Tuesday, November 29
Columbia, Mo.
7:00 P.M. CT
University of Missouri
vs
Western Illinois
@MizzouWBB Begins Two-Game Homestand Tuesday vs. Western Illinois
11/28/2016 3:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Tip off on SEC Network Plus is set for 7 p.m.
| GAME DAY - Tuesday, Nov. 29 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME | MEDIA | |
| Western Illinois |
Mizzou Arena |
Tuesday |
7 p.m. CT |
TV: SEC Network + Radio: KTGR |
|
COLUMBIA, Mo. - After traveling more than 6,000 miles already this November, Mizzou returns to Mizzou Arena for a two-game homestand. The Tigers take on Western Illinois at 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday on SEC Network +.
- This is the fourth meeting between Mizzou and Western Illinois. All four meetings have occurred during the Robin Pingeton coaching era.
- Mizzou has won the first three contests by an average of 17.3 points per game.
- Former Tiger and 2013 graduate Sydney Crafton is an assistant coach at Western Illinois. Crafton scored 693 career points and grabbed 476 rebounds in four seasons at Mizzou under Coach Pingeton.
- Mizzou went 4-1 in its first five games of 2016-17. Mizzou is now 27-3 in its first five contests of the season since 2011.
- Mizzou has had a higher field goal percentage than its opponents in all six games this season. The Tigers rank 23rd in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 33 percent shooting so far. That's good for fourth in the Southeastern Conference.
FRESHMEN SETTLING IN
- Against Indiana State, Mizzou's trio of freshmen Jordan Chavis, Amber Smith and Jordan Roundtree combined for 27 points.
- Chavis dropped a team-high 17 points and made five three-pointers. She is the only freshman in the SEC to make five threes in a a game this season.
- Chavis dropped 12 points two games later in the Junkanoo Jam title game, scoring nine clutch points in the final 53 seconds of the game to keep Mizzou's hopes alive.
- Smith has started all six games as a true freshman. She posted a career-high 17 points in a statement performance against Creighton. Smith buried her first two career three-pointers and shot 6-of-8 from the field to fuel a victory and send Mizzou to the Junkanoo Jam championship game.
- Roundtree scored her first career bucket on an offensive rebound and putback vs. Indiana State. Roundtree corralled a career-high four rebounds in nine effective minutes.
PORTER STEPPING UP
- As Mizzou's lone forward averaging more than 20 minutes per game, sophomore Cierra Porter has stepped up and dominated down low for the Tigers, averaging a team-best 14.2 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per contest.
- Porter is one of five players in the SEC ranking in the top 20 in the league in scoring and top 10 in the league in rebounding.
- Cierra (listed as No. 21) is donning her sister Bri Porter's No. 4 jersey this season. The gesture pays respect to Bri, who will be out for the 2016-17 season with a significant knee injury.
- Porter has been named to the All-Tournament teams following both the Preseason WNIT and the Junkanoo Jam. She was one of six players to be named to the Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team after averaging 12.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and leading the Tigers to a 2-1 mark. At the Junkanoo Jam, she racked up 16.5 points per game, including a season-high 19 points in Mizzou's win over Creighton.
- Porter posted back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in her career in wins over Abilene Christian and Nebraska to start the season. She tallied 10 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and a career-high four blocks against ACU and followed with 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Huskers. In Mizzou's loss at Washington, Porter chipped in a team-high 16 points.
- Porter is one of 10 players in the SEC with multiple double-doubles so far this season.
DOMINANT AT THE FREE THROW LINE
- Mizzou ranks 15th in the nation in free throw percentage as a team so far this season as the Tigers are shooting 79.3 percent from the line. That percentage currently tops the Southeastern Conference.
- After averaging 13.7 made free throws per game last season, Mizzou is up to 16 made free throws per game through six games in 2016-17.
- Mizzou is one of 13 teams in the nation that have played six games or less with 95 or more made free throws this season.
- Mizzou has put together the two-best single-game performances from the free throw line as a team in the Southeastern Conference. Mizzou's 27-of-28 performance from the free throw line against Indiana State matches the third-best single game FT percentage in school history (min. 10 attempts) – the only two performances that were better are a 21-for-21 mark against Oklahoma in 2004 (a 77-65 win) and a 10-for-10 performance against North Florida in 2011 (a 67-46 win).
- Two of the top three single game FT performances have now come in the Robin Pingeton era.
SCOUTING THE LEATHERNECKS
- Western Illinois enters Tuesday's contest riding a four-game winning streak. The Leathernecks are off to a 5-1 start with victories over Monmouth, SEMO, Northern Illinois, UMKC and SIUE.
- WIU is led by do-it-all junior guard Emily Clemens, who is averaging a team-high 21.7 points, 7.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game. Clemens is shooting 56 percent from the field and 90 percent from the free throw line (36-of-40) so far this season. She poured in 24 points and played all 40 minutes in WIU's win over SIUE on Sunday.
- Junior Morgan Blumer and sophomore Taylor Higginbotham provide other scoring weapons for WIU. Blumer is notching 14.2 points per game and pulling down a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game. Higginbotham is adding 12.5 points per outing.
- The Leathernecks have a high-octane offense as they score 86.3 points per game and are beating opponents by an average of 18.0 points per contest.
For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @MizzouWBB.
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