Jan. 13, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team (9-5) travels to Lawrence, Kan., for a Big 12 Conferene matchup with M&I Bank Border Showdown rival Kansas (11-3) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at Allen Fieldhouse. The contest will be televised live on Metro Sports in the Kansas City area with Nate Bukaty and Brenda Van Lengen announcing the game. The Jawhawks hold a slight 39-35 lead in the all-time series but the Tigers won the last meeting between the teams, a 62-59 game on Feb. 24, 2008 at Mizzou Arena.
Up Next
Mizzou returns to Mizzou Arena on Saturday, Jan. 17 for a 5 p.m. game against Nebraska. The contest will be televised on the Mizzou Sports Network with Beau Baehman on play-by-play duties and former Iowa State Cyclone Anne O'Neil as the color analyst. The game came be found on KZOU in Mid-Missouri, Metro Sports in Kansas City and Fox Sports Midwest throughout most of Missouri.
Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks enter the contest with a 11-3 record but coming off a 72-39 loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 opener on Saturday. Kansas averages 73.2 ppg. on the year and gives up only 56.6 ppg. The squad also shoots an impressive 46.6 percent from the floor and 40.8 percent from the free throw line.
Junior Danielle McCray leads the team with 18.1 ppg. and 8.4 rpg. in just under 31 mpg. Classmate Sade Morris adds 12.3 ppg. and sophomore Krysten Boogaard chips in 11.0 ppg. Additionally, junior LaChelda Jacobs passes out 4.6 apg.
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson is in her sixth year at the helm of the Jayhawks and sports a 70-68 record with the squad.
M&I Bank Border Showdown
Wednesday's against the Jayhawks marks the ninth sport event between MU and KU of the 2008-09 academic year in the annual M&I Bank Border Showdown, where winner earns points toward the Border Showdown trophry. The winner of tonight's game will earn 1.5 points toward its school's total, with 1.5 points also awarded in the rematch game on Feb. Feb. 7. Missouri currently holds a 7.5-5.5 advantage over Kansas.
The Border Showdown trophy has been presented six times with Mizzou winning four times (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008) and Kansas twice (2004 and 2006).
Texas A&M claims conference opener
Missouri women's basketball team ran off a 17-4 late second half run but could not get past No. 3/6 Texas A&M as the Aggies slipped past the Tigers 62-56 in the Big 12 Conference opener Jan. 10 at Mizzou Arena. The loss ended Mizzou's eight game winning streak as the team fell to 9-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Sophomore Shakara Jones led the Tigers with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting while junior Jessra Johnson had 13 points after making all nine of her free throw attempts. Senior Alyssa Hollins pulled down a team high six rebounds.
The game went back and forth for most of the opening half, with neither squad gaining an advantage. Mizzou scored the contest's first two points on a pair of free throws from Johnson but Texas A&M tied the game 12 seconds later.
Down three, 13-10, Hollins sank a three-pointer to knot the score at 13-13 with 7:15 on the clock. After the Aggies scored a basket on their next possession, junior Marissa Scott nailed a trey to give the Tigers a 16-15 lead with 5:36 left in the first.
After Texas A&M converted a layup, Hollins drove the baseline and hit a layup and the ensuing foul shot as the Tigers reclaimed a 21-19 advantage with 1:51 on the clock. The Aggies came back and hit the final two shots of the half to enter the break with a 27-23 lead.
Texas A&M started the second half on fire and built a 10-point advantage, 35-25, with 18:50 remaining in the game. The squad eventually went ahead by 17 after Tyra White hit a three with 10:06 left in the contest.
A jumper by Johnson kick started the Tiger offense as the team ran off a 17-4 run to get within four, 54-50, after Johnson hit two free throws with 3:24 on the clock. Johnson had 11 points during the run, including seven from the charity stripe.
Jones scored Mizzou's last six points to keep the Tigers close but Texas A&M managed to counter on its possessions for the 62-56 final.
Texas A&M halts Mizzou's streak
The close 62-56 loss to Texas A&M snapped the Tigers' eight-game winning streak, which dated back to Nov. 30. Starting with a win at Northwestern, Mizzou also recorded wins over Toledo, Bradley, UT Martin, Arkansas, SEMO, Duquesne and Chicago State.
During the eight-game span, Missouri averaged 68.9 ppg. and allowed only 47.79 ppg., a +21.0 mark. Additionally the team is shooting 43.4 percent from the field, grabbing 13.0 spg. and has a +7.8 turnover margin (15.9-23.6).
Tigers have a knack for the comeback
Down 17 points, 50-33, with 10:06 remaining against Texas A&M on Jan. 10, the Tigers went on a 17-4 run over the next 6:40 to get within four, 54-50, with 3:26 left. Mizzou was never able to get closer than four but kept the score close in the waning minutes.
The comeback marked the third time this season the Tigers came down from a deficit and either pulled out the win or came close.
On. Nov. 30, Mizzou trailed Northwestern by 11, 59-48, with nine minutes left before running off a 14-0 lead to take a 62-59 lead with 2:11 left. Mizzou managed to hang on for a 69-63 victory.
Then against Arkansas on Dec. 21, the Razorbacks held a 51-43 lead with four minutes remaining. The Tigers went on a 14-4 to close to game, including a three-pointer by senior Alyssa Hollins with 1:14 left to take Mizzou's first lead of the second half.
Tigers take advantage of freebies
Coming into the game with Texas A&M, Mizzou was shooting just 59.2 percent from the free throw line. Against the Aggies the Tigers shot a season high 83.3 percent from the charity stripe, making 15 of its 18 attempts.
No one was better than junior Jessra Johnson from the line. The forward made all nine of her attempts, including six during Mizzou's 17-4 run late in the second half.
The 83.3 percent, which bettered the previous season high of 76.9 against SEMO, improved Missouri's season free throw average to 61 percent.
Over the past four games, Mizzou has shot 71.2 percent (47-66) from the line.
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 6.1 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 14 games and is playing a team fourth best 25.6 mpg. this season. So far this year, she has recorded 86 rebounds, 40 more than she posted all of last season.
Jones returns to form
Sophomore Shakara Jones entered the Jan. 6 game against Chicago State with just three double digit outputs in the team's first 12 games and none in the past five.
Against the Cougars, Jones got back on track with 13 points, on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe, to go along with five boards.
Four days later, Jones hit 6-of-7 shots from the floor to finish with a team high 14 points. s
Overall this year, the forward is shooting a team high 56.8 percent from the field.