Bench SWBBench SWB
Women's Basketball

Cunningham, Smith Power @MizzouWBB Past Missouri State, 69-59

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women's Basketball won a thriller at Mizzou Arena on Thursday night, hanging on to beat Wright State 82-80 on a pair of free throws from junior Sophie Cunningham with 1.4 seconds to go. The Tigers ended the game on a 17-5 run, using a combination of stifling defense and steady production from veteran players to seal the home-opening win. Redshirt senior forward Jordan Frericks led the way for head coach Robin Pingeton, scoring 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Cunningham played another great all-around game, scoring 19 points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing three assists.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women's Basketball won its third consecutive game and secured its first true road victory of the season on Sunday afternoon, downing Missouri State in Springfield, Mo., 69-59.  Mizzou held Missouri State to 3-of-17 shooting in the final quarter with stifling defense and junior Sophie Cunningham recorded a team-high 26 points to fuel the win. Sophomore Amber Smith chipped in 17 points. The Tigers improved to 13-3 against in-state foes during the Robin Pingeton coaching era.

Turning Point

With Mizzou clinging to a 58-56 lead with 7:16 remaining, Mizzou turned up the heat defensively and used timely buckets to put together a game-changing 8-0 run and build a 66-56 advantage. The Lady Bears were held without a field goal for more than five minutes of game clock during the momentum swing.

Mizzou led 60-56 after a pair of free throws from junior Cierra Porter. Then redshirt junior Lauren Aldridge beat a dwindling shotclock with a tough layup in the paint to push the Mizzou lead to six. Aldridge played a team-high 37 minutes and posted six points and five assists while committing just one turnover. Another Porter bucket at the 2:35 mark gave the Tigers' their 10-point lead and Mizzou coasted to a victory over the final two minutes.

Top Tigers

  • Cunningham notched a team-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting in just 31 minutes of action.
  • Porter fell short of another double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing a team-best 12 rebounds.
  • Sophomore Amber Smith matched her career-high with 17 points on 60 percent shooting from the field.
  • Sophomore Jordan Roundtree played just nine minutes but scored five key points, including her second career 3-pointer.

Notes

  • Mizzou has won three of its last four meetings with Missouri State and improved to 20-8 all-time against the Bears, including 8-3 in Springfield.
  • Cunningham has reached at least 20 points in 22 career games, surpassing 25 points twice in four games to begin the 2017-18 campaign.
  • Smith scored in double figures for the sixth time in her career. Mizzou is now 6-0 in those games.

Up Next

Mizzou travels to the Cal Classic tournament next weekend in Berkeley, Calif., for two games in two days beginning with a matchup against Coppin State on Friday at 6 p.m. CT. Mizzou then takes on either host California or Manhattan on Saturday.