Dec. 28, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team opens seeks its sixth consecutive victory with a home contest against the North Texas Mean Green Monday night at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers won the only other meeting between the two teams, a 97-69 win on Dec. 11, 1987.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return to Mizzou Arena on Saturday, Jan. 2 for a contest against the Duquesne Dukes at 11:30 a.m. Mizzou then closes out the non-conference schedule with a game against No. 13/15 Xavier on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green enter Mizzou Arena with a 4-8 record so far on the season. The team has wins over UMKC, UTPA, UAB, and ULM.
North Texas averages 64.3 ppg. and pulls down 40.0 rpg. The squad also nabs an impressive 10.3 spg.
Brittney James leads the Mean Green with 13.5 ppg. and minutes played at 31.3 mpg. Jasmine Godbolt is second on the team with 12.1 ppg. and leads the squad at 8.0 rpg., while Niqky Hughes posts 10.4 ppg. and 4.7 rog.
Head Coach Shanice Stephens is in her second year with North Texas and has a 15-28 record with the team.
LAST TIME VS. NORTH TEXAS
Mizzou picked up a 97-69 win over North Texas in the two team's only prior meeting on Dec. 11, 1987. The Tigers ran out to a 51-26 halftime advantage and held on for the 32-point win.
Monique Lucas led five players in double figures with a game high 20 points. Also notching double figures for the Tigers were Sandi Prophete (17), Tracy Ellis (15), Lisa Ellis (14) and Tonya Jorgenson (14).
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Christine Flores posted a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead Missouri to a 81-50 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 21 at Mizzou Arena.
Flores posted a double-double for the second consecutive game with 19 points and 14 rebounds, both career bests. She also blocked three shots and shot 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Junior RaeShara Brown came close to a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and a career high seven steals, to go along with five assists. Junior Shakara Jones scored 13 points despite playing just 16 minutes.
FLORES EN FUEGO
Sophomore Christine Flores' play in the last five games is remarkable considering her output in Mizzou's first five contests.
In the first five contests of the year, the forward averaged just 2.0 ppg. That output has jumped to 13.6 ppg. in games against Ball State, Bradley, Texas-Pan American, Murray State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Most recently Flores had her best game of the year as she posted career highs with 19 points and 14 rebounds. The game before that, she recorded seven blocks to tie MU's single-game record and scored 16 points.
During the five game stretch Flores has been the team's second leading scorer and reached double figures four times after reaching the mark just once prior in her career.
In the other contests, she saw 13 minutes of playing time against Ball State and posted 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor. On Dec. 8, Flores played 15 minutes and notched nine points against Bradley. Then three days later she again played 15 minutes and scored 14 points, including a 6-of-7 mark from the free throw line.
BROWN STEALING UP A STORM
Junior RaeShara Brown has put on a defensive clinic the past four games. In contests with Bradley (five), Texas-Pan American (three), Murray State (five) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (career high seven), the guard has totaled 20 steals for a 4.0 spg. mark. So far this season Brown leads the Big 12 with 34 steals for an average of 3.4 spg.
Brown led the conference in steals last year with 2.7 spg. and 79 total on the year, which ranked as the seventh best single-season total in Tiger history. If she keeps on her current pace, Brown will have an excellent chance to break Amanda Lassiter's single-season steals record of 98.
FLORES DOUBLING UP
It took sophomore Christine Flores 37 games to earn the first double-double of her career with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Murray State on Dec. 13. It took her just one more contest to earn her second.
Flores posted her second career double-double with career highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 21.
TIGERS UP THEIR DEFENSE
Over the past four games the Tigers have nabbed 13.3 spg. in wins over Bradley, Texas-Pan American, Murray State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. In Mizzou's first six games of the season, the team averaged just 8.3 spg.
Those extra steals have accounted for the Tigers forcing their opponents into 25.6 turnovers per game the past four contests, compared to the 17.8 Mizzou opponents committed in those first six games.
The team now ranks second in the Big 12 in turnover margin (+5.7) and third in steals (10.3).
BLOCK PARTY
The Tigers posted a season high 12 blocks against Murray State on Dec. 13. The total stands as the most blocks for a Mizzou team in over six years, since the Tigers recorded 12 against Bradley on Nov. 23, 2003. The team record for blocks in a game is 14, set against Iowa State during the 1983-84 season.
On an individual level, sophomore Christine Flores' seven blocks against the Racers tied the program single-game record. Former Tigers Amanda Lassiter and Stretch James also recorded seven against Western Kentucky on Dec. 4, 1999 and Southwest Missouri State on Dec. 10, 2003, respectively.
FRAZIER MAKING MOST OF HER TIME
Sophomore Kendra Frazier has made the most of her playing time the past three contests. The forward, who played a combined 11 minutes in three games prior to Dec. 10, is setting career highs left and right lately.
Frazier started the trend with a then-career high seven points in 13 minutes against Texas-Pan American on Dec. 10. Three days later, she narrowly missed her first double-double with career highs of eight points and 10 rebounds against Murray State. Most recently, she dished out a career high three assists to go along with six rebounds and four points in 16 mintues of action.
GEE EARNS THE SPOTLIGHT
Sophomore Bailey Gee had a breakout game against Texas-Pan American Dec. 10 at Mizzou Arena. She played a season high 19 minutes and erupted for a personal best 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor.
Entering the game with the Broncs, Gee has seen action in just two of Missouri's first seven games, playing a total of six minutes and no points.
Including her game against the Broncs, Gee has totaled 28 points in her last three games for a scoring average of 9.3 ppg.
Her 14-point ouput surpassed her previous career high of 13 points, accomplished against UT Martin on Dec. 14, 2008.
Johnson reaches milestone
With a layup to start scoring in the second of Missouri's game against Bradley on Dec. 5 senior Jessra Johnson etched her name in the MU record book. The basket marked the 999th and 1,000th points in her Tiger career, making her the 27th player in Missouri history to score at least 1,000 points.
Johnson entered the 2009-10 season with 902 points in her career, just 98 shy of the century mark. She posted eight points against Texas-Pan American to put her career total to 1,015.
Johnson should also end her tiger career ranked in the top-10 in career rebounds as well. Currently sitting on 578 in her career, she needs 91 rebounds to pass Nikki Smith (1992-95) and move into 10th place on the all-time list.
BENCH PRODUCTION POWERS TIGERS
Entering their game with Texas-Pan American on Dec. 10, Missouri's five starters averaged 53.8 of the team's 68.1 ppg., which equated to 79 percent of the team's offense.
It was a different story against the Broncs, as the Tigers got 54 points from the bench, a full 20 points more than the entire Texas-Pan American team total. Seven of eight players off the bench scored, including 14 points apiece from sophomores Christine Flores and Bailey Gee.
TIGERS STRONG ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Missouri grabbed a season high 26 offensive rebounds (compared to 23 defensive rebounds) in the team's 52-46 victory over Bradley on Dec. 8. So far this year the team has recorded at least 19 offensive boards in five of its 10 games.
The total is also a major reason Mizzou ranks first in the Big 12 with 17.5 offensive rebounds per game, ahead of Texas, which averages 15.1.
On an individual level, junior Shakara Jones is fourth in the league with 3.4 offensive rebounds per game.