@MizzouWBB Travels to Nebraska for Preseason WNIT Quarterfinal

Monday, November 14

Lincoln, Neb.

7:00 P.M. CT

Missouri

Nebraska

@MizzouWBB Travels to Nebraska for Preseason WNIT Quarterfinal

11/13/2016 10:53:00 AM | Women's Basketball

The Tigers and Huskers tip off at 7 p.m. CT

GAME DAY - Monday, Nov. 14
Nebraska	Pinnacle Bank Arena	Monday	7 p.m.	TV: BTN Plus Radio: KTGR

GAME DAY - Monday, Nov. 14

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME

MEDIA

Nebraska

Pinnacle Bank Arena

Monday

7 p.m.

TV: BTN Plus

Radio: KTGR

PRESEASON WNIT BRACKET

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Women's Basketball hits the road for its first away game of the 2016-17 season as the Tigers travel to Nebraska to face the Huskers in the quarterfinals of the Preseason WNIT on Monday. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. CT at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus, which requires a subscription. Fans can also listen to the contest live on KTGR by tuning into 100.5 FM or 1580 AM in Columbia, Mo.

Mizzou is coming off a gritty 52-46 season-opening victory over Abilene Christian in the first round of the Preseason WNIT. Sophomore forward Cierra Porter recorded her second career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds and senior guard Sierra Michaelis poured in 11 fourth-quarter points to fuel the Tigers to victory.
Mizzou is one of eight teams to advance to the winner's bracket of the Preseason WNIT. This is first time in program history that the Tigers have competed in the event.
Mizzou and Nebraska last met as Big 12 foes in 2011, when the two programs split their season series with each team winning at home. Nebraska and Mizzou have met 71 times with the Huskers owning a 31-40 edge in the all-time series.
Since head coach Robin Pingeton took over the program, the Tigers are an undefeated 6-0 in their first game away from Mizzou Arena to begin each season, with four of the victories coming in true road fashion and two occurring at neutral sites.
Mizzou is now 35-8 in season openers and 35-8 in home openers in program history after Friday's 52-46 win over Abilene Christian.

DEFENSE STOUT IN SEASON-OPENING WIN

In Mizzou's victory over Abilene Christian, the Tigers held ACU to a 28.8-percent shooting clip and forced 22 turnovers. Mizzou forced more than 20 turnovers in a game just three times during the 2015-16 campaign.
The Tigers collected 17 steals on Friday, which is the most Mizzou has recorded in a single game in the Robin Pingeton coaching era. The program record is 30 swipes, set against Missouri State in 1996.
Redshirt senior guard Lianna Doty tallied a career-high seven steals to lead the effort.
In a game-sealing fourth-quarter run, Mizzou held ACU to just one field goal during a stretch that lasted 6:34 of game clock.
Freshman Amber Smith earned her first career start and grabbed seven rebounds and added a blocked shot in 24 effective minutes on both ends of the floor.

CLUTCH SENIOR

Senior guard Sierra Michaelis, who entered the fourth quarter 0-for-6 from the field, caught fire when Mizzou needed a spark down the stretch.
Michaelis scored 11 fourth-quarter points behind a 4-for-7 shooting effort from the floor, helping the Tigers score 21 of their 52 total points in the final frame.
Mizzou used an 11-0 run to surge in front 44-36 with 5:22 to go. Michaelis was responsible for seven of her squad's 11 points during the momentum swing.

SCOUTING THE HUSKERS

Nebraska won its season opener over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 71-53, behind 17 points and 15 rebounds from sophomore forward Jessica Shepard. Additionally, 6-foot-5 senior center Allie Havers contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
Shepard averaged a team-best 18.5 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per contest last season on her way to earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
Shepard is one of two returning starters from last season's squad that posted an 18-13 record.
Nebraska is led by first-year head coach Amy Williams, who won the 2016 WNIT Championship at South Dakota last season.

FAB FRESHMAN BECOME SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES

Both Sophie Cunningham and Cierra Porter return as team leaders after earning SEC All-Freshman Team recognition last season. Cunningham became the program's first ever SEC Freshman of the Year last season and enters the current campaign with Preseason First-Team All-SEC honors. Cunningham and Porter have 1,736 combined minutes played and 61 combined starts under their belts.
Cunningham finished second in program scoring history by a freshman with 448 points in 2015-16. Julie Helm holds the record with 515 points in 1996-97, when she averaged 17.2 points per game. Cunningham averaged a team-leading 14.0 points per contest a season ago.
Cunningham scored in double figures 21 times and poured in more than 20 points in 10 contests, including a school-record 42 points vs. Wake Forest on Nov. 22 in only her fourth career game.
Cunningham also finished second among freshmen in program history with 113 made free throws while Porter wound up third on the list with 78. Helm holds the program record with 131 converted foul shots in 1996-97.
Porter's offensive production as a freshman is ranked 12^thin program history after 266 points during her initial campaign.
Both Cunningham and Porter were teammates at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri, where they led their teams to four consecutive Missouri Class 5 state titles.

RANKED

Mizzou opened the 2016-17 season ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press preseason poll.
It's the first time Mizzou has cracked the preseason rankings since 1984 and the fourth time overall in program history.
Mizzou spent eight weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll last season with a ranking as high as No. 20 on Jan. 4.
The Tigers were ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll for seven straight weeks (Dec. 21 - Feb. 7) for the first time since Jan. 29 - March 11, 1984.

MIZZOU COMING OFF HISTORIC SEASON

Mizzou is coming off a historic 2015-16 season, having racked up 22 wins for the first time since 2000-01.
The Tigers earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2006 and won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2001 after upsetting 7-seeded BYU in the opening round as a No. 10 seed.
Mizzou won eight conference games, clinched three victories over top-50 RPI opponents and four more over top-100 RPI foes. The Tigers' impressive run included wins over No. 6 Mississippi State and No. 22 Florida at Mizzou Arena last season.
Mizzou has now completed four consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1986-90.
Coach Pingeton's squad also excelled in the classroom, posting a spring 2016 Team GPA of 3.31, the highest in program history.
Mizzou brings back four Tigers from a season ago who started at least 24 games in Lindsey Cunningham, Sophie Cunningham, Michaelis and Porter.

For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @MizzouWBB.