Dec. 10, 2010

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COLUMBIA, Mo. -
The University of Missouri women's basketball team (4-4) returns to Mizzou Arena in the midst of a six-game homestand to host the UMKC Kangaroos (3-6) Saturday, Dec. 11 at Noon. The contest will be televised live on the Mizzou Sports Network with Beau Baeham calling the action and Gary Link serving as color analyst. Fans can find the game on Fox Sports Midwest in mid-Missouri and Metro Sports in Kansas City. The Tigers hold a 10-1 lead in the all-time series, with Mizzou riding an eight-game winning streak, including a 75-73 overtime victory on Dec. 15, 2007.

UP NEXT
The Tigers are off until Sunday, Dec. 19 when they host the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders at Mizzou Arena at 2 p.m. Mizzou then returns to the court two days later to face the UC Riverside Highlanders on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m..

SCOUTING UMKC
The Kangaroos enter Mizzou Arena with a 3-6 mark on the season but losers of their last three games. The last time out, UMKC fell at IPFW 60-58. The team has wins over Rockhurst (80-40), SIU-Edwardsville (71-59) and Houston Baptist (59-50).

Junior Dayon Hall-Jones paces the `Roos with 13.0 ppg. on 42.9 percent shooting from the floor. Junior Simone Bridges and sophomore Kim Nezianya each grab 5.0 rpg. to lead the squad, while freshman Ashli Hill has blocked a team high 2.3 bpg.

Head Coach Candice Whitaker is in her fourth season at UMKC and has a 42-60 record with the team.

LAST MEETING
Shakara Jones grabbed an offensive rebound and made a put back with 6.1 seconds remaining in overtime to give Missouri a 75-73 overtime victory over UMKC at Mizzou Arena on Saturday, Dec. 15. Mizzou, which scored the first 18 points of the game, led by as many as 21 early in the second half before UMKC tied the game after Tarah Cullen made three free throws with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.

With the score tied at 73-73 after UMKC's Sierra Radke hit a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in overtime, junior Alyssa Hollins drove to the basket but missed a layup. Jones, positioned right in front of the basket, snagged the rebound and made a two-foot jumper with 6.1 seconds remaining. The Kangaroos inbounded the ball at midcourt with three seconds on the clock after calling a timeout but could not get off a shot to give the Tigers the vicory.

Down by 21 with 18:02 left in regulation, UMKC chipped away at Mizzou's lead and got within nine with Chazny Morris made a 3-pointer while being fouled and converted the ensuing free throw for a 53-44 Mizzou lead with 6:40 left in the game. After the Tigers went back up by 13 the Kangaroos ran off a 9-0 run to cut the Missouri lead to 62-58 with 35 seconds left.

UMKC's Brittny Piconni nailed a three to cut the Tigers' lead to one, 65-64, with nine seconds on the clock but Mizzou went back up by three when Jones made two free throws with seven seconds remaining. Cullen then sank her three free throws with 1.1 seconds left after Jones was whistled for a foul.

LAST TIME OUT
Missouri held the UT Martin Skyhawks to 18.6 percent shooting as the Tigers notched a 53-30 victory in the squad's home opener Tuesday night at Mizzou Arena.

Sophomore Sydney Crafton posted her first career double-double with a personal best 15 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with four steals and three assists. Senior RaeShara Brown also recorded 15 points, dished out three assists and nabbed three steals. Junior Christine Flores had 12 points and seven blocks, which tied the Missouri single-game record.

TIGERS TEAMING UP WITH TOYS FOR TOTS
The University of Missouri women's basketball team is teaming up with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to collect toys for mid-Missouri children this December.

All fans who bring a new, unwrapped toy to Mizzou's next four home games on Dec. 7 (UT Martin), Dec. 11 (UMKC), Dec. 19 (NJIT) and Dec. 21 (UC Riverside) will receive free admission to the contest.

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

TIGER TALK STARTS MONDAY
Tiger Talk with Robin Pingeton will debut Monday, Dec. 13 Buffalo Wild Wings in Columbia. The weekly radio show will go from 6-7 p.m., followed by Tiger Talk with Mike Anderson from 7-8 p.m.

Missouri women's basketball Head Coach Robin Pingeton and host Will Palaszcuk of KTGR will talk Tiger women's basketball for 60 minutes. They will be joined by one student-athlete per week.

The show will broadcast every Monday from Dec. 13 until March 14, with the exception of Dec. 27, Jan. 18 and Feb. 21. Additionally, Tiger Talk will air on Tuesday, Feb. 8 instead of Monday, Feb. 7.

DEFENSE UP TO PAR
Missouri had possibly its best all-around defensive effort against UT Martin on Dec. 7. The Tigers held the Skyhawks to just 30 points on 18.6 percent (11-59) shooting from the floor. Both were lows for Missouri opponents this season.

The defense was especially impressive in the first half, when UT Martin made just 5-of-31 shots from the field to shoot 16.1 percent. Additionally, the Skyhawks had just five points on the board more than 16 minutes into the game.

The 18.6 percent UT Martin shot was the lowest opponent field goal percentage since Mizzou held the same Skyhawks to 14.6 percent (7-48) shooting on Dec. 14, 2008.

TIGERS HOST BLOCK PARTY
The Tigers posted a season high 12 blocks against UT Martin on Dec. 7, five more than the previous best of seven recorded at Eastern Illinois. The total was just two shy of the team's single-game blocks record of 14, set against Iowa State during the 1983-84 season.

On an individual level, sophomore Christine Flores' seven blocks against the Skyhawks tied the program single-game record. Flores also tied the mark last season against Murray State on Dec. 13 to tie former Tigers Amanda Lassiter and Stretch James, who recorded seven against Western Kentucky on Dec. 4, 1999 and Southwest Missouri State on Dec. 10, 2003, respectively.

CRAFTON HAS FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore Sydney Crafton had a career day against UT Martin on Dec. 7. The guard scored a career high 15 points (one more than her previous best of 14 at Eastern Illinois) and a game high 11 rebounds to post the first double-double of her career.

Crafton had come close to double-doubles the past two games with 10 rebounds and eight points at Northwestern and nine rebounds and eight points at Ball State. Over the past three contests, she has actually averaged a double-double with 10.3 ppg. and 10.0 ppg. Thanks to her play of late, Crafton has upped her season numbers to 7.8 ppg. and 7.0 rpg.

Overall, Crafton is the fourth MU player to record a double-double in 2010-11, joining RaeShara Brown (3), Shakara Jones (1) and Christine Flores (1).

BROWN INCHES CLOSER TO STEALS MARK
With three steals against UT Martin on Dec. 7, senior RaeShara Brown has compiled 212 steals in her career and needs just 36 to tie former Tiger great Joni Davis as MU's all-time steals leader. Her 212 steals rank fourth in the Tiger record book, and she needs 10 more to tie Carla Yancey for third on the list.

Brown has led the Big 12 in steals the last two seasons, after outputs of 88 a year ago and 79 during her sophomore season. The totals rank third and eighth on Mizzou's single-season list.

JONES NEARING POINTS MILESTONE
Senior Shakara Jones is sitting on 973 points in her career, just 27 shy of the millennium mark. Assuming the forward accomplishes the feat this season, she will become just the 28th player in Mizzou history to score at least 1,000 points.

Jones has a 10.0 ppg. average in her three-year career, after posting marks of 10.5 ppg. as a freshman, 10.3 ppg. as a sophomore and 9.1 ppg. as a junior.

BROWN DOING IT ALL
Senior RaeShara Brown currently leads the Tigers in four major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists and steals.

The 5-8 guard is averaging 16.6 ppg. and pulling down 7.1 rpg. Additionally, Brown dishes out a team high 4.4 apg. and is nabbing 2.6 spg. She leads all Big 12 players with 36.8 mpg.

On the season, Brown is shooting 45.1 percent (46-102) from the floor.

LATE HOMECOMING
Mizzou's home opener on Dec. 7 against UT Martin was tied for the third latest the Tigers have ever opened their home schedule.

Below are Missouri's latest home openers:

1. 1974-75: Jan. 17, 1975 (Nothwest Missouri)
2. 1975-76: Dec. 9, 1975 (Central Missouri)
3. 2010-11: Dec. 7, 2010 (UT Martin) 1976-77: Dec. 7, 1976 (UMSL)

CRAFTON ALL OVER THE BOARDS
Sophomore Sydney Crafton has been all over the boards in Mizzou's past four games, averaging a team high 10.5 rpg. during the stretch. Against Georgia Tech on Nov. 27, the 5-10 guard pulled down a career and game high 12 rebounds. In Missouri's next outing at Ball State, Crafton responded with nine rebounds, at Northwestern on Dec. 5, she grabbed 10 rebounds and against UT Martin on Dec. 7 she grabbed 11.

Thanks to her recent rebounding prowess, Crafton is now second on the squad with 7.0 rpg.

The 12 rebounds against Georgia Tech was triple her previous personal best of four. The mark is the third best invididual output of the year for Missouri, behind Shakara Jones' 14 and Christine Flores' 13, both recorded against Memphis on Nov. 12.