Feb. 15, 2006
STILLWATER, Okla. - Junior forward EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) canned a baseline jumper with 21 seconds left, and senior guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) hit a pair of free throws to ice the game as the Mizzou women escaped Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 69-65 win Wednesday night.
With the win, along with Baylor's win at Texas A&M, the Tigers (18-6, 8-4) climb back into a tie for second in the league standings, and are guaranteed a .500 conference record for just the third time since 1992-93. Mizzou also continues its best start since 1983-84.
In a game that featured six ties and 10 lead changes - mostly in the second half - Bond had a team-high 17 points. Senior center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) picked up her 10th double-double of the season, and fifth in six games, with 14 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high five assists; junior forward Carlynn Savant (Euless, Texas / Trinity HS) had 14 points, and junior guard Tiffany Brooks (Leavenworth, Kan. / Leavenworth HS / Kansas State) added 11 points.
Freshman Shaunte' Smith led all scorers with 19 points, and added 12 rebounds for the Cowgirls (6-17, 0-12).
"This amazed me tonight. You have to give credit to Oklahoma State. They were prepared for us. It took us two or three reads to get a good shot. Out kids grinded it out, but we won," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "I thought we had really good play from Tiffany Brooks, and obviously Christelle N'Garsanet hit some big shots, and LaToya Bond and Carlynn Savant made some big shots."
Mizzou made just three of its first 11 shots (27.3 percent) - and just one of its first five 3-point attempts - yet held Oklahoma State to just 25-percent shooting in taking a 9-5 lead just 4 minutes, 36 seconds into the game.
Savant got her fourth straight point on a putback before Brooks converted a 3-point play and a putback drive in the lane on consecutive possessions. Junior guard Blair Hardiek (Effingham, Ill. / Effingham HS) hit a floater in the lane, and Brooks banged home a 19-footer for a 20-11 lead with 11:59 to play.
The Cowgirls put together a short 6-3 run, yet a Riddle putback and a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kassie Drew (Anna, Ill. / Anna-Jonesboro HS) kept the lead at nine (28-19) with 7:38 to go in the first half. Oklahoma State scored the next three baskets - including a 3-pointer and putback on back-to-back possessions from Taylor Hardeman - to pull OSU within a pair (28-26) and force a Mizzou timeout with 5:33 left.
After a Bond 18-footer, the Tigers could muster just one field goal in the final 5:17 of the first half, and the Cowgirls converted on several possessions down the stretch to go into halftime down just one at 35-34. OSU made half of its 28 shots in the first half, while Mizzou was 13-of-34 (38.2 percent) from the field.
Oklahoma State took its second lead of the game on the opening possession of the second half on a Whitney Pegram drive under the basket; the Cowgirls extended the next time down on a Destinie Sykes scoop. N'Garsanet hit a bucket inside for her 10th point moments earlier, and a second bucket with 16:59 left regained the lead.
OSU threw a 10-4 run on the Tigers to take a 50-45 lead with 13:08 to go. Catherria Turner had five of those points, and Pegram added three straight buckets to start another stretch of each team trading baskets. Bond sandwiched a pair of 3-pointer around a Christian Hood putback, though, to bring Mizzou within one (56-55) with 9:18 to go.
N'Garsanet, who sat on the bench for five minutes with her fourth foul, re-entered with 5:13 to go and promptly tied the game with a jumper inside. Moments later, the Tigers regained the lead on a Savant 3-pointer.
Mizzou finishes its two-game road trip on Saturday at Colorado. Tipoff from the Coors Events Center in Boulder is set for 8 p.m. CST. Mizzou's next home game is next Wednesday, Feb. 22, against Iowa State. Tickets are on sale at the Mizzou Arena Box Office, by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (884-PAWS in mid-Missouri) or visitng www.mutigers.com. Mizzou students with All-Sports passes and KMIZ-ZOU cardholders gain free admission to the game.