University of Missouri
Duquesne
Mizzou Outlasts Duquesne, 72-66
1/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team used a strong second half to outlast the Duquesne Dukes and earn a 72-66 victory Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. The win was the seventh consecutive for the Tigers, who are now 10-2 on the season. Duquesne falls to 10-5.
Sophomore Christine Flores led the Tigers with 16 points to go with six rebounds and three blocks. Senior Amanda Hanneman scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds and classmate Jessra Johnson added 12 points, four assists and four blocks. Junior RaeShara Brown chipped in nine points, six rebounds and four steals.
It was all Duquesne in the opening minutes, as the Dukes used great shooting to build a 21-6 lead after Kelly Britcher made a layup with 11:06 left in the first half after Kelly Britcher.
Mizzou responded with added intensity and went on a 20-3 run of its own, with seven points from Johnson, over the next five minutes to cut Duquesne's lead to two, 26-24, with 6:14 on the clock.
After the Dukes hit a three-pointer, the Tigers used a three of their own from Hanneman, a basket from Jones, and a driving layup from junior Jasmyn Otote to knot the score at 34-34 with 2:55 left in the first. Duquesne upped its defense for the remainder of the half and entered the break with a 39-34 advantage.
The Tigers started the first half on fire with consecutive baskets from Jones, senior Marissa Scott and Flores as the team took their first lead of the game, 40-39, just over a minute into the second half.
Both teams stayed close over the next few minutes until Jones made a layup with 12:08 on the clock for a 53-48 Mizzou advantage. Duquesne reeled off five straight points to tie the game at 55-55 two minutes later but the Tigers responded immediately with a 7-0 run, capped by a layup from Brown, as the team went back up 62-55 with 8:00 left in the game.
A layup from Duquesne's Vanessa Abel cut Missouri's lead to two, 63-61, with 5:07 remaining but a three-pointer from Brown and two free throws from Hanneman increased Mizzou's lead to 68-61 with just under four minutes on the clock.
The Dukes refused to go away and again got within two, 68-66, after Samantha Pollino made a layup but a basket from Brown off a Johnson assist and two free throws from senior Toy Richbow sealed the 72-66 win for the Tigers.
The Tigers return to Mizzou Arena to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 5 with a contest against No. 13/15 Xavier at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on the Mizzou Sports Network with Beau Baehman on play-by-play duties and former Iowa State Cyclone Anne O'Neil serving as the color analyst. The contest can be found on Fox Sports Midwest in mid-Missouri, Metro Sports in Kansas City, in addition to Universal Sports in Columbia.
