Dec. 19, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri used an 18-0 run at the start of the second half to cruise to an 89-55 win over Prairie View A&M at Mizzou Arena Tuesday night.
Missouri (11-1) won its eighth-consecutive game and moved within one victory of tying the school record for most wins with one loss. Prairie View (2-7) lost its seventh straight.
Senior EeTisha Riddle was solid again for the Tigers as she finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Alyssa Hollins added 16 on 7-of-8 shooting, including two more 3-pointers to give her 29 on the season. Hollins has made 13 of her last 16 shots since halftime of the South Dakota State win on Sunday. Seniors Carlynn Savant and Blair Hardiek each had nine for the Tigers.
Coming out of halftime, Prairie View got a layup from Chelsea Marshall to trim MU's lead to 41-31 but Missouri then rattled off 18-consecutive points over a span of 3:43 to lead 59-31. Gaati Werema ended the Lady Panthers scoring drought at 4:34 with a layup six minutes into the half.
Mizzou pulled down a season-high 53 rebounds compared to just 35 for Prairie View - who has been allowing teams 48 per game. The last time MU surpassed the 50-rebound mark came 33 games ago when they registered 51 against Nicholls State on Dec. 11, 2005.
No Tiger played more than 25 minutes and all 14 players appeared in the game. 12 different players scored and everyone had at least one rebound.
Missouri struggled to find the bottom of the net for much of the first half. The Tigers were shooting just 29 percent in the first eight minutes and trailed by five with 10:48 to play. Mizzou then outscored Prairie View 25-8 over the final 10 minutes and a combined 43-10 over a 14 minute stretch covering the final 10 minutes of the first half and the opening six of the second.
The Tigers shot the ball much better in the second half as they converted 59 percent to finish the game at 50.7 percent - just 2 tenths shy of a season-high. Missouri's 10 blocked shots were a season high.
Prairie View was led by Werema's 17 points. Shakeya Johns came off the bench to score 15. The Lady Panthers shot just 33 percent and were 5-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Missouri will return to action on Friday, Dec. 29 when it faces Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Columbia. Tip-off at Mizzou Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.