University of Missouri
Missouri State
@MizzouWBB Travels to Missouri State for Regular Season Opener
11/13/2015 1:56:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| Opponent | Location | Day/Time | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Missouri State | JQH Arena, Springfield, Mo. | Friday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. | Game Notes: Mizzou Radio: 103.1 FM & 1580 AM TV: ESPN3/WatchESPN App |
TIGERS DOMINATE EXHIBITION PLAY
• On Nov. 4, Mizzou defeated Southwest Baptist, 96-59, in the exhibition opener. Freshman Sophie Cunningham led the way with 20 points and five steals in her Mizzou debut. Jordan Frericks (12), Sierra Michaelis (11), Bri Porter (11) and Kayla McDowell all scored in double figures. Porter also had a game-high six rebounds. On Nov. 9, Mizzou beat Quincy 97-54, led by 17 points from Maddie Stock, including five 3-pointers.
MIZZOU OPENS HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED SEASON
• Mizzou Women's Basketball opens the 2015-16 exhibition campaign with high expectations coming off of a 19-14 season that included a trip to the WNIT quarterfinals.
• The 19 wins by the Tigers were the most by the program since the 2005-06 season. Mizzou has posted three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1987-90.
• With postseason victories at Northern Iowa and Kansas State, Mizzou advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT for the second time in program history and first since 2002-03.
• Mizzou led the SEC and ranked 12th nationally in field goal percentage defense (35.1).
• The Tigers ranked 17th nationally with 29.0 defensive rebounds per game.
• Mizzou drained 249 shots from beyond the arc, which was 49 more 3-pointers than any other SEC school. The Tigers ranked 31st nationally with 7.5 triples per game.
ZOU NOTES
• Mizzou head coach Robin Pingeton signed a new 5-year contract through the 2019-20 season that was announced on Oct. 2.
• Junior forward Jordan Frericks (Quincy, Ill./Quincy Notre Dame) was named second-team All-SEC after leading the team with 13.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. She tied a program record with 33 games started, equaling Lorraine Ferret's mark that had stood since the 1980-81 season.
• Frericks posted the fifth-best rebounding average in single-season program history and the highest total since Kesha Bonds averaged 10.1 boards per game in 1997-98.
• Senior guard Maddie Stock (Town & Country, Mo./St. Joseph's Academy) is tied for seventh in program history with 113 baskets from long range. She drained a career-high 54 triples in 2014-15.
• Mizzou's freshmen class including guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge), forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) and forward Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School) was ranked 14th nationally by All-Star Girls Report.
MIZZOU LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST BEARS
• Mizzou is looking to get back in the win column against Missouri State for the first time since Dec. 6, 2012 when the Tigers registered a 91-77 victory over the Bears at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Current Mizzou graduate student manager Morgan Eye scored a game-high 21 points in that contest, going 7-for-11 from the floor and 5-of-11 from 3-point range in 26 minutes of reserve action.
• Point guard Lianna Doty added 14 points and six assists in the 2012 victory.
• Last season, Missouri State defeated Mizzou 57-52 during a Dec. 30 contest at the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Sierra Michaelis scored 13 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Jordan Frericks scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
FRERICKS' SOPHOMORE SEASON MAKES MARK ON RECORD BOOK
• Junior forward Jordan Frericks had an outstanding sophomore season last year when she was the team's leader in scoring, rebounds and blocks with 13.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, respectively. Her rebounding total led the SEC and ranked 36th in the country.
• Frericks was named second-team All-SEC by the league's coaches and earned honorable mention All-SEC honors from the Associated Press.
• In 2014-15, Frericks registered 12 double-doubles, including a string of five straight games from Jan. 25 - Feb. 8.
• On five occasions, Frericks scored 20 or more points.
• Frericks was named the SEC Player of the Week on March 1 after averaging 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the week in leading the team to victories at No. 12 Texas A&M and vs. Arkansas to close the regular season.
• Frericks scored in double figures 23 times last year and reached double digits on the boards in 15 contests.
STOCK CLIMBING TRIPLES CHART
• Senior guard Maddie Stock enters the 2015-16 campaign tied for seventh in program history with 113 career 3-pointers. She also ranks fourth in career history with 364 attempted 3-pointers.
• In 14 contests last season, Stock drained multiple shots from beyond the arc, including a career-best four on five separate occasions.
• Stock drained a career-high 54 triples last season, including a dramatic buzzer beater to defeat No. 12 Texas A&M in College Station on Feb. 26, 2015 to snap the Aggies' 17-game home winning streak.
FAMILY MATTERS
• Mizzou features the only NCAA Division I Women's Basketball team in the country with three sets of sisters on the roster in senior twins Maddie and Morgan Stock, redshirt junior Lindsey Cunningham and freshman Sophie Cunningham and sophomore forward Bri Porter and freshman forward Cierra Porter.
• Assistant coach Michael Porter is the father of both Bri and Cierra Porter. Porter is also the brother-in-law of head coach Robin Pingeton.
• The Cunninghams come from a long line of Mizzou athletes, including both parents, a grandfather, aunt and uncle, who competed in football, track and field and women's basketball, respectively.
#OurTownOurTeam
• Mizzou Women's Basketball has established a hashtag motto for the 2015-16 season. #OurTownOurTeam honors the incredibly loyal supporters in the region that inspire our team and create a homecourt advantage at Mizzou Arena.
• Nine of the players on the Tigers' 2015-16 roster hail from the state of Missouri, including four from right in the backyard in Columbia.
• Mizzou Women's Basketball puts a heavy emphasis on being active in the community and the Tigers completed over 325 hours of community service last academic year to earn the Mizzou Athletics Community Service Award for the second time in five years.
• Since Robin Pingeton took over as head coach prior to the 2010-11 season, the team has completed over 1,567 hours of community service. Director of Basketball Operations Heather Buechter is instrumental in establishing relationships and scheduling many of the activities within the Columbia and surrounding communities in mid-Missouri. Redshirt junior point guard Lianna Doty was named to the SEC Community Service Team in 2014.
PORTER SHINES IN BLACK & GOLD SCRIMMAGE
• Sophomore forward Bri Porter returned to a game situation on the court at Mizzou Arena on Oct. 30 during Mizzou's Halloween & Hoops Black & Gold Scrimmage for the first time since going down with a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 22, 2014 vs. UT Martin.
• In the Black team's 30-15 win over the Gold squad, Porter scored a scrimmage-high 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including a 2-for-4 mark from 3-point range.
• Jordan Frericks added six points on 3-for-5 shooting for the Black squad while Morgan Stock led the Gold team with six points by going 2-for-6 from beyond the arc.
DOTY, McDOWELL, PORTER RETURN FROM INJURIES
• Last season, three impact players suffered season-ending injuries for the Tigers. Guard Lianna Doty and forwards Kayla McDowell and Bri Porter all went down for the year within the season's first 12 games.
• All three players have worked relentlessly throughout rehabilitation programs and returned to the court in exhibition play.
• Doty suffered a Lisfranc fracture in her foot while McDowell and Porter both tore the ACL in their knees. For Porter, it was the fourth ACL tear she has suffered throughout her high school and collegiate playing career.
DOTY CONTINUES PURSUIT OF ASSISTS RECORD
• Point guard Lianna Doty missed last season but still ranks fifth in Mizzou career history with 326 assists over her first two seasons. She is 11 assists from tying current Tigers assistant coach RaeShara Brown for No. 4 on the all-time list.
• Doty recorded the third-highest single-season assist total in 2013-14 with 175 and the fifth-best mark by a Mizzou passer with 151 as a freshman in 2012-13.
FRESHMEN CLASS HIGHEST-RANKED IN TEAM HISTORY
• This season's freshmen class including guard Sophie Cunningham and forwards Cierra Porter and Hannah Schuchts was ranked the No. 14 recruiting class nationally by Blue Star Report.
• Cunningham and Porter lead Rock Bridge High School in Columbia to four consecutive Missouri Class 5 state titles.
• Cunningham was ranked the No. 14 recruit in the country by Blue Star Report while Porter was listed as the No. 37 high school player nationally by All Star Girls Report. Schuchts ranked the No. 59 forward in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz and was the Big Bend Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2014-15 after averaging 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.
FIRST McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICAN JOINS PROGRAM
• Freshman guard Sophie Cunningham is the first McDonald's All-American to join the Mizzou Women's Basketball program. Cunningham was a four-time Class 5 state champion at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia and was ranked the No. 14 prospect in the country by Blue Star Report and No. 20 recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. She played in the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic in New York. She was invited to the USA Basketball U19 World Championships Team Trials in May, the USA Basketball U18 National Team Trials in 2014 and also played in the 2013 USA Basketball 3-on-3 National Tournament.
• Cunningham was the 2014 USA Today Gatorade Missouri Girls Basketball Player of the Year and Missouri Class 5 Player of the Year as a junior and senior. She was named 2015 Co-Miss Show Me Basketball and was also the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2014-15.
• In June, Cunningham became the first high school player to earn the Kiwanis Club Don Faurot Sportsperson of the Year Award in Columbia. The honor - named after Mizzou's legendary former head football coach and director of athletics - was established in 1991 to honor an outstanding candidate who contributes to the local sports community as an athlete, coach, administrator or official. Cunningham set a school record with 1,983 points during her prep career and had her No. 3 jersey retired following her senior season in which she averaged 21.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.9 steals per game. She was a three-time recipient of the Columbia Daily Tribune Player of the Year award.
• Cunningham verbally committed to Mizzou following her eighth grade year. She was also a standout in volleyball, track and field and even joined the Rock Bridge football team as a kicker during the fall of her senior year, becoming the first female in school history to score a point on the gridiron.
FORMER STANDOUT BROWN JOINS COACHING STAFF
• RaeShara Brown transitioned into an assistant coaching role after spending the last year as Director of Recruiting & Player Development. She has been a member of the coaching staff since 2012-13, joining first as a graduate student manager.
• Brown and fellow assistant Michael Porter share responsibilities in helping develop the Tiger guards.
• A mainstay in the backcourt from 2007-11, Brown's natural leadership and hard-nosed style of play endeared her to Mizzou fans.
• Brown is the program's all-time leader with 273 career steals, including 88 in 2010-11, which ranks third in single-season history.
• The native of Little Rock, Arkansas, earned a bachelor's degree in Nutritional Sciences from Mizzou in 2011 and a master's in Educational Psychology in 2014.
COX TAKES OVER DIRECTOR OF RECRUITING ROLE
• Willie Cox transitioned from assistant coach and has now taken over recruiting operations for the program.
• Cox works with the rest of the staff to maintain successful recruiting efforts and works diligently to provide the best experience for potential players visiting campus.
• He has been a member of Robin Pingeton's staff since the 2003-04 season at Illinois State.
EYE REMAINS WITH PROGRAM, JOINS STAFF
• Mizzou's all-time 3-point champion Morgan Eye completed her eligibility following last season and has remained with the program as a graduate student manager.
• Eye finished her Tigers career with 367 baskets from 3-point range, which is 141 more than Alyssa Hollins (2006-09) in second place. She ranks 12th in program history with 1,374 career points.
• With a 38.9 percent career shooting marking from long range, Eye closed her Mizzou career by ranking 43rd nationally in 2014-15 with 2.6 triples per game. She is pursuing a master's degree in Educational, School & Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Positive Coaching.
