Jan. 11, 2006
LINCOLN, Neb. - Senior guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) led all scorers with 21 points, and junior forward Carlynn Savant (Euless, Texas / Trinity HS) had 14 of her 16 points in the second half, to lead the No. 24 Mizzou women to their 12th straight win, 64-58, on Wednesday at the Devaney Center.
With the win, the Tigers (13-2) move to 3-0 in league play for the first time since 1989, and temporarily take over sole possession of first place in the Big 12.
Kelsey Griffin led Nebraska (10-4, 2-1) with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Kiera Hardy added 14 and Chelsea Aubry 11.
The Tigers overcame a two-point deficit to register their sixth straight win in Lincoln. senior center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) had her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and junior forward EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) led all players with four assists.
"We've figured out that if we just play hard, good things will happen. Their mentality has just been really strong," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "We talked a lot at halftime about how they were working their tails off, but a little bit too eager. They started the second half blazing, and Carlynn hit some big second-half shots for us."
The Tigers struck out to an early 7-3 lead on the strength of a 15-foot baseline jumper from Savant, and a 3-point play and a coast-to-coast layup by Bond. Nebraska was hampered by poor shooting from the field in the first four minutes.
The teams see-sawed the next several possessions before Nebraska used an 8-3 run to take its first lead of the game, 15-14, on a Kiera Hardy 19-footer with 11 minutes, 14 seconds left. After Mizzou got a pair of Bond free-throws and a bucket inside from N'Garsanet to regain the lead, Hardy hit her third trey of the half for the game's first tie (18-18).
Neither team had more than a 3-point lead - which the Tigers took on Bond's first 3-pointer of the game with 5:18 to play in the half, and again after Bond sank her last of four straight free throws for her 14th point of the half - yet it was five straight Nebraska free throws to end the half that allowed the Huskers to take a 29-27 lead into the locker room.
Mizzou came out on fire in the second half, making five of its first six shots in storming to a 39-33 lead and forcing a Nebraska timeout. Savant began by sandwiching a 15-footer and a 3-pointer around an N'Garsanet baby hook for a quick 7-0 run. After Kelsey Griffin made back-to-back buckets, Savant made a turnaround jumper at the free-throw line, and on the next trip down in transition, handed off to Riddle at the top of the key for another 3-pointer and the Husker timeout. The Tigers then got a pair of offensive rebounds, finished by a Bond putback, to cap a 14-4 run to start the second half.
Nebraska stayed in the game, slowly chipping at the Tiger lead thanks to strong games inside and at the free-throw line. Yet Mizzou never relinquished, and staved off the Husker comeback.
The Tigers finish their short two-game road trip on Saturday at Texas, who beat Iowa State, 80-50, on Wednesday.Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Austin. Mizzou's next home game is next Wednesday, Jan. 18, when the Tigers welcome Colorado to Mizzou Arena. Tickets 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.