COLUMBIA, Mo. – In its third straight contest against a ranked opponent, Mizzou Women's Basketball fell on the road at No. 24 Tennessee, 77-66. Mizzou (16-9, 6-5) shot 49.1 percent in the loss, including 88.9 percent from the free throw line, but it was not enough to overcome Tennessee's strong second half.
Sophomore Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) led the Tigers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, securing her team-best 10th double-double of the season. Porter put together an efficient night from the field, making 7-of-9 attempts. She poured in 15 of her 19 points in the first half alone, scoring in a variety of ways.
Senior guard Sierra Michaelis (Mercer, Mo.) posted 17 points and matched her season-high with five assists. Fourteen of Michaelis' 17 points came from within the three-point line as she consistently attacked the rim for easy buckets.
Sophomore Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) added 16 points, piling up 14 in the second half alone. She also contributed six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a gritty effort.
Mizzou hung tough in a seesaw first quarter that ended with Tennessee leading 14-11. The Tigers exploded offensively in the second frame as Porter caught fire. Trailing 17-11, Mizzou pieced together a 12-0 run. After a pair of buckets inside by Porter, Michaelis followed a layup with a sweet contested jumper. Redshirt senior Lianna Doty (St. Louis, Mo.) capped the momentum swing with a transition layup and Mizzou led by six with 5:20 remaining in the half.
Tennessee cut the deficit to three in the final seconds of the opening half, but Michaelis beat the buzzer with an offensive rebound and putback to hand Mizzou a 35-30 advantage at halftime.
Tennessee's Diamond DeShields notched 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to help the Lady Vols regain the lead. DeShields scored 10 of Tennessee's 16 points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter as her squad jumped in front 46-44. Mizzou responded though, getting clutch baskets from Michaelis and Cunningham. Michaelis' three-pointer on the final possession of the frame knotted the score at 54-54 heading to the fourth quarter.
Tennessee went on a 9-2 to open the final 10 minutes of action and surged in front 63-56 with 6:14 remaining. Cunningham scored eight points in the fourth quarter, but Mizzou couldn't erase a late deficit.
Mizzou returns home Sunday to face border rival Arkansas. Tip is set for 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network. For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter and like the team on Facebook and Instagram @MizzouWBB.
