Nov. 10, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Game #1: Mizzou (0-0) vs. Clemson (0-0)
WBCA Classic First Round - Friday, Nov. 11, 2005 - Tempe, Ariz.
TIPOFF: 7:00 p.m. CST (6 p.m. MST)
ARENA: Wells Fargo Arena (14,141). Opened in 1974. MU is 91-68 (.572) alltime at neutral sites.
RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Also available online at mutigers.com.
TV: None on Friday; KAZ-TV in the Phoenix area on Saturday.
SERIES: Clemson leads, 1-0. The South Carolina Tigers notched a 68-52 win over Mizzou on Nov. 28, 1981, in the Wayland Baptist Invitational. Mizzou is 2-5 all-time against members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
RANKINGS: Both teams are unranked.
COACHES:
Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 112-97 at MU (eighth season) and 177-122 overall (11th season).
Clemson: Cristy McKinney (North Carolina State '79), 0-0 at Clemson (first season) and 216-139 overall (13th season).
TIGER CAGE MATCH SET FOR FRIDAY NIGHT IN TEMPE
You read it here first: It is guaranteed that the Tigers will win their season opener Friday night in the first round of the WBCA Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The catch, of course, is that the winners will either be wearing Clemson orange or Mizzou black and gold. The game will begin at 7 p.m. CST (6 p.m. MST).
The two Tiger squads square off in the first game of the tournament, which will pit No. 16 Vanderbilt against host and No. 18 Arizona State in the nightcap. The losers will play Saturday at 5 p.m. CST, with the winners tipping off at 7:30 p.m. Friday's Nov. 11 matchup is the earliest season-opener in Mizzou's 32 years of intercollegiate competition.
SCOUTING CLEMSON
The Tigers will see a mirror image of themselves Friday night, as Clemson also returns five starters from a squad that had a losing record last season (8-20). Clemson welcomes in first-year Head Coach Cristy McKinney, who arrives after a 12-year run as head coach at Rice. No Tiger averaged in double-figure scoring last year, but Clemson does return its top 12 scorers, including senior guard and leading scorer Reggie Maddox (9.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg). Clemson is picked to finish last in the new 12-team ACC this season.
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE
The Sun Devils, under 10th-year Head Coach Charli Turner Thorne, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and a regional semifinal appearance on its home court last year, which ended in a seven-point loss to North Carolina. ASU is ranked in the top 20 in both the coaches and AP preseason polls, and returns three starters, notably First Team All-Pac-10 forward Emily Westerberg (11.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Arizona State tied for second in the Pac-10 last year, and is picked to finish fourth this year by the media.
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
The Commodores return three starters for Head Coach Melanie Balcomb's squad, which also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen after finishing 24-8 and placing third in the SEC. This season, Vandy is picked by the media to finish fourth. VU is led by junior forward Carla Thomas, who averaged 15.9 points and 6.5 rebounds a game last year.
LAST TIME OUT: MIZZOU 89, MISSOURI SOUTHERN 56 (ex.)
The Mizzou women made over half their shots, and limited Missouri Southern to under 29 percent shooting, in coasting to an 89-56 exhibition win over the Lions last Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.
LOTS OF FIREPOWER BACK FOR MIZZOU
The Mizzou women return all five starters from last season's squad that finished 11-18, and was close to picking up several other wins. The Tigers have 91.2 percent of their scoring back this year, which trails
TIGERS VISIT TEMPE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The team arrived in Tempe on Wednesday night, and before a trip to downtown Tempe and an afternoon practice session at Wells Fargo Arena, the women's basketball team visited Tertulia Charter School, a grade school in Tempe.
Members of Mizzou's Valley of the Sun alumni chapter banded together to raise funds to build a library for the school, and three representatives of the alumni chapter joined the team at Tertulia Thursday morning.
The team spent about an hour in small-group settings with the kindergarten through third-grade classes, speaking about their efforts both with basketball and the importance of education.
Tiger hoops legend and radio color analyst Gary Link then talked about the importance of fitness and staying healthy, and the team then joined the K-6 students in stretching exercises before being taught the Mizzou fight song and various Tiger cheers. The morning ended with a group photo.
FOUR SIGN NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT
Four standout prepsters have signed National Letters of Intent to enroll at the University of Missouri and play basketball, Head Coach Cindy Stein announced today.
Amanda Hanneman is a 5-foot-10 forward from Blue Springs South High School in Blue Springs, Mo.
"Amanda is an intense competitor," Stein said. "She can play the 2, 3, or 4 positions. She is a good leader, and a skilled ball-handler and passer. She makes everyone better, and she's going to be our candidate for the most floor-burns on the team."
Marissa Scott is a 6-foot-1 forward from Iola (Kan.) High School.
"Marissa can play either the 3 or 4 positions. She's a great passer with excellent court vision," Stein said. "She can hit the 3-pointer, and also makes everyone around her better. She has tremendous potential."
Jessra Johnson, another 6-foot-1 forward from Fayette HS in Fayette, Mo., will be the Tigers' second Mid-Missouri product in as many years, following current freshman Rachel Oswald.
"Jessra is a very versatile athlete - she can play at guard, forward or center," Stein said. "She has good perimeter and post skills; she can shoot the three, or get the rebound and go. She's very skilled."
Antoinette "Toy" Richbow is a 5-foot-7 guard from Detroit's Pershing High School.
"Toy will bring a competitive yet calm spirit to the team," Stein said. "She's a good defender, and on the offensive end always seems to hit the big bucket. She's a good ball-handler, passer, 3-point shooter and slasher."
WOMEN PICKED 10TH BY BIG 12 COACHES
The Missouri women's basketball team has been picked to finish 10th in the Big 12 Conference in a polling of the league's coaches, Big 12 officials announced on Oct. 13.
Mizzou, which returns all five starters from last season's 11-18 squad, accumulated 37 voting points from the 11 other coaches - coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams - in being picked between ninth-place Iowa State and 11th-place Oklahoma State.
The preseason poll has traditionally underestimated the Tigers' success, as MU has finished at or above its selected position in all but one of the eight previous polls (no poll was conducted in 1996-97, the first year of the league); that came last year, when an eighth-place prediction ended in a tie for ninth place on the court. Five of the eight times have resulted in the Tigers improving upon their predicted finish.
"Obviously, I would prefer for us to be in a position with the target on our backs. If everyone wants to believe the polls, which have only been correct a couple times, so be it," said Head Coach Cindy Stein. "I can promise our fans that the Missouri women's basketball team will be very competitive in our league and will be an exciting team to watch. You don't want to miss out watching us this year - that, I can promise."
Defending NCAA champion Baylor was picked to win its second consecutive Big 12 Conference women's basketball title in the 2005-06 preseason poll voted on by the league's head coaches. The Lady Bears received six first place votes and totaled 113 points to edge out second place Texas with two first place nods and 110 points.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM CLEANS UP MIZZOU ARENA
The women's basketball team took time out from their strength and conditioning testing and workouts on Aug. 31, to help spruce up the grounds surrounding Mizzou Arena.
Done in conjunction with the women's basketball's 2005-06 theme of "TEAM MIZZOU", the team pulled weeds and trimmed the sidewalks of Mizzou Arena -- their year-old basketball mecca -- as a show of pride.
At the conclusion of the afternoon, a small tree was planted on the northwest corner of the grounds.
NEW ASSISTANTS JOIN TIGER FAMILY
Matt Daniel and Kerensa Barr are Mizzou's new assistant women's basketball coaches, and Evan Unrau is the program's new graduate assistant.
A former assistant at Colorado under legendary former head coach Ceal Barry, Daniel will work with the Tiger post players during practice, and will oversee scheduling, game preparation and scouting, while assisting with recruiting.
One of the best guards in Mizzou history, Barr will work with the Tiger guards during practice. Her promotion comes after serving last year as a graduate assistant.
Barr finished a stellar four-year career in 2003 as the Tigers' all-time leader in assists (489) and free-throw percentage (.812). She also finished in Mizzou's career top 10 in steals (242, second) and 3-pointers (109, third - she is currently fourth), and is currently 17th all-time in scoring with 1,161 points. Barr is also listed in the season top-10 charts 11 times in five different categories, including posting the top two free-throw-shooting seasons in Mizzou history; she made 88.5 percent of her charity tosses in 2001-02. She was a two-time honorable mention All-Big 12 player.
Unrau, who returned from a successful professional stint in Europe this past winter, will assist the coaching staff with video editing, film exchange, as well as camps and clinics. She earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in 2004 after back-to-back First Team All-Big 12 nods - MU's first back-to-back all-conference performer since MU Hall of Famer Renee Kelly in 1985-86. Unrau's name appears in Mizzou's career and season record books no fewer than 15 times.