University of Missouri
Texas Tech
N'Garsanet, Savant, Bond Key Mizzou to 65-51 Win
1/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Tiger trio of senior center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College), senior guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) and junior forward Carlynn Savant (Euless, Texas / Trinity HS) combined for 53 points and 24 rebounds in Mizzou's 65-51 win over Texas Tech in Big 12 Conference action Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.
With the win - Mizzou's 11th straight at home to remain perfect at Mizzou Arena - the Tigers (15-4, 5-2 Big 12) take sole possession of second place in the league standings.
N'Garsanet picked up her sixth double-double of the season with game highs of 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Savant added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Bond pitched in 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
LaToya Davis led the Lady Raiders (9-9, 4-3) with 19 points, while Alesha Robertson added 16.
"All I can say is, thank goodness for second halves," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "We were really sluggish in the first half. I don't know if it was because of the week off, but we didn't play well in the beginning. We really wanted to control the boards, and then we got into the offensive flow. LaToya Bond made things happen, Carlynn Savant made some big shots, and Christelle N'Garsanet got it done inside. We finally started playing defense in the second half."
Mizzou missed its first nine shots of the game, yet were down just 3-0 when junior forward Tiffany Brooks (Leavenworth, Kan. / Leavenworth HS / Kansas State) canned a jumper three minutes into the game; she came back the next time down with a steal and a coast-to-coast drive for a layup and the lead. Despite an excellent first half of protecting the ball and out-rebounding the Lady Raiders, the Tigers found themselves in a hole thanks to continued poor shooting.
The lead was parried back and forth over the next 10 minutes before Texas Tech used a 9-0 run to take a 20-14 lead with 7:04 left in the first half. Savant, the nation's second-leading 3-point shooter, tried just one first-half trey and was held without a 3-pointer until 7:26 remained in the game. Yet she hit back-to-back jumpers to pull the Tigers within two, and the teams stayed close through the rest of the period with Texas Tech taking a 27-25 lead into the locker room.
Mizzou picked up the pace offensively in the second half, shooting 50 percent (15-of-30) from the field after going 11-of-38 (29 percent) in the opening 20 minutes. As they did in the first half, both teams traded ties and lead changes before the Tigers pulled a mini-run together midway through the half for a four-point lead.
Alesha Robertson hit a layup to pull within two before Savant canned her only 3-pointer of the game to begin an 11-0 run. She also capped that run with a jumper to push the Tiger lead to 13 (55-42) with 5:39 to play. Robertson was the only Lady Raider to score in a 10-minute stretch, and those buckets came in the middle of short Mizzou runs as the Tigers coasted to the win.
The Tigers return to the road on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Kansas State; Mizzou's next home game is next Saturday at 5 p.m., when the Tigers host Oklahoma in a game that will be televised state-wide over the Mizzou Sports Network. 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.
