Little Rock, Ark. -A career night for sophomore Sierra Michaelis wasn't enough to lift the 7th-seeded Tigers over the 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs. Michaelis knocked down a career-best 29 points in the game while grabbing six boards and dishing four assists. Michaelis has now scored 20 or more points in four games this season. Thursday's 75-64 loss drops the Tigers to 17-13 on the season. The Lady Bulldogs will continue with SEC tournament play, facing Tennessee tomorrow.
The Tigers came out to a hot start against UGA, taking an early four-point lead over the No. 10 seed Georgia. It wasn't long, however, before the Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead. With about 16 minutes before the halftime break, UGA took its first lead of the half and held on until the break. Mizzou held Georgia to just 27-percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Tigers also limited the Lady Bulldogs in the paint, allowing just six points inside.
For the Tigers, Michaelis led all scorers with nine first-half points, she added four rebounds to that as well. Both Jordan Frericks and Michelle Hudyn contributed five points in the half, and Frericks led the Tigers with five boards.
Georgia held its lead early in the second half, but five straight points from Maddie Stock put the Tigers within one. From there, Mizzou stayed close to the Lady Bulldogs, only allowing them to get ahead by seven at the most. Michaelis later dropped five straight as well to pull within two of the Lady Bulldogs, but an 8-0 UGA run put Georgia back on top. In that run Georgia made four free throws, the team finished the night going 26-of-29 from the night.
The Tigers will return to Columbia this week to await their postseason fate. For more information on Mizzou Women's Basketball, fans can follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouWBB), Facebook (/MizzouWBB) and Instagram (@MizzouWBB).