COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 6-seeded Mizzou Women's Basketball's season came to a close on Sunday evening as the Tigers fell to No. 3-seeded Florida State, 77-55, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Mizzou wraps up its campaign with at least 22 wins for the ninth time in program history. It marks the first time the Tigers have secured consecutive 22-win seasons since 1983-84 and 1984-85.
Sophomore Sophie Cunningham led Mizzou with 17 points behind a 7-for-14 effort from the field. In all four of her career NCAA Tournament games, Cunningham has reached double figures. She's averaged 17 points in those four contests, posting at least 20 points in two of those games. Cunningham finished her sophomore season with 989 career points, the second-most points recorded by a Tiger sophomore in program history (Julie Helm – 1,065 points).
Sophomore forward Cierra Porter contributed 12 points and six rebounds Sunday after posting a double-double in Mizzou's first round win on Friday. Porter scored in double figures 25 times in 32 games during the 2016-17 campaign, starting all 32 contests.
Sunday's first half featured a back and forth battle as both teams traded runs. After Florida State surged ahead 11-4 out of the gate, Porter and Cunningham answered with consecutive layups to tie the game at 11-11. Senior Sierra Michaelis ended the opening quarter with a triple to give Mizzou a 14-12 lead through 10 minutes of action. Michaelis finished with 10 points.
The game remained tight in the second quarter. With Mizzou up 20-19, Florida State used a run of its own, scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 29-19 edge. Freshman Amber Smith followed a Cunningham three-pointer with a driving layup to cut Mizzou's deficit to 29-27. The Seminoles eventually took a 32-27 lead into halftime.
Florida State raced in front with a 24-10 third quarter and did not relinquish its advantage. The host Seminoles shot 57.1 percent from the field as a team over the final 20 minutes. Cunningham notched 10 of her 17 points down the stretch.
Mizzou's senior class finished with 80 total wins, the most since the 1987-88 Tiger senior class. Michaelis, Lindsey Cunningham and Lianna Doty led Mizzou to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1985-86. The trio steered the Tigers to victories in the Big Dance in back-to-back appearances for the first time in program history.
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.
