Dec. 2, 2011
Big Ten / Big 12 Challenge
Tip-off: 4 p.m.
Arena: Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Radio: KTGR 1580 AM, ESPN 100.5 FM
Coaches
MU: Robin Pingeton (St. Ambrose '90) 18-18 at MU (second season)
Northwestern: Joe McKeown (Kent State, 1979), 4th season at NU (49-53)
Columbia, Mo - The Missouri Women's Baketball team looks to improve to 6-0 on the season for the second time in program history. Mizzou hosts the Northwestern Wildcats at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Mizzou Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
Mizzou hosted the Wright State Raiders on Nov. 26, and the team earned a 92-62 victory to improve to 5-0 on the season. This is the first time that the Tigers have been 5-0 since the 1997-98 season when Mizzou was 6-0 to start the season. Christine Flores led the Tigers with 26 points on the game. Mizzou snatched 50 rebounds in the contest, which has not happened for the Tigers since 2010.
UP NEXT
The Tigers continue the home stretch with another school from the Land of Lincoln. Mizzou hosts Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. The Men's and Women's teams will host a double-header over the weekend, with the Men's Hoops team taking on Navy Saturday, Dec. 10 after the Women host North Dakota at 12:30.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
The Northwestern Wildcats are off to a strong start after a 19-14 record in the 2010-11 season. The Wildcats are 5-1 this season, with wins coming over then-ranked LSU, Western Kentucky, Illinois State and NC State. NU's only loss came to Chi-Town opponent, No. 22/21 DePaul. Junior forward Kendall Hackney leads the team with 14.7 points per game, with freshman guard Morgan Jones right behind her averaging 14.3 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY WITH NU
Missouri leads the all-time series 3-1 against Northwestern. The Tigers and the Wildcats last met in 2010. The contest resulted in a 79-68 victory for Northwestern.
BIG TEN SERIES HISTORY
The Big Ten leads the series record against Mizzou. The Tigers are 50-61 against Big Ten opponents in school history. Mizzou leads the series history against several Big Ten opponents including Northwestern (3-1), Ohio State (2-0), Penn State (1-0) and Wisconsin (3-0). The Tigers are tied in series history with Indiana (2-2) and Minnesota (4-4).
TIGER TRENDS
> Mizzou has hit 45.5 percent of field goals or better in each of the first five games this season.
> Mizzou has led every game by at least 19 points this season.
> The Tigers are averaging 41.6 points in the second half of games, nearly 10 points more than their 32.8-point average in the first half.
> Mizzou has won the block battle in every contest so far...BreAnna Brock and Christine Flores lead the way with 39 of 44 total blocks this season.
> Mizzou has had more assists than each of their opponents in their first five games...Missouri averages 17.4 assists per game.
> At least three Tigers have scored in double figures in four of five games this season.
> So far in 5 games, Coach Pingeton has made sure that every player on the roster has seen time on the floor in each contest.
RECORD BREAKING
Should the Tigers improve to 6-0 on the season with a victory over Northwestern, this will be the second time in program history that Mizzou has been 6-0. In the 1997-98 season, Mizzou went 6-0 to start the season before dropping to Western Illinois in overtime (66-68).
RE-LIVING THE 90's
Missouri's 92-62 victory over Wright State marked the first time since 2008 that Missouri has scored over 90 points in a regular season contest. Missouri put up 93 points in a 94-93 triple-overtime loss to Holy Cross on Nov. 29, 2008. The Tigers have not scored over 90 points in a regulation game since 2006 against Arkansas Pine Bluff in a 94-52 victory.