ZOU NOTES 
• Mizzou opened the regular season with a 71-55 victory at Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite Missouri State on Friday evening. 
• The Tigers outscored the Bears 27-8 in the fourth quarter and held MSU to only one basket in its final 16 shots to close the game.
• Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals in her NCAA debut in Springfield. She is the first McDonald's High School All-American to join the Mizzou Women's Basketball program.
• Senior forward Michelle Hudyn (Kitchener, Ontario/Eastwood Collegiate) set career-highs with 13 rebounds (three offensive) and three blocks on Friday evening at Missouri State. Her previous career-high was nine rebounds at LSU on Feb. 2, 2015. Mizzou outrebounded MSU 53-27.
• The 19 wins by the Tigers last season 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.
• Mizzou head coach Robin Pingeton signed a new 5-year contract through the 2019-20 season that was announced on Oct. 2. She earned her 80th victory at Mizzou on Friday evening at JQH Arena.

MIZZOU OPENS HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED SEASON
• Mizzou Women's Basketball has opened the 2015-16 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.

UAPB FALLS IN SEASON OPENER AT NEBRASKA    
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff enters Monday's contest with an 0-1 record after falling 96-46 at Nebraska on Saturday afternoon.
• The Huskers outscored the Lady Lions 50-20 in the second half.
• UAPB was held to 30 percent (18-for-61) shooting from the floor and 27 percent (3-for-11) from 3-point range.
• Nebraksa shot 52 percent (34-for-66) from the field and 46 percent (6-for-13) from beyond the arc.
• Forward Niya Head led UAPB with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals on Saturday.
• Guard Destiny Brewton dished out a game-high six assists. Brewton also finished with a game-high seven turnovers.
• Nebraska outrebounded UAPB 50-35, outscored the Lady Lions 48-10 in the paint, 20-2 off of turnovers, 12-0 in fast break points and 54-9 in bench scoring.

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 368 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.

SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM'S RECORD PERFORMANCE
• Freshman guard Sophie Cunningham had the best performance by a true freshman making her NCAA debut during the Robin Pingeton era at Mizzou, which dates back to the 2010-11 season. Cunningham recorded her a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals in 25 minutes of action.
• The previous scoring high under Pingeton in an NCAA debut by a true freshman was by forward Kayla McDowell (now a redshirt sophomore), who scored 19 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the 2013-14 season opener at Saint Louis on Nov. 8, 2013 at Chaifetz Arena.
• Cunningham finished 7-for-11 (63.6) from the floor and 2-for-4 (50.0) from 3-point range.
• In the second half on Friday, Cunningham took over as she scored 19 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out four assists and made two steals during the final 20 minutes of regulation.
• Sophie was 7-for-8 from the free throw line on the evening with all coming during the second half.
• With 7:42 remaining, Cunningham drained a 3-pointer to put Mizzou ahead 51-50, a lead that would not be relinquished as the Tigers closed the game on a 23-5 run from that point forward.
• Over a stretch of 1:53 from the 7:42-5:49 mark in the fourth quarter, Cunningham scored seven straight points to put the Tigers ahead for good.
• Cunningham found a wide open Sierra Michaelis for a layup to stretch the lead to double digits at 65-55 with 1:14 on the clock.

LINDSEY CUNNINGHAM PERFECT FROM LONG RANGE
• Redshirt junior guard Lindsey Cunningham was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in Friday's season-opening win. 
• She drained a crucial triple with 2:41 remaining to increase the lead to 58-52 following a beautiful pass from junior guard Sierra Michaelis. 
• It marked the first time in Cunningham's career that she has connected on three 3-pointers in a single contest.
• Cunningham sank two of her triples during the second half and hit the Tigers' lone 3-pointer during the first half.

CUNNINGHAMS DROPPING DIMES
• Sisters Lindsey Cunningham and Sophie Cunningham tied for a game-high with five assists each on Friday at Missouri State. 
• Sophie dished out five assists in the second half while Lindsey recorded three assists over the game's final 20 minutes.
• Last season, Lindsey led the Tigers with 91 total assists, good for an average of 2.8 per contest.

TIGERS DOMINATE 4TH QUARTER AT MISSOURI STATE
• Mizzou outscored Missouri State 27-8 in Friday evening's 71-55 victory at the JQH Arena in Springfield. 
• The Tigers held a 10-4 advantage in points in the paint and a 6-0 margin in second-chance opportunities during the final 10 minutes.
• Over the game's final 1:14, Mizzou went on an 8-0 run, including four free throws from Cunningham and two from Jordan Frericks.

MIZZOU CRASHES THE BOARDS IN OPENER
• The Tigers recorded a 53-27 rebounding average against Missouri State on Friday evening.
• In the first quarter alone, Mizzou outrebounded the Bears 19-8.
• Three Mizzou players - Michelle Hudyn (13), Sophie Cunningham (10) and Jordan Frericks notched double-digit totals on the boards. 
• Hudyn set a career-high with 13 rebounds (three offensive) in the game, besting her previous high of nine at LSU on Feb. 2, 2015. Five of Cunningham's 10 rebounds were on the offensive end.
• "We felt like the team that won the rebounding battle would win the game," head coach Robin Pingeton said during the postgame press conference.
• Last season's team rebounding high was 55 boards vs. UNLV in a 79-60 victory on Nov. 21, 2014 during the Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i. 
• Mizzou recorded 50 or more rebounds in four games last year - vs. UNLV (11/21/14), vs. Milwaukee (11/30/14), vs. Florida (1/11/15) and at Kansas State (3/22/15) in the second round of the WNIT.

MICHAELIS RECORDS BALANCED SHOWING
• Junior guard Sierra Michaelis notched 10 points, six rebounds three assists and two steals in the season opener.
• Last season, she was the team's second-leading scorer at 10.4 points per contest.

THREE STRAIGHT WINNING SEASONS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1987-90
• Mizzou Women's Basketball has recorded three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1987-90.
• The Tigers finished 19-14 last season, 17-14 in 2013-14 and 17-15 in 2012-13 as Robin Pingeton's squads have continually improved each year.
• All three seasons have included postseason trips to the WNIT.
• Last year, the Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT after winning 69-61 in the first round at Northern Iowa on March 19, 2015 and a 67-48 win at Kansas State on March 22, 2015 during a record-setting performance that included nine 3-pointers from guard Morgan Eye (now a graduate student manager with the program) to tie for the most in a single game in WNIT history. Mizzou was 16-for-37 from beyond the arc during the second-round victory that also featured a program postseason-record 50 rebounds.

PINGETON RECORDS 80th WIN ON MIZZOU SIDELINE
• Friday's win at Missouri State was the 80th for head coach Robin Pingeton at Mizzou.
• She is 80-79 (.503) since joining Mizzou prior to the 2010-11 campaign.
• Over the last three-plus years, the Tigers have gone 54-43.
• The 19 victories in 2014-15 were the most since the 2005-06 campaign.
• With two postseason victories last season, the program advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
• Throughout her career, Pingeton has coached 31 all-conference players, seven Academic All-Americans, six All-Americans, four conference players of the year and has led her teams to three regular season conference championships, two postseason conference titles and 13 postseason tournament appearances.
• She has been named a conference coach of the year twice.

TIGERS ACTIVE IN THE PAINT IN SEASON-OPENING WIN
• On Friday at Missouri State, Mizzou held a considerable advantage in two major statistical categories under the basket.
• The Tigers outscored the Bears 28-16 in the paint.
• In second-chance opportunities, Mizzou outscored MSU 15-4.

FRERICKS NOTCHES 17th CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
• Junior forward Jordan Frericks recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's win at Missouri State, marking the 17th double-double of her career.
• Frericks achieved the feat after playing only 21 minutes following early foul trouble.
• Last season, Frericks was a second-team All-SEC selection by the league's coaches after recording 12 double-doubles and team-highs in points (13.2), rebounds (9.9), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.4).
• On Nov. 10, Frericks was named a second-team Preseason All-SEC pick by the league's head coaches.

TIGERS RECEIVE PROGRAM'S HIGHEST PICK IN SEC PRESEASON POLLS
• Mizzou was picked sixth in the SEC Coaches Preseason Poll and seventh in the poll of the league's media members.
• The Tigers received 94 points in the coaches poll released on Nov. 10 and 165 points in the media poll that was released on Oct. 20.

MIZZOU RECEIVES VOTES IN INITIAL AP TOP 25 POLL
• The Tigers received three votes in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Nov. 2.

#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.

MIZZOU SIGNS PREP STANDOUT GUARD CHAVIS TO NLI
• On National Signing Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, Mizzou inked guard Jordan Chavis from Central Davidson High School in Lexington, North Carolina.
• Chavis averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game as a junior in 2014-15.
• She drained a team-best 45 shots from beyond the arc for a New Hope squad that went 29-2, won the National Independent School Athletic Association National • Championship and finished last season ranked No. 24 nationally by USA Today.
• During her sophomore year in 2013-14, Chavis averaged 6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.
• Chavis was the Most Valuable Player of the Tina Thompson Classic and was ranked the No. 10 recruit in the southeast region by WNY Hoops Reports.