Missouri
Missouri Western
Mizzou Holds Off Missouri Western in Final Exhibition Game
11/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Sierra Michaelis tallied a double-double Tuesday night.
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou women's basketball held off Missouri Western, 78-75, on Tuesday night (Nov. 11) at Mizzou Arena, highlighted by a big night from freshman Bri Porter (Columbia, Mo.). Porter scored the final 10 points of the first half as part of a 19-4 run that helped Mizzou pull away on Tuesday. Porter was one of four Tigers to finish in double-figures scoring Tuesday, tallying a team-high 22 points.
In addition to Porter, Mizzou also got a nice performance from senior Morgan Eye (Montrose, Mo.), who tallied 15 points, connecting on 4-for-8 from distance. Sophomore Sierra Michaelis (Mercer, Mo.) posted a double-double with 16 points while grabbing 11 boards. Classmate Jordan Frericks (Quincy, Ill.) added 10 rebounds and five points as well. Newcomer Juanita Robinson (Chicago, Ill.) added 10 points.
Mizzou, highlighted by Porter's 22 points, got a huge night from its bench, outscoring the Griffons bench, 39-18, on Tuesday. The Tigers also saw sizeable advantages on the glass (49-35) and on second-chance points (28-13) in the win. The Tigers played great team offense all night, assisting on 17 of 26 baskets. The Tigers were able to overcome a game-high 40 points from Missouri Western's LaQuinta Jefferson.
After getting off to a slow start, Mizzou used a strong rebounding advantage to open a 22-20 lead at the 6:35 mark of the first half and it was all Mizzou from that point. A Porter layup at the 5:56 mark sparked a 19-4 run to close the half with a 41-24 lead. During that run, Porter scored 12 of the 19 points and the final 10 points of the half. She finished the opening frame with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including a 4-for-5 mark from the charity stripe. Eye tallied nine points in the first half, all coming on a trio of 3-pointers. In all, six Tigers scored in the first half.
Missouri Western opened the second half on a 6-0 run, using a pair of 3-pointers to force a timeout from Mizzou head coach Robin Pingeton. But Kayla McDowell (Cincinnati, Ohio) put a quick end to that run with a 3-pointer of her own, sparking a 7-0 run for Mizzou.
The Tigers led by as many as 18 in the second half, but the Griffons got as close as 72-64 at the 4:06 mark following a 6-0 run. A pair of free throws from Porter put the Tigers back on top by 10 with just more than three minutes remaining. Another 6-0 run pulled Missouri Western within four a 74-70 after a Jefferson layup. Mizzou then used all 30 on the shot clock and Porter hauled in a Michaelis miss with 40 seconds remaining. Robinson then hit the first of two free throws and Eye then sank a pair of free throws with less than 10 seconds to ice the game, despite another late 3-pointer from Jefferson.
Mizzou is back in action against Western Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 2 p.m. For all the latest on Mizzou women's basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouWBB.
