University of Missouri
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Tiger Women Advance to State Farm Title Tilt, 79-51
12/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Senior center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) led five Mizzou women in double-figure scoring, helping the Tigers to a 79-51 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the opening game of the 28th annual State Farm Tiger Classic. In continuing their streak on Friday night of winning their first-round match of every single Tiger Classic, Mizzou will face the winner of the nightcap between Murray State and Alcorn State on Saturday.
N'Garsanet had a game-high 17 points, while junior forward EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) posted her third career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) went 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in her 14-point night for their Tigers (5-2), who have won four in a row.
Junior guard Blair Hardiek (Effingham, Ill. / Effingham HS), making her first start of the season, had a career-high 12 points; junior forward Tiffany Brooks (Leavenworth, Kan. / Leavenworth HS / Kansas State), whom Hardiek replaced in the lineup, matched that total.
Arica Green led UAPB (0-4) with 13 points.
"It probably wasn't the prettiest game, but Arkansas-Pine Bluff did a great job with their game plan," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "We wanted the game so much and tried to do too many things, and we got out of our rhythm. Defensively, we finally made some adjustments in the second half and got transition baskets out of our steals."
Both teams had trouble establishing themselves in the first several minutes. UAPB turned the ball over on their first four possessions, while the Tigers missed their first five shots. LaToya Thomas made the game's first basket on a jumper two minutes and 35 seconds into the game, though, and Bond converted a 3-point play on a contested layup the next time down the floor.
Despite clinging to an 11-9 lead, the Tigers were having problems both on offense (36 percent shooting) and the boards, as they were out-rebounded by a 10-5 margin. Yet on the next series, Mizzou got four straight offensive rebounds, culminating in a putback by junior forward Carlynn Savant (Euless, Texas / Trinity HS) for a 13-9 lead with 11:00 to go.
Mizzou went on a short run to boost its lead to seven (20-13), yet was still plagued by poor shooting. The Tigers finished the half just 8-of-27 (29.6 percent), and only better-than-normal free-throw shooting - Mizzou made 63.6 percent of its 22 trips to the line - gave them a 29-24 halftime lead.
The shooting was better in the second half, but more importantly, the Tigers did a better job of sharing the ball; Mizzou got assists on eight of their first 10 second-half buckets. Arkansas-Pine Bluff would not go away, however, keeping the deficit within single digits for most of the first 30 minutes of the game.
A pair of Hardiek free throws started Mizzou on a 28-4 run with 10:33 left, turning a 46-39 lead into a comfortable 73-43 margin with 2:47 to play. The Tigers held the Golden Lady Lions to a single field goal in that span.
Tickets for Saturday night's game are available by visiting the Mizzou Arena Box Office, calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in mid-Missouri) or going online to www.mutigers.com.
