Feb. 21, 2011

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team (12-14, 4-8) travels to Linocln, Neb., on Tuesday, Feb. 22 to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-14, 2-10) at 7:05 p.m. at the Devaney Center. Nebraska holds a 39-31 advantage in the all-time series but Mizzou claimed a 76-69 win in the first meeting of the year on Feb. 2.

UP NEXT
Mizzou returns home to Mizzou Arena on Saturday, Feb. 26 for a 4 p.m. contest against the Colorado Buffaloes. The Tigers then travel to Waco, Texas, to face the Baylor Bears on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
The Huskers enter Tuesday's matchup with a 12-14 overall record and a 2-10 mark in Big 12 play but in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Nebraska is coming off a narrow 69-64 home loss at the hands of Kansas State. On the season, the team averages 64.4 ppg. on 38.8 percent shooing while allowing 64.5 ppg.

Freshman Jordan Hooper leads the Huskers with 14.9 ppg., to go along with 7.8 rpg. Sophomore Lindsey Moore notches 12.8 ppg., a figure that has jumped to 15.0 ppg. in conference games. Moore also dishes out 5.5 apg. Senior Cartheryn Redmond adds 9.3 ppg. and a team high 7.5 rpg.

Head Coach Connie Yori is in her ninth season at Nebraska and has a 165-113 record with the team.

LAST TIME OUT
Kansas' Monica Engelman hit a game-tying jumper with 1.9 seconds left to send the game to overtime and the Jayhawks held on for a 75-70 win Saturday night in Lawrence, Kan.

With Kansas on top 61-60, senior RaeShara Brown grabbed an offensive board and dished to senior Shakara Jones, who converted a layup at the 1:40 mark for Mizzou's first lead since the first half. Jones missed the ensuing free throw but neither team could find the bottom of the basket in the next minute. Crafton made one of-two free throws with 22.9 seconds remaining for a 62-60 Tiger lead but Engelman hit a running jumper with 1.9 left to force overtime.

The Jayhawks built six-point advantage, 70-64, with 1:59 remaining in the extra session. A three-pointer from Brown with 1:43 left got the Tigers within three. The squad had the chance to cut into Kansas' lead but Brock missed two free throws with 45.8 seconds and Engelman hit another jumper for a 72-67 Jayhawk lead with 19.4 on the clock. Kansas hit its free throws down the stretch to earn the 75-70 victory.

Senior RaeShara Brown paced the Tigers with 23 points, including 18 in the second half and overtime. Sophomore Sydney Crafton recorded her third career double-double with 11 points and a personal best 15 rebounds, while junior BreAnna Brock had 12 points.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKERS
Missouri withstood a furious second half comeback by the Nebraska and held on to earn a 76-69 victory on Feb. 2 at Mizzou Arena.

Missouri led by 17, 39-22, at the half but the Huskers used nine three-pointers in the second frame to claw back. With the Tigers on top 59-50, Nebraska reeled off a 10-0, capped by a three from Husker Jordan Hooper, run to take its first lead of the second half, 61-60, with 4:17 remaining in the game.

A layup from senior Shakara Jones gave the lead back to Missouri with 3:38 on the clock. Fellow senior RaeShara Brown then took the game over offensively, scoring Mizzou's next 12 points to keep the Huskers at bay.

The Tigers managed to increase their lead to seven, 71-56, with 49 seconds remaining in the game after Brown nailed a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. Another three from Hooper brought Nebraska within four, 73-69, with 21 seconds remaining but Missouri hit three-of-four free throws in the waning seconds to hold on for the win.

Brown scored 22 of her team high 25 points in the second half, to go along seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore Sydney Crafton notched her second career double-double with a career high 19 points, 17 of which came in the opening frame, and a personal best tying 12 rebounds. Jones joined the duo in double figures with 11.

CRAFTON CONTROLS THE BOARDS
Sophomore Sydney Crafton posted her third career double-double at Kansas on Feb. 19 with 11 points and a career high 15 rebounds. Six of her boards were offensive, which helped the Tigers record a season high 19 offensive rebounds.

The 15 rebounds were the most by a Missouri player this season (besting Shakara Jones' 14 against Memphis in the season opener). The total also marked the most by a Tiger since Jessra Johnson grabbed 19 against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 15, 2007.

TIGERS RALLY IN SECOND STRAIGHT GAME
For the second straight contest, Missouri rallied for a second half comeback at Kansas to take the lead late in a game.

The Tigers trailed the Jayhawks 56-50 with 6:41 remaining on Feb. 19. After Mizzou used back-to-back baskets from senior RaeShara Brown to tie the score, Kansas again took a 60-58 lead with 2:33 left. One free throw apiece from sophomores Trenee Thornton and Sydney Crafton and a layup from senior Shakara Jones gave the Tigers a 62-60 with 22 seconds remaining.

On Feb. 16 against Oklahoma State, Missouri scored the final 11 points of regulation to send the game to overtime, which the Tigers eventually won.

BROCK STRONG AGAINST JAYHAWKS, AGAIN
For the second time this season, junior BreAnna Brock played a big game against Kansas.

The forward had 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the floor and eight rebounds against the Jayhawks on Jan. 26. On Feb. 19, Brock also recorded 12 points against the squad, all of which came in the first half.

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 season as a head coach, she has a career record of 350-171 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 one-steal performance against Kansas, she upped her career total to 257.

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.

THORNTON PROVIDING KEY DEPTH
Sophomore Trenee Thornton has upped her scoring in recent games, thanks in part to increased minutes. She has scored in seven of the last eight games and averaged 6.0 ppg. during those contests. Additionally, she has averaged 9.5 ppg. in the past two games. 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 23.0 mpg. in the Tigers' 11 conference games.

BROWN APPROACHING 1,000 POINTS
Senior RaeShara Brown enters Tuesday's game with 952 points in her career, just 48 shy of 1,000. If she reaches the milestone this season, she will become the second player this year (joining Shakara Jones) and the 29th player in MU history to reach the mark.

Almost half of her 952 career points have come in her senior season, as she has compiled 446 so far this year. Her point total in 2010-11 is 46.9 percent of her career total after posting 33 points as a freshman, 181 as a sophomore and 292 as a junior.

TOUGH ROAD
The Tigers enter Tuedsay's game with a 12-14 overall record despite playing one of the nation's toughest schedules to this point. As of Feb. 21, Mizzou's strength of schedule (SOS) ranks ninth in the nation by RealTimeRPI.com.

Missouri's SOS trails just Duke, Texas A&M, Connecticut, Tennessee, Baylor, Rutgers, Ohio State and Stanford.

TIGERS GET OFFENSIVE ON THE BOARDS
In Mizzou's game at Kansas on Feb. 19, the Tigers grabbed a season high 19 offensive rebounds. The mark bested the team's previous season high of 17, which was set against both Colorado (Jan. 22) and Texas (Jan. 8). The total helped Missouri to a 17-6 second-chance points advantage against the Jayhawks.

Sophomore Sydney Crafton did most of the work with six offensive boards herself.

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 then-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.

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 1,166 career points after notching six points against Kansas to rank 20th all-time. She needs 21 more points to pass LaToya Bond (02-05) and move into 19th.

Jones is averaging 10.0 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 two on Feb. 19 against Kansas, she is tied for sixth-place on the list with 315. She needs eight more to tie Joni Davis for fifth on the list.

Brown is averaging 4.5 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.

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.