Nov. 17, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005 - Jonesboro, Ark.
TIPOFF: 7:05 p.m. CST
ARENA: ASU Convocation Center (10,038). Opened in 1987. MU is 167-190 (.468) all-time on an opponent's home floor.
RADIO: KFRU-AM 1400 (David Lile, play-by-play/Gary Link, color). Also available online at mutigers.com.
TV: None.
SERIES: Tied, 1-1; each team has won on its home floor. The Indians took the last matchup, 88-75, in 1988. Mizzou is 8-4 all-time against members of the Sun Belt Conference.
RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked.
COACHES:
Missouri: Cindy Stein (Illinois '84), 113-98 at MU (eighth season) and 178-123 overall (11th season).
Arkansas State: Brian Boyer (Missouri Western '93), 96-81 at ASU and overall (eighth season).
TIGERS LOOK TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN JONESBORO SATURDAY
The Mizzou women's basketball team (1-1) heads south to Jonesboro, Ark., on Saturday to face Arkansas State in the Lady Indians' season opener. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. at the ASU Convocation Center.
The Tigers are coming off of a split and a second-place showing in the WBCA/BTI Classic in Tempe, Ariz., which marked the earliest season start in Missouri women's basketball history. Mizzou downed Clemson, 78-54, in the first round, and fell to No. 18 Arizona State in the championship game.
Seniors Christelle N'Garsanet and LaToya Bond were both named to the all-tournament team. N'Garsanet nearly averaged a double-double for the weekend (she had one on Friday), and Bond had 23 points in the final vs. Arizona State to lead all scorers.
SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE
The Lady Indians, under eighth-year Head Coach Brian Boyer, are coming off of a 21-11 season that saw them make the third round of the WNIT. That included a Convocation-record crowd of 10,892 for their most recent home game, a 98-84 win over Arkansas in the second round of the tournament.
ASU returns three starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's team, and is led by junior center Adrianne Davie (14.8 ppg / 10.2 rpg last year), senior guard Ali Carter (13.9 ppg / 4.0 rpg) and junior guard Rudy Sims (11.6 ppg / 5.2 apg).
LAST TIME OUT: #20/18 ARIZONA STATE 69, MIZZOU 54
LaToya Bond led all scorers with 23 points, yet No. 18 Arizona State became the fourth straight host to win the WBCA/BTI Classic, played Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena, with a 69-54 win. Christelle N'Garsanet added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds; both she and Bond were named to the all-tournament team.
MIZZOU STEALS THE SHOW
With 29 steals in their first two games, the Tigers are at nearly double the pace of their defensive prowess last year, when Mizzou had 224 steals in 29 games (7.7 spg). Every Tiger who has played 20 minutes or more this season has at least one steal, led by Christelle N'Garsanet's seven. Five of those came in the loss to No. 18 Arizona State, when the senior center got around her post player several times to snare the incoming lob feed.
FREE YOUTH CLINIC SET FOR TUESDAY
The Mizzou women's basketball team will host a free clinic prior to the Tigers' home-opener against Northwestern this Tuesday, Nov. 22. The clinic will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the practice gym; attendees will receive FREE admission to the game, and their parents can purchase $2 tickets. Youth in grades 1-8 are invited to attend, but must register before the event. For more information or to register, contact Scott Nielson at 882-0362 or e-mail nielsons@missouri.edu.
TIGERS VISIT TEMPE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The team arrived in Tempe to play in the WBCA Classic last Wednesday night, and before a trip to downtown Tempe and an afternoon practice session at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday, 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.
A GOOD REASON TO MISS PRACTICE...
Senior center Christelle N'Garsanet did not start Mizzou's exhibition game vs. Missouri Southern on Nov. 5 because she missed a pair of practices in the week leading up to the game. Often, that is cause for concern, yet N'Garsanet's absences were certainly excused, and even welcomed: The accounting major from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, was in St. Louis for a job interview with a Big Four accounting firm.