-point outburst on Jan. 8 against Nebraska is only the most noticeable addition to the scoring punch she's provided as Missouri's leading scorer, averaging 12.6 points per game. She has scored in double figures in 12 of her last 15 games.
      She started her first game eligible against Stanford and had six points and three rebounds. Brooks canned the winning jumper in Mizzou's win at Miami (Ohio) on New Year's Eve with a then-career-high 16 points.
      Less than two weeks later, Brooks had toppled that total by halftime of the Nebraska game when she had 17 at the break. Her 30 points are the most by a Tiger in regulation since Evan Unrau also had 30 vs. Southeastern Louisiana in 2001. Note - Unrau had 29 in regulation of last year's double-overtime game with Kansas State in which she finished with 40. Brooks also had a season-high three assists, and made 86 percent of her free throws (18-of-21) during the week.
      On Wednesday at Baylor, Brooks made all nine of her free throws, and scored Mizzou's final 12 points to finish with 19 on the night. She followed that with 16 at Oklahoma on Saturday.

BOND ... LaToya Bond
      Junior G LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) was just 1-of-6 from 3-point range in two games at Colorado and vs. Texas A&M, but the one she did hit ended 15 years of frustration in Boulder, Colo., as her buzzer-beating trey gave the Tigers a 58-55 win - their first at Colorado since Feb. 7, 1990. She finished with a game-high-tying 15 points, and added six rebounds and three assists. She played her most complete game of the season two Saturdays ago vs. Texas A&M, directing the Tiger offense to a 63-46 win against the Aggies. Mizzou hit on 54.2 percent of its shots - its most accurate game in Big 12 play this season, and second-highest percentage overall. Bond finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists for MU.
      For the week, Bond averaged 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, and her season averages to date are 12.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game. She is ranked third in the Big 12 in steals (2.25 spg). To date, she is third in scoring (11.9 ppg) and leads the team with 98 assists.

RIDDLE ME THIS!
      Sophomore F EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) had a breakout week against CU and Texas A&M, earning her first career double-double with a 12-point, career-high 10-rebound effort in Boulder. Her 12 points was just one shy of her single-game best 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 highs with her three blocks and three steals in Boulder.
      Last Saturday vs. Texas A&M, Riddle added eight points and eight rebounds. She is MU's fifth-leading scorer, averaging 6.0 points per game. She is also fourth in rebounding (4.6 rpg) on the squad.

SAVANT'S NO IDIOT
      Sophomore F Carlynn Savant (Euless, Texas / Trinity HS) has been a solid part of the Tiger offense all season, and has proven to be a force on the boards as well. She pulled down nine rebounds - including eight on the defensive end - in the first 10 minutes of play last against Texas A&M. It was the second straight game in which she's pulled down nine boards, and she has led Mizzou in rebounding nine times this year.
      Savant is also one of the team's best sharpshooters. She is fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point accuracy after hitting on 31 of her 69 attempts from behind the arc (.449). In Big 12 games only, Savant leads the league at 50 percent (16 of 32). She is fourth in scoring at 8.2 ppg, and second in rebounding at 5.8 rpg.