Feb. 17, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team (12-13, 4-7) travels to Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday, Feb. 19 to face the Kansas Jayhawks (16-9, 3-8) at 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. The contest, Kansas' WBCA Pink Zone® game, will be televised live on Metro Sports with Nate Bukaty calling the action and Greg Gurley providing color analysis.
Kansas holds a 42-37 advantage in the all-time series but Mizzou claimed a 66-52 win in the first meeting of the year on Jan. 26.
UP NEXT
Mizzou remains on the road as the team heads to Lincoln, Neb., for a 7:05 p.m. game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
SCOUTING KANSAS
The Jayhawks enter Saturday's matchup with a 16-9 overall record and a 3-8 mark in Big 12 play. The team is coming off a 81-58 loss at No. 6 Texas A&M but did pick up a big 86-86 overtime victory over No. 20 Iowa State two games ago. Kansas is 11-3 in homes games this season.
Sophomore Carolyn Davis leads the team with 18.1 ppg. and 7.3 rpg. while shooting 65.8 percent from the floor. She's joined in double figures by classmate Monica Engelman, who posts 12.0 ppg. Junior Aishah Sutherland adds 9.5 ppg. and a team high 7.9 rpg.
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson is in her seventh season at Kansas and has a 112-104 record with the team.
LAST TIME OUT
The University of Missouri women's basketball team scored the final 11 points of regulation to propel the squad to a dramatic 71-65 overtime victory over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls Wednesday night.
The Tigers, who were down as many as 13 in the second half, trailed Oklahoma State by 11, 54-43, with 3:45 remaining in the contest. A three-pointer from Christine Flores started an 11-0 Mizzou run to end regulation and send the game into overtime. Flores scored nine of Missouri's 11 points during the stretch and evened the score at 54-54 with 1:10 left in the contest.
Oklahoma State had a chance to win the game in the remaining seconds but Brown stole the ball away, giving the Tigers one last shot. Brown dribbled down the court but her 35-foot heave bounced off the iron.
Missouri opened the extra session with a 9-2 run to go up 63-56 with 2:17 left. The Cowgirls managed to get within four but the Tigers hit enough free throws to preserve a 71-65 victory.
Flores paced Mizzou with 23 points, while Brown had 20 points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists. Sophomore Trenee Thornton posted career highs 10 points and five assists.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE JAYHAWKS
The University of Missouri women's basketball team used a 15-0 second half run to propel the team to a convincing 66-52 victory over Border Showdown foe Kansas on Jan. 26.
With Missouri clinging to a 48-47 lead with just over seven minutes left in the contest, RaeShara Brown nailed a jumper to kick off a 15-0 Tiger run over the next four and a half minutes. Kansas never managed to get closer than 13 points in the final minutes, as Missouri held on for the 66-52 victory.
Brown scored a game high 22 points and dished out six assists to lead the Tigers. She was joined in double figures by BreAnna Brock, who had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Shakara Jones, who added 11 points and eight boards.
PINGETON EARNS 350TH VICTORY
Head Coach Robin Pingeton claimed her 350th career head coaching victory in Missouri's win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 16. In her 16th sesaon as a head coach, she has a career record of 350-170 coming at both the NCAA Division I and NAIA Division II level. Pingeton compiled 194 wins at St. Ambrose (NAIA), 144 at Illinois State and 12 so far at Missouri.
BROWN MU'S ALL-TIME STEALS LEADER
Senior RaeShara Brown broke Missouri's all-time steals record in the Tigers' contest against Oklahoma on Feb. 12. Brown, who entered the game tied with former Tiger great Joni Davis at 248, broke the record after stealing the ball away from Danielle Robinson with 18:49 remaining in the game. After a six-steal performance against Oklahoma State, she upped her career total to 256.
Brown 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.
FLORES FUELS LATE RUN
Junior Christine Flores was the catalyst in Mizzou's comeback against the Cowgirls on Feb. 16. She scored nine of Missouri's 11 final regulation points as the team tied the score at 54-54 and sent the game to OT.
Flores started the comeback with a three-pointer with 3:45 remaining. She then converted an old fashioned three-point play with 1:58 left to bring the Tigers withing three, 54-51. On MU's next possession, Flores grabbed an offensive board and sank another three to knot the game at 54-54 with 1:10 on the clock.
TIGERS TIGHTEN D TO PROPEL COMEBACK
Missouri's furious comeback against Oklahoma State on Feb. 16 would not have happened if the team's defense didn't tighen down the stretch.
The Tigers held the Cowgirls without a field goal (and allowed just three points from the foul line) for the final 9:08 of regulation. Missouri also forced Oklahoma State to commit eight turnovers in the final 6:20 of regulation as the Cowgirls managed to attempt just two field goals during the span.
THORNTON EARNS HER STRIPES
Sophomore Trenee Thornton had a career night in MU's win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 16. The guard played a personal best 35 minutes and notched career highs in points (10), assists (five), rebounds (four). She also grabbed a steal, blocked a shot and turned the ball over just once.
Perhaps Thornton's biggest contribution was making all four of her free throw attempts in the final 1:06 of overtime to help Missouri preserve the win.
GEE AND BROWN EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
Junior Bailey Gee and senior RaeShara Brown were among 46 student-athletes named to the 2011 Academic All-Big 12 Women's Basketball Team, the league office announced on Feb. 15.
Gee, a junior, earned a spot on the first team while Brown, a senior, was named to the second team. Gee was honored for the first time in her career while Brown was named to the first team during her sophomore and junior seasons.
TOUGH ROAD
The Tigers enter Saturday's game with a 12-13 overall record despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules to this point. As of Feb. 17, Mizzou's strength of schedule (SOS) ranks ninth in the nation by RealTimeRPI.com.
Missouri's SOS trails just Duke, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Connecticut, Baylor, Rutgers, Ohio State and Stanford.
JONES FINISHING SENIOR SEASON STRONG
Senior Shakara Jones has been one of the Tigers' most consistent offensive weapons this year. The forward ranks third on the team at 10.1 ppg. and has already reached double figures a career high 17 times this year (her previous high was 15, set her freshman and sophomore seasons).
During the last 16 games, she has reached double figures 13 times, which is just behind Brown's 14.
THORNTON PROVIDING KEY DEPTH
Sophomore Trenee Thornton has upped her scoring in recent games, thanks in part to increased minutes. She has scored in six of the last seven games and averaged 5.6 ppg. during those contests. In the first 16 games she played this year before the Colorado contest, Thornton averaged just 0.9 ppg.
She has also seen her playing time jump dramatically since Big 12 play started. She averaged 9.9 mpg. in Mizzou's 14 non-conference contests and has played 21.7 mpg. in the Tigers' 11 conference games.
JONES REACHES POINTS MILESTONE
Senior Shakara Jones became the 28th player in MU history to reach 1,000 points when the forward accomplished the feat against UC Riverside on Dec. 21. She now stands at 1,160 career points after notching three points against Oklahoma State to rank 21st all-time. She needs two more points to pass Kerensa Barr (00-03) and move into 20th.
Jones is averaging 10.1 ppg. in 2010-11 after posting marks of 10.5 ppg. as a freshman, 10.3 ppg. as a sophomore and 9.1 ppg. as a junior.
BROWN NOW IN ASSISTS TOP-10
Senior RaeShara Brown's entered Mizzou career top-10 assists list after dishing out 12 against UAB on Dec. 29. After recording four on Feb. 16 against Oklahoma State, she stands in seventh-place on the list with 313. She needs two more to tie Natalie Bright for sixth on the list.
Brown is averaging 4.6 apg. on the season. If she continues on her current pace, she should end her career with about 341 assists, which would rank fourth in Tiger history.
FLORES BLOCKING UP THE LIST
Junior Christine Flores stands in eighth-place on MU's all-time blocks list with 110 after notching a block against Olahoma State on Feb. 16. She needs six more to tie Stretch James (03-04) for seventh on the list.
Flores has 50 blocks so far this year, which ranks seventh on MU's single-season list. She needs three more to tie Mary Brueggestrass (82-83) for sixth on the list with 53.