Missouri Takes Winning Streak On The Road
12/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2006
Missouri (8-1) at Northwestern (6-2)
Sunday, Dec. 10 * 2:00 p.m.
Evanston, Ill. * Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
TELEVISION * None
RADIO * 90.5 KWWC-FM; 1240 KLIK-AM
Play-by-Play: David Lile
Analysis: Edith Thompson
SERIES INFO * Missouri leads 1-0
In Columbia: Missouri leads 1-0
In Evanston: 0-0
In Neutral Sites: 0-0
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Missouri Takes Winning Streak On The Road
Riding a five-game winning streak, the 8-1 Missouri Tigers will travel to Evanston, Ill., to face the 6-2 Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday at 2 p.m. ... the Tigers won the only previous meeting last season in Columbia, 87-64 ... Missouri is 2-1 on the road this season and 3-1 in games away from Mizzou Arena ... both Head Coaches are graduates of Illinois - MU's Cindy Stein in 1984 and NU's Beth Combs in 1992.
Recapping Last Year's Game In Columbia
Following an NU bucket to open the game, Missouri used a 37-5 run over the first 14 minutes and never looked back as it came away with an 87-64 win in Columbia ... LaToya Bond led all five starters in double-figures with 19 points ... current Tigers Carlynn Savant had 16 points (on 4-of-5 from outside) and seven rebounds, while EeTisha Riddle and Tiffany Brooks each had 12 ... Riddle led the Tigers with nine rebounds ... MU finished with 40 points off 28 NU turnovers ... NU's A.J. Glasauer and Ifeoma Okonkwo had 16 apiece for the Wildcats.
Mizzou Versus the Big Ten
Missouri brings a 16-16 all-time record against Big Ten schools and is 2-6 under Cindy Stein ... the Tigers have faced a Big Ten school each of the last seven years and eight of Stein's nine seasons in Columbia ... this season the Big Ten holds a 6-1 mark against Big 12 schools, with the lone Big 12 win being Iowa State over Iowa on Nov. 30 ... the two leagues will have an official Big12/Big Ten Challenge consisting of the following match-ups: Ohio State at Oklahoma (Dec. 20) and Purdue at Texas (Jan. 7).
Mizzou Looking To Contain Another Top Defensive Team
While Missouri struggled shooting the ball in the second half of Wednesday's win over Ohio, the Tigers did finish with a 40.4 percent night, much higher that the Bobcats' opponent average of 28.2 - which ranked fifth nationally ... Mizzou is in for another challenge on Sunday as Northwestern is allowing its opponents to convert just 32.8 percent of their attempts, which ranks 12th in the nation ... South Dakota State - the Tigers' next opponent - is holding its opponents to 34.3 percent ... that figure would rank 23rd between Texas and Oklahoma of the Big 12 except that since the Jackrabbits are reclassifying from Division II to Division I they are not officially eligible for NCAA Statistics championships.
MU Receives Votes In AP Poll; Five Big 12 Teams Ranked
When the two primary women's basketball polls were released earlier this week, Missouri garnered a pair of votes in the Associated Press poll ... while officially no team is ranked beyond No. 25, the Tigers are the 19th team after No. 25 Nebraska for an unofficial rank of tied for 44th ... the last time Mizzou was ranked came on the tenth week of last season's poll when they were No. 24 following their 12-2 start and eleventh win in its school-record 12-game win streak ... for the record, five Big 12 teams are ranked and four others are receiving votes in the writer's poll.
Dissecting The RPI
According to CollegeRPI.com, Missouri enters the Northwestern game rated 33rd nationally, up 33 spots from their last game ... Northwestern enters at No. 77 ... Mizzou's next opponent, South Dakota State is currently rated 26th and holds three wins over teams ranked in the top-50 at the time of the game (Middle Tennessee, USC and Virginia).
EeTisha Emerging As Mizzou's Go To Player
With the graduation of Christelle N'Garsanet, EeTisha Riddle was able to move over to her natural position at the 5 spot ... while it took a few games to get totally adjusted, Riddle is showing her true dominance down low ... with her current three-game stretch of 20, 20 and 22-point efforts, she became the first Tiger to post three-straight 20-plus point games since LaToya Bond had four-consecutive games of at least 20 from Dec. 29-Jan 11 last season ... an emotional player on the court, the senior from O'Fallon, Ill. also posted her team-leading third double-double of the year on Wednesday ... she thoroughly showed why she can put the Tigers on her back in the second half of the Ohio game as she made Missouri's first five field goals (7 of their 8 total) and accounted for 18 of their 32 second-half points.
Rebounding Woes Reappear
Just glancing at Missouri's 39 rebounds against Ohio and comparing it to their season average of 38.4 you might not think there was too much wrong on the court ... but when you see that the Tigers were out-rebounded by a smaller Bobcat squad you can see why the coaching staff was concerned heading into Sunday's Northwestern game ... in fact, of MU's seven offensive rebounds that came when the clock was running on Wednesday, only one was corralled in the final 11 minutes ... Mizzou is averaging 13 offensive rebounds per game, down 1.4 per game from last year ... MU has won the rebounding battle five times this year and of the four times they have been outworked on the boards, three have been by three or less.
Searching For 70
Through the first nine games it appears that the magic number for the Tigers on the scoreboard is 70 ... Mizzou is 8-0 when scoring at least that many and 0-1 when failing to reach the figure ... last year MU was 8-0 in non-conference play and 9-2 overall when scoring 70-plus points ... the Tigers enter Sunday's contest in Evanston having won 22- straight non-conference games when scoring at least 70 points.
Tiger Classic Dominance Continued
Despite losing a day to Mother Nature, Missouri did emerge with its 20th State Farm Tiger Classic title over the weekend with wins over Creighton and Alabama A&M ... the win over the Bluejays moved the Tigers to 29-0 all-time in the opening round ... Mizzou also improved to 16-2 all-time under Cindy Stein in the event ... the Tigers notched their second tourney title of the year, their fourth-consecutive and ninth in nine years under Cindy Stein.
Riddle Takes Over Tiger Classic To Earn MVP; Hollins, Savant Also On All-Tournament Team
Without a doubt, senior C EeTisha Riddle seemed to be in her own world last weekend as she claimed MVP honors of the Tiger Classic thanks to tournament averages of 20 ppg, 5.5 rpg and a 2-day high of seven steals ... she set her career-high of 20 points in the win over Creighton and duplicated it less than 24 hours later thanks to a phenomenal 9-for-11 performance from the field ... sophomore G Alyssa Hollins scored 18 points in the championship games and was 4-of-5 from behind the arc ... Savant averaged 10 ppg, 5 rpg and shot 55 percent for the two days ... she had 11 points and seven boards in the title game.
Riddle Rolls To Big 12 Player of the Week Honors
A day after leading Missouri to its 20th State Farm Tiger Classic title, Tiger center EeTisha Riddle was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Player of the Week, in a vote by media representatives from around the league ... in earning her first-ever Big 12 weekly award, Riddle averaged 20 points 5.5 rebounds and nabbed a tournament-best seven steals in leading Missouri (7-1) to wins over Creighton and Alabama A&M ... in the tourney's opening game she set career-highs with 20 points and six steals as the Tigers defeated the Bluejays, 70-66, to improve to 29-0 all-time in Tiger Classic first round contests ... in Sunday's championship game (played just 18 hours after the previous night's game with Creighton), she shot 82 percent (9-of-11) from the floor and made her final seven baskets ... all nine made field goals were lay-ups as she tied her career-high of 20 points in just 24 minutes ... for the tournament, she shot 63 percent (17-of-27) ... her six steals on Saturday were a career-high and tied Mizzou's season-high ... this also marks the first player of the week honor for a Tiger since LaToya Bond earned the second of her two awards on Feb. 6 of last season ... it is also the seventh player of the week honor for a Tiger since the league was formed.
MU Ranked 19th Nationally In 3FG Percentage
Missouri is currently shooting 40.7 percent from outside which ranks second in the Big 12 and 19th nationally ... a year ago, the Tigers finished the season ranked 42nd at 35.7 percent.
Tigers Loving The Charity Early On
A combined 64.4 percent free-throw shooting team a year ago, this season's squad is already showing a newfound commitment to success at the charity stripe ... in nine games the Tigers have combined to make 138-of-174 (78 percent) while making more freebies then their opponents have attempted (138 made to 11 opponent attempts) ... MU currently ranks sixth in the nation and sits atop the Big 12 rankings, ahead of Texas Tech (.742) and Iowa State (.726) ... last season's .644 final tally ranked 11th.
06-07 Squad Off To Fastest Start In MU History
Sitting at 8-1 through nine games the 2006-07 Tigers are tied for the fastest start in school history (with seven previous teams) ... the last time a group collected eight wins through nine games was five years ago when the 2001-02 team became the third-consecutive under Cindy Stein to start 8-1 ... for the record three teams have started 9-1 with the last coming in 1999-2000 when that group completed its non-conference slate with a 10-1 mark ... last year's team, along with the 1976-77, 82-83, 83-84 and 92-93 groups hold the record for most wins with two losses at 13-2.
Turning TOs Into Pts
Missouri has been very aggressive this season with its transition play, especially off turnovers ... for the season te Tigers are averaging eight more points off turnovers per game than their opponents ... in the last three contests, Mizzou has outscored the opponents by an average of 24.3-13 ... against Ohio, MU recorded 14 more than the Bobcats - their second-highest margin this season behind the 17-point edge in the home-opener versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ... Tiger opponents are averaging 19.9 miscues this season and the Tigers themselves are posting 20.8 points off those turnovers per contest.
I'll Take That
While senior G Tiffany Brooks currently leads the team with 19 steals (2.4 spg) on the season, it is senior C EeTisha Riddle who has the most career thefts of any active Tiger ... as a result of Riddle's career-high six steals last Saturday, another on Sunday and three vs. Ohio, she brings 82 career steals into the Northwestern contest.
Brooks Stealing The Show
As mentioned in the previous note, senior G Tiffany Brooks leads the team and ranks third in the Big 12 with 2.4 steals per game ... in fact, the Leavenworth, Kan., native has 19 steals and 23 fouls in 273 minutes this season ... what's so special about that you ask - well, having more steals than fouls is unusual as it has been accomplished by a Mizzou player just five times since 1986-87 and only once in the last 12 seasons.
Jessra Johnson Breaks Out Against AAMU
While Carlynn Savant has been the leading rebounder for much of the season, freshman F Jessra Johnson took matters into her own hands on Sunday against Alabama A&M ... the Fayette, Mo. native pulled down a career-best nine caroms, bettering her previous best of three versus Alabama in the Saint Mary's Tournament ... moreover, she also handed out three assists (previous best was 1) and swiped her second ball of the season.
Brooks, Hollins Named To SMC All-Tourney Team; Brooks Nabs MVP Honors
Tiffany Brooks and Alyssa Hollins were both named to the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament team last week, with Brooks earning MVP honors ... Brooks averaged 17.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg, while Hollins led the Tigers with 18 ppg and a team-high seven 3-pointers ... Carlynn Savant also posted strong numbers (13.5ppg/11.5 rpg) as she recorded her fifth-career double-double in the title game.
Tigers In Overtime
Missouri is 14-19 all-time in overtime games ... the Tigers have played 29 single-OT contests (11-18), three double-OT (3-0) and dropped their only triple-OT game (0-1) ... under Cindy Stein Mizzou is 6-2 with a pair of 2OT triumphs.
Mizzou Arena A Tough Place For Opponents
Now in its third year as the exclusive home of Missouri Basketball, Mizzou Arena has been very kind to the Tigers ... Mizzou's all-time record in the facility now stands at 22-10 ... following a 5-8 mark in the initial season, the Tigers have gone 17-2, including a streak of 12-consecutive non-conference victories dating back to a 71-55 loss to Stanford on Dec. 18, 2004 ... against all non-Big 12 opponents MU is 14-2 in the facility.
Double Your Pleasure
Carlynn Savant and EeTisha Riddle have taken turns producing Missouri's five double-doubles this season ... Riddle recorded her third DD of the season agaisnt Ohio on Wednesday, while Savant missed it by one point ... when the duo each posted double-doubles against Arkansas State, that was the first time this year that multiple players accomplished the feat in the same game ... a year ago, that occurred just twice.
Savant's Assault On Missouri's 3-Point Record
With two more three-point field goals on Wednesday against Ohio, senior F Carlynn Savant is creeping closer to the Missouri all-time record for 3-pointers ... she currently has 113 and sits 27 behind Tracy Lozier's record of 140 ... at her current season pace of 1.44 made per game, she is on track to make her 141st at Oklahoma on Feb. 25 ... her .408 career 3-point percentage is second all-time but sits 31 points back of Stacy Williams' benchmark of .436.
Hollins Deadly From Outside
Sophomore Alyssa Hollins is definitely making her presence felt early this season ... while admittedly struggling on defense at times a year ago, the 6-0 guard from Mesquite, Texas, has improved dramatically thus far ... she is averaging 14.0 ppg and has a team-best 23 3-pointers ... her 23 triples and average of 2.9 made per game both rank first in the Big 12 ... in the home-opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi she poured in a career-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a career-best five 3-pointers, in her first career start ... at her current pace of 2.9 3's per game, she would finish the regular season with a school-record 86 makes (the current single-season mark is 65) ... she has made at least one three in seven games this season and at least three 3's in five games ... she also ranked third in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.622) and 22nd in 3-pointers per game (2.9).
Stein Notches 200th Career Win
With the Tigers' 89-60 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Tuesday, MU Head Coach Cindy Stein registered her 200th career win in her 12th season as a college head coach ... in her eight seasons at Mizzou, she has compiled a 135-107 mark with three NCAA Tournament appearances ... she is now 201-113 overall.
Tigers Picked Ninth By Big 12 Coaches
In a vote of the league's head coaches, Missouri was picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 Conference. Last year the Tigers were selected to finish tenth but ended the year in fourth place with a 10-6 record. Under ninth-year head coach Cindy Stein, the Tigers have finished higher than their preseason prediction six times.
Vote Cindy Vote!
Speaking of coaches voting in polls, Mizzou head coach Cindy Stein is the Big 12 representative on the 31-member voting panel that makes up the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top-25 Poll.
Schedule Notes
* The Tigers will play a school-record 17 home games (16 regular-season) and are scheduled to face 12 teams that participated in the WNIT and NCAA Tournaments
* MU is scheduled to appear on television at least eight times, including two times on Fox Sports Net as a part of the Big 12 women's basketball package
* Mizzou opens the season on the road for the second-consecutive year and the sixth time in Stein's nine years
* First-time opponents include Ohio, Prairie View A&M, South Dakota State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
* Home start times have been moved to 6:30 p.m. (from 7 p.m.) for the majority of the weekday contests
* There are two dates when the Mizzou men and women play doubleheaders - Jan. 6 (both teams play Iowa State, women at 1 p.m. and men at 5 p.m.) and Feb. 10 (men vs. KU at 2:30 and women against Oklahoma State at 5 p.m.) ... on Dec. 19, the women play Prairie View A&M at 5:30 p.m. in Columbia, while the men play Illinois in St. Louis at 8 p.m.
* The travel-friendly schedule has the Tigers play just four games outside the Central time zone.
Tigers Secure Five In Early Signing Period
Danielle Adams of Lee's Summit, Mo., Heidi Brandenburg of Garland, Texas, Shakara Jones of St. Charles, Mo., Rebekah Mills of Towanda, Kan. and Jasmyn Otote of Duncanville, Texas all signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Tigers, beginning in the fall of 2007.
* Blue Star Basketball - the longest-running national college evaluation and college showcase organization in women's basketball - has already ranked this class third in the Big 12 Conference and 28th in the nation.
* Adams is a 6-1 forward who has led Lee's Summit High School to the Missouri Class 5 state quarterfinals as a junior and the state title game as a sophomore. Last year she averaged 21.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game as she earned her second-consecutive first-team All-State award by both the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and the Missouri Sportswriters & Sportscasters.
* Brandenburg stands 6-3 and recently led Lakeview Centennial High School to the area and bi-district championships. She was named the District 11-5A Newcomer of the Year after posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists over her junior season. She was also the recipient of the Garland Independent School District Academic Excellence Award for the past two years.
* Arguably the best player in the state of Missouri, Jones is a 6-2 forward at Francis Howell Central HS who scored 25.5 points per game on 64 percent shooting as a junior. She eclipsed the 30-point plateau seven times and was held below 15 just once. Jones, whose father, Ron, played at Mizzou from 1980-84, has been a three-time first-team All-State honoree by the MBCA and was an honorable mention Street & Smith's All-America selection last year.
* Mills is a 5-9 guard who has earned two second-team All-State honors at Circle High School. She averaged 17.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 4.3 steals her junior year as the Thunderbirds won their third-consecutive AVCTL Division 4 title. She was also named to the All-State All Class team and is a Wendy's High School Heisman nominee.
* Otote is a 5-9 guard who is coming off an All-State junior year in which she posted 10.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest at the Texas-girls power Duncanville High School. She is a three-time Academic All-District selection who has led the Pantherettes to a 98-18 record in her career and a state runner-up finish as a freshman.
