Dec. 19, 2008
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team (5-4) travels to Fayetteville, Ark., on Sunday, Dec. 21 for a 2 p.m. contest with Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas (9-2) at Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks hold a 5-3 lead in the all-time series and earned a 66-53 win at Mizzou Arena last season.
Up Next
The Tigers have an eight-day layoff before returning home to Mizzou Arena for a game with in-state rival SEMO on Monday, Dec. 29. Originally scheduled for 7 p.m., the game has been moved to 3 p.m. to allow fans to watch the Valera Alamo Bowl at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Admission to the contest with SEMO is free.
Scouting Arkansas
The Razorbacks enter their matchup with the Tigers with a 9-2 record. The last time out Arkansas recorded a 66-57 win over Dartmouth. The squad also has wins over Louisiana-Monroe (77-38), High Point (63-46), SMU (78-69), Northwestern (60-44), Pacific (78-61), Memphis (76-69), Mississippi Valley State (79-46) and North Dakota (85-73). The team's two losses came at the hands of Oregon State (69-56) and Kansas State (65-56).
Arkansas has four players who average double figures and another just below the mark. Freshman guard Ceira Ricketts leads the squad with 13.7 ppg. on 51.3 percent shooting from the floor. Senior forward Whitney Jones and freshman guard Lyndsay Harris average 11.1 ppg. and 10.9 ppg., respectively, while senior guard Ayana Brereton chips in 9.9 ppg.
Tom Cullen is in his second season at the helm of the Razorbacks and has an all-time record of 26-15 at the school.
Tigers cruise past UT Martin, 74-23
The University of Missouri women's basketball team allowed the second fewest points in its 36 year history to record a 74-23 win over UT Martin Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. The 23 points by the Skyhawks was just two off Mizzou's fewest points allowed record posted in a 119-21 victory over Bethany on Jan. 3, 1977.
Redshirt freshman Bekah Mills and freshman Bailey Gee led the Tigers with 13 points apiece. The point total was a career high for Gee while Mills also added a personal best six steals. Senior Alyssa Hollins added 11 points and junior Jessra Johnson handed out a career high eight assists.
Mizzou also recorded a season high 22 steals, the third consecutive game the team set the season high in that category. The team also scored 37 points off turnovers.
Hollins drilled two three-pointers to open the game as the Tigers ran off 11 straight points less than four minutes into the contest. The squad's defense forced UT Martin into seven turnovers in the first six minutes of the contest as Mizzou built a 16-2 advantage.
Missouri continued to build its lead and a steal and layup from sophomore RaeShara Brown gave the team a 23-point lead, 29-6, with 6:39 left in the first frame. The Tigers entered the break with a 42-13 advantage, as the 13 points were the fewest Mizzou has surrendered in a half this year.
A 20-2 run to open the second half, including consecutive threes from Mills, Hollins and Mills again for a 62-15 Tiger lead with 9:54 remaining in the game.
Mills earns weekly honor
Redshirt freshman guard Bekah Mills was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week by a media voting panel for games Dec. 8-14, the league announced on Monday.
Mills averaged a team high 14.5 ppg. and shot 72.7 percent (8-11) from the floor and 83.3 percent (5-6) from behind the arc during the week to help Mizzou record wins over Bradley and UT Martin. She scored a career high 16 points to go along with a personal best six rebounds in the Tigers' 83-54 victory over Bradley on Dec. 9 and notched 13 points and a career best six steals in Mizzou's 74-23 win against UT Martin on Dec. 14.
On the season, Mills is averaging 7.7 ppg. on 51.1 percent (24-47) shooting from the field and 61.1 percent (10-18) from the three-point line.
It was the first career honor for Mills and the first conference weekly award since EeTisha Riddle earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors on Dec. 4 and Dec. 11, 2006.
She is also the fifth Tiger to earn Rookie/Freshman of the Week honors, joining Julie Helm, Amanda Lassiter, Evan Unrau and Kassie Drew. Helm and Lassiter both earned the honor three times during their inaugural year with Mizzou.
What points?
Missouri allowed only 23 points to UT Martin on Dec. 14, the second fewest points the program has allowed in its 34-year history. The total was two more than the all-time record of fewest points allowed, 21, in a 119-21 win over Bethany College on Jan. 3, 1977.
The 23 points were also the fewest ever scored by UT Martin since the school began 5-on-5 basketball.
Where are the field goals?
UT Martin managed to make only seven field goals during its game with Mizzou on Dec. 14. That marks the fewest field goals allowed for Missouri in at least 30 years.
The previous record for fewest field goals allowed by the Tigers in last 31 years was nine, in a 90-27 win over Missouri-Rolla on Dec. 2, 1998 (complete statistics for the 1975-76, 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons could not be found).
Gee makes an impact
Freshman Bailey Gee played a season high 19 minutes against UT Martin on Dec. 14 and posted a team and career high 13 points to go along with a personal best seven rebounds.
After playing sparingly and scoring no points in the first five games of the year, the guard has played a total of 20 minutes and scored 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor in games against Northwestern and Toledo, Bradley and UT Martin.
Shooting coming around
After starting the year shooting less than 40 percent from the floor in its first four games, Mizzou has not shot less than 44 percent in its last five contests.
The team shot a season high 48.1 percent against Bradley on Dec. 9, including an impressive 51.9 percent in the second half., and hit 47.5 percent of its shots at Northwestern on Nov. 30.
Additionally, the Tigers shot season highs in three-point field goal percentage (47.4) and free throw percentage (71.0) against the Braves on Dec. 9.
Tigers hitting from three...
After shooting just 31.9 percent from the three-point line in its first seven games, Missouri has shot 45.7 percent from behind the arc the last two. The recent output raised the team's season three-point field goal percentage to 35.1 percent, which is ranks third in the Big 12.
Redshirt freshman Bekah Mills had led the recent success, as the guard hit five of her six long-distance shots in the past two games for to shoot 83.3 percent.
...and the charity stripe
An Achilles' heel at the beginning of the year, Mizzou's free throw shooting has slowly come around. The team shot only 53.1 percent from the line it its first seven games and had only two games over 60 percent. Over the last two contests, Mizzou has improved to shot 70 percent or better.
Junior Jessra Johnson started the year shooting just 51.6 percent from the line in the first six games of the year. In the last three games, the forward is a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe to up her season free throw perecentage to 65.1 percent.
Johnson stealing the show
Junior Jessra Johnson notched a career high tying four steals against Toledo on Dec. 3, the second time in a four-game stretch the forward recorded four steals. With 24 on the young season, Johnson is currently second in the Big 12 with 2.7 spg.
Johnson needs just eight more steals to match her season total from last year (32), accomplished in 30 games.
Steals galore
Over the past three games, the Tigers have racked up a total of 57 steals for an average of 19.0 spg. The team started its steal party with 17 against Toledo on Dec. 3 and then did one better when 18 against Bradley on Dec. 9. Five days later, the Tigers posted 22 steals, the highest total in the Big 12 this year. Before the three-game stretch, the team's season high was 12 in a game with Western Illinois.
Missouri is averaging 11.9 spg. on the year to rank second in the Big 12, behind only Texas A&M (12.8).
Johnson doing it all
Johnson started her junior season on a tear and has not let up in the first nine games of the year. She currently leads the team in scoring (14.6), rebounding (7.9), assists (2.9), steals (2.7), and blocks (1.0).
Though she scored only seven points against UT Martin on Dec. 14, the junior dished out a career high eight assists in the contest.
Jones shooting lights out
Sophomore Shakara Jones has shot lights out in the first nine games. The forward, who has shot at least 50 percent from the field in every game this year, leads the squad and is fifth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 55.6 (45-81). Against Holy Cross on Nov. 29 she made 10-of-15 shots from the floor for a season high 22 points.
Jones is currently third on the team with 11.6 ppg. and 4.2 rpg.
Hollins joins 1,000-point club
A jumper with 12:37 left in regulation against Holy Cross on Nov. 29 gave senior Alyssa Hollins the 999th and 1,000th points in her career, making the guard the 26th player in Mizzou history to record 1,000 points.
With 11 points against UT Martin on Dec. 14, Hollins now has 1,058 in her career, good for 23rd place on the all-time list. She is 30 points shy of tying Debbie Walker (80-83) for 22nd place on the all-time list.
The last Tiger to reach the 1,000-point plateau was EeTisha Riddle, who accomplished the feat against in the 2007 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship againstTexas on March 6, 2007.
Mizzou dishes out the assists
Against Holy Cross on Nov. 29, Mizzou was credited with an impressive 31 assists on its 37 field goals. The total was the most since Nov. 11, 1984, when Missouri dished out a team record 41 in a contest with Cleveland State.
Eight different Tigers posted at least one assist against the Crusaders, led by a career high tying seven from junior Toy Richbow. Sophomore Jasmyn Otote also had a personal best with five and senior Alyssa Hollins and redshirt freshman Bekah Mills also had five to tie career bests.
The total stands as the best assist output by a Big 12 team this season.
Rare triple overtime game for Tigers
Saturday's triple overtime contest against Holy Cross, a 94-93 loss, was only the second such game in Mizzou's 34-plus year history. The only other triple overtime game was a 118-111 loss at Kansas on Jan. 29, 1983.
Johnson makes all-tournament team
In the DoubleTree White Invitational on Nov. 29-30, junior Jessra Johnson shot 8-of-14 from the field to post 19 points and nine boards in a come-from-behind win over host Northwestern and recorded 21 points, nine rebounds and three steals in a triple overtime loss to Holy Cross. The forward averaged 20.0 ppg. and 9.0 rpg. in the two games to earn all-tournament team honors.
Brown a beast on the boards
At 5-8 sophomore RaeShara Brown is Mizzou's second shortest player yet after eight games, the guard is second on the team with 5.9 rpg.
Brown's biggest night on the boards this year was an impressive 12 rebound outing, including four on the offensive end, against Holy Cross on Nov. 29.
Additionally, Brown has started all nine games and is playing a team fourth best 26.1 mpg. this season. So far this year, she has recorded 53 rebounds, nine more than she posted all of last season.
Another record for Hollins
Senior Alyssa Hollins set yet another three-point field goal record in Missouri's game against Holy Cross on Nov. 29. The guard made seven treys in the contest to tie former Tiger Julie Helm for the single game record. Helm made her seven threes against Texas Tech on March 1, 1997.
She also set a program mark with 16 three-point field goal attempts in the game, breaking her old record of 13 set against Arkansas on Nov. 28, 2007.
Hollins holds both the single season and career three-pointer records as well. Last season she made 90 threes to smash Amanda Lassiter's old mark of 65 and became the all-time three-point field goal leader, passing Carlynn Savant's record of 142. Her record currently stands at 187.
Tigers sign prep recruit for 2009-10
Kansas City prep star Trenee Thornton signed a National Letter of Intent to enroll at the University of Missouri and play basketball, Head Coach Cindy Stein announced on Nov. 17.
"We are so excited to have such an outstanding young lady in Trenee Thornton," Stein said. "She brings good court sense and savvy and the ability to play any of the guard spots. She can create her own opportunities and get the ball to who you need to. Trenee prides herself on her defense and will be able to fit in well into the style of defense that we want to play."
Thornton averaged 19.4 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 4.2 apg., 3.8 spg. as a junior for Central High School in Kansas City, Mo. She earned Interscholastic League Most Valuable Player honors following the season, to go along with all-district, all-metro and all-state honors. Over her career, Thornton has averaged 14.6 ppg.