University of Missouri
Texas Tech
Tigers Advance To First-Ever Big 12 Semifinal, 81-75
3/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 8, 2006
DALLAS - Senior guard LaToya Bond (Urbana, Ill. / Urbana HS) led five Tigers in double-figure scoring, helping No. 4 seed Missouri defeat No. 5 Texas Tech, 81-75, in Wednesday's quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Championship at Reunion Arena.
The win moves Mizzou (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) into the tournament's semifinals for the first time ever, where the Tigers will face regular-season champion Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The Sooners eked out a 78-74 win over No. 9 Iowa State in the day's first quarterfinal. It also marked the final game in Dallas for legendary Texas Tech coach Marsha Sharp, who has announced her resignation at the end of the season.
Bond had a game-high 24 points for the Tigers, who had five scorers in double figures for the seventh time this season and first since a Dec. 18 win over Southern Illinois. She added four assists, three steals and three rebounds.
Junior guard Tiffany Brooks (Leavenworth, Kan. / Leavenworth HS / Kansas State) had 15 points, while senior center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire / Illinois Central College) and junior forward EeTisha Riddle (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon HS) each added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Junior forward Carlynn Savant (Euless, Texas / Trinity HS) had the most efficient shooting night of anyone on the floor, getting her 11 points on just one field-goal attempt, a 3-pointer; she was also 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, helping Mizzou to a solid 22-of-27 evening (81.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
Alesha Robertson led five Lady Raiders in double figures with 17 points; Erin Grant and LaToya Davis each added 15 for Texas Tech (15-14, 9-7).
"I just am extremely proud of this team. They fought through a lot of things, and I felt that our four days of practice coming into here were extremely sharp. They were very focused, and they proved that today," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "We did not want to be the team that beat Texas Tech because of Marsha Sharp. But at the same time, we wanted to make sure that we did our thing and we couldn't focus on that."
Both teams went inside early, with Tech's LaToya Davis and Mizzou's N'Garsanet shouldering the load. The game was tied at 4 before Texas Tech went on a 14-4 run over the next 4 minutes, 20 seconds. Davis and Alesha Robertson each had four points in that span, which marked an 18-8 Lady Raider lead.
Sophomore guard Kassie Drew (Anna, Ill. / Anna-Jonesboro HS) and Bond hit back-to-back 3-pointers, though, to start a Tiger comeback. Following an Erin Grant free throw, Riddle started a short 8-2 run with three buckets sandwiched around a pair of Savant free throws. That gave Mizzou its first lead of the game (22-21) with 8:32 to go.
The lead changed hands twice more before Brooks hit a jumper for a 3-point lead with 5:53 to go in the half. The Tigers kept a small lead for the rest of the half before a Brooks turnaround jumper in the lane sent Mizzou into the locker room for a 37-33 lead.
Mizzou extended the lead right out of the break, getting back-to-back buckets from Bond and Brooks, as well as an N'Garsanet free-throw, to make it 42-33. Darrice Griffin's jumper in the paint with 13:22 to go brought the Lady Raiders within two (48-46), yet Brooks canned a turnaround putback, and Savant nailed a 3-pointer to push to a seven-point lead. Despite N'Garsanet's fourth foul at the 11:10 mark, Mizzou kept the lead.
Alesha Robertson's first 3-pointer of the game brought Tech within four (62-58) with 8:02 to go, and added another less than four minutes later, yet Mizzou countered in that span with buckets from Brooks, Bond, N'Garsanet and and Bond again to keep the Lady Raiders at bay. The clincher came on a 15-footer from Brooks with 1:26 left that pushed the Tiger margin to 11.
Thursday's game will be televised live by FOX Sports Net (FSN Midwest, FSN North and FSN Southwest will carry the game in its entirety, while FSN Chicago will join the game in progress; check your local listings for replays of the game late Thursday night). Single-session tickets for the Big 12 Championship are available through Ticketmaster by calling 214-373-8000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Prices are $15 for reserved seats and $10 for general admission. For more information on the tournament, visit the Big 12 Championship site.
