EeTisha Riddle (right) led Mizzou with 20 pointsEeTisha Riddle (right) led Mizzou with 20 points
Women's Basketball

Riddle Eclipses 1,000-Point Plateau In 70-57 Loss To Texas

March 6, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY - EeTisha Riddle scored a game-high 20 points and became the 25th player in Missouri history to score 1,000 points in a career but the Tigers fell to Texas 70-57 in the first round of the 2007 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship at the Cox Convention Center on Tuesday.

Missouri (17-13) shot 37 percent and dug itself into an early hole as it trailed by as many as 23 in the first half. The Tigers mounted a rally in the second half but only managed to cut the deficit to 12 on three occasions, with the last coming with 7:58 left.

Riddle now has 1,003 points and is the fifth player among the 25 1,000-point club members to play at least two seasons under Head Coach Cindy Stein.

Freshman Jessra Johnson added nine points, five rebounds and two blocks off the bench, while snior Carlynn Savant and sophomore Alyssa Hollins each had eight. Savant led the Tigers with 10 rebounds.

Texas (18-13) shot 61 percent in the first half and finished the game at 46 percent. Earnesia Williams led four players in double figures as she had 17. Tiffany Jackson had 12 and 14 rebounds.

Already leading 20-11 eight minutes into the game, Texas extended its lead to 26-11 on a 6-0 run capped off by a Williams three-point play with 11:02 left. Following a jumper by Riddle, the Longhorns scored nine unanswered to make it 35-13 with just under eight minutes to play.

Riddle scored the next four points from the charity stripe and the Tigers followed by outscoring the Longhorns 8-6 to narrow the margin to 46-27 at the break.

Texas shot 61 percent and was 12-of-16 from the free-throw line in the first half. The Longhorns converted 12 Mizzou turnovers into 15 points. UT also had a plus-14 margin in fast-break points.

Missouri came out in the second half and scored the first seven points to cut the margin to 12 just 1:47 into the period. The Tigers got the margin down to 12 on two other occasions with the last coming on a Hollins three with 7:58 left.

Missouri will now wait to see if it receives an invitation to the Postseason Women's NIT. The 48-team bracket will be announced on Monday night, following the NCAA Tournament field.