Feb. 11, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Senior guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) and senior center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) combined for 51 points, and N'Garsanet picked up her ninth double-double of the season in Mizzou's 64-57 win over the Kansas women in Big 12 Conference action Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.
Bond led all scorers with 31 points, topping the 30-point barrier for the third time this season, and N'Garsanet had 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Mizzou (17-6, 7-4 Big 12), which moved into fourth place in the league standings with the win. It was N'Garsanet's fourth double-double in the last five games.
Erica Hallman led three Jayhawks in double figures with 19 points; Crystal Kemp added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Kaylee Brown had 10 points and five rebounds for Kansas (14-8, 3-8).
"I can't say enough about LaToya Bond and Christelle N'Garsanet," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "We came up with some defensive plays today, and it helps when we knock down our free throws. Christelle especially knocked down her free throws."
Mizzou didn't go to the free-throw line in the first half, yet knocked down 17 of its 22 attempts (77.3 percent) in the final 20 minutes. The Tigers also benefited from a 34-27 rebounding advantage.
The Tigers were down by as many as seven points in the second half before Mizzou tied the game at 37 on a free throw from sophomore guard Kassie Drew (Anna, Ill. / Anna-Jonesboro HS) with 13 minutes, 34 seconds to play in the game. The Jayhawks regained the lead several times over the next 6 minutes before junior forward Carlynn Savant (Euless, Texas / Trinity HS) slipped a pass inside to N'Garsanet for a layup with 5:35 to go. The bucket not only gave Mizzou its first lead since the opening basket, but also began a 10-0 run that would provide enough cushion down the stretch.
N'Garsanet started the scoring with a jumper inside, yet Kansas tied the game and then took the lead on back-to-back Erica Hallman jumpers, the latter from 3-point range. KU stretched the lead to seven on three different occasions, the last on Ivana Catic's layup with 10 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the half. A flurry of scoring took place midway through the first half, with the teams combining for 19 points in a span of just 3:17; it resulted in a two-point (24-22) lead for Kansas with 6:37 to play. Neither team scored for the next 2:41, and each team made just one field goal down the stretch, as the Jayhawks took a 30-25 lead into the locker room thanks to 4-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line.
Mizzou hits the road for its next two games, a Wednesday-night matchup at Oklahoma State, followed by a Saturday-evening game at Colorado. Mizzou's next home game is Wednesday, Feb. 22, against Iowa State. Tickets are on sale at the Mizzou Arena Box Office, or by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in mid-Missouri) or going online to www.mutigers.com.