Mizzou Women's Basketball Opens 2019-20 by Hosting Western Illinois

Tuesday, November 5

Columbia, Mo.

7:00 P.M. CT

University of Missouri

Western Illinois

Mizzou Women's Basketball Opens 2019-20 by Hosting Western Illinois

11/4/2019 6:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Tigers and Leathernecks to tip at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network +

Mizzou vs. Western Illinois
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME (CT)	TV	LISTEN	STATS	GAME NOTES
Western Illinois	Mizzou Arena	Tuesday, Nov. 5	7 p.m. CT	SEC Network +	KTGR	Stats	Notes

THE MATCHUP

Mizzou Women's Basketball will open its 2019-20 campaign by hosting Western Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is slated for 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network + with Ben Arnet and Lauren Aldridge on the call. Mizzou is coming off a 2018-19 campaign where the Tigers won 24 games and made their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament, feats which have not been accomplished since the mid-1980s. Mizzou's four straight trips to the Big Dance hasn't been accomplish since 1983-86, while the Tigers won 24 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1982-84. Head Coach Robin Pingeton has built a program destined to succeed, as Mizzou is just one of 14 Power Five programs with 22+ wins and an NCAA Tournament berth in each of the last four seasons.

THE SERIES

Mizzou leads the all-time series between the two programs, 11-1, and has won the last eight contests dating back to 1998. Last season, Mizzou opened its 2018-19 season with a 89-64 win over the Leathernecks on Nov. 6, 2018. Senior guard Amber Smith recorded her first of eight double-doubles on the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.

LEANING ON SMITH

With the departure of Sophie Cunningham, Mizzou's all-time leading scorer, the Tigers will look to lean on senior guard Amber Smith in 2019-20. Smith was tabbed a Preseason All-SEC First Team selection by the league's coaches after starting all 35 games in 2018-19 while averaging 12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. Smith posted impressive shooting marks as well, as she shot 44.9 percent (169-for-376) from the field and 36.8 percent (39-for-106) from three.
The versatile Tiger led Mizzou in rebounds (243), rebound average (6.9) and double-doubles (eight) in 2018-19, while setting career highs in blocks (28) and steals (31).
Good things seem to happen when Smith plays well, as Mizzou is 30-9 in her career when she scores in double figures.
Smith recorded her 500th career rebound vs. Iowa in the NCAA Tournament Second Round vs. Iowa (March 24), and is 71 points away from 1,000 career points. When Smith records her 1,000th career point, she will become the 37th Tiger to join the 1,000-point club, and just the 25th player in program history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

With less size on the roster, senior guard Amber Smith transitioned into more of a post-player role for Mizzou a season ago. She responded in great fashion for the Tigers, as she recorded eight double-doubles on the season, a dramatic improvement from just two in her freshman and sophomore campaigns, combined.
Among active players in the SEC, Smith's 10 career double-doubles currently ranks fifth, trailing only LSU's Ayana Mitchell (27), Auburn's Unique Thompson (20), Tennessee's Rennia Davis (18) and Texas A&M's Ciera Johnson (12)..
With her eight double-doubles, Smith joined an elite class of Tigers to record eight or more double-doubles in a single season, as she is just one of four Tigers since 2010 to do so. Smith joined BreAnna Brock (9, 2011-12), Jordan Frericks (12, 2014-15; 8, 2015-16) and Cierra Porter (12, 2016-17)

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA

To help usher in a new era of Mizzou's Women's Basketball head coach Robin Pingeton hit the recruiting trail hard, and the fruits of her labor resulted in the highest recruiting class in program history. Mizzou's freshman class features a talented trio who all hail from the ShowMe State, highlighted by five-star signees Aijha Blackwell and Hayley Frank. Joining the duo is Micah Linthacum, who is a top-20 ranked forward in the nation. Together, the three make up a recruiting class which was ranked No. 12 in the nation by ESPNW, the highest recruiting class to ever come to campus.
Aijha Blackwell, from Berkeley, Mo., was recruited by just about every Division-I program in the country, was ranked No. 9 in the nation and No. 1 in the state of Missouri in espnW's 2019 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. She is a three-time Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) Class 3 All-State selection (2016-18), and a 2019 WBCA High School All-America Honorable Mention honoree. As a junior, Blackwell led Whitfield to the Class 3A state semifinals and a 22-7 record, as she averaged 24.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Blackwell has international experience as well, as she played on the 2018 USA U18 National Team, where she helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in Mexico City at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. She averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game over six games during USA's championship run, including eight points, four rebounds and three steals in the gold medal game win over Canada.
Hayley Frank, from Strafford, Mo., was the No. 29-ranked player in the nation and the No. 2-ranked player in the state of Missouri. Coached by her dad, Steve, Frank helped lead Strafford High School to a state record 115 consecutive wins and four consecutive Missouri Class 3 state championships. She is a three-time MBCA Class 3 Player of the Year winner (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19), a two-time Gatorade Missouri Girls Basketball Player of the Year (2017-18, 2018-19), and a 2018-19 WBCA High School All-America Honorable Mention honoree.
In her incredible prep career, Frank racked up 3,003 point, 1,629 rebounds and 824 assists. Among Missouri all-time ranks, Frank finished as the state career record holder in rebounds (1,629) and three-point percentage (54.3, minimum 100 made threes) while ranking fifth in assists (824) and eighth in points (3,003)
As a senior, she led the Indians to a fourth consecutive state championship, averaging 22.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 68.3 percent from the field and 51.3 percent from three-point range.
A 6-foot-4 post player from Jefferson City High School, Micah Linthacum was the No. 18-ranked forward in the Class of 2019 by ESPNW HoopGurlz.
A four-year letterwinner at Jefferson City High School, Linthacum helped guide the Jays to their first-ever state championship appearance in 2019. She also led Jefferson City High School to three straight district titles from 2017-19, and section titles in 2017 and 2019.

33

Mizzou freshman guard Aijha Blackwell will don the No. 33 this season, a number that was previous retired by Joni Davis from 1981-85, who was Mizzou's all-time leading scorer until Sophie Cunningham broke her record last season.
Blackwell's father, Ernest, was a four-year letterwinner for Mizzou Football who played running back from 1994-97 and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1998. When Blackwell chose to come to Mizzou, head coach Robin Pingeton made the ask to Davis to allow Blackwell to wear the number, and Davis graciously accepted.
When asked about what it meant to Blackwell for Davis to allow this to happen in a post-game press conference on Oct. 24, Blackwell said, "Joni Davis, she's amazing. I'm just appreciative of her letting me wear that number. It means a lot. It's more than a number, so it just means a lot to wear it on the court."

THREE-POINT SPECIALISTS

One thing that will not change from past seasons is Mizzou's ability to connect from deep range. Seniors Jordan Chavis, Hannah Schuchts and Amber Smith, along with redshirt sophomore Haley Troup all have the capability to stretch the floor and drain the three-ball for the Tigers.
Among all-time ranks, Schuchts and Smith each rank in Mizzou's top-10 all-time for three-point percentage (minimum 60 attempts). Schuchts currently ranks sixth at 37.7 percent, while Smith ranks ninth at 37.2 percent.
Chavis and Smith look to join Mizzou's top-10 all-time in threes made this season, as they rank 15th and 17th with 96 and 94 career threes, respectively.
Schuchts' career night against Duke at the Gulf Coast Showcase set a program single-game record, as her 6-for-6 mark from deep was the most made threes in a game without a miss in program history. Schuchts joined Tracy Lozier (5-for-5, at Northern Iowa, 12/11/12) and Lindsey Cunningham (5-for-5, vs. Arkansas, 2/12/17) as the only players in program history to record a perfect mark from three when making at least five triples.
Troup's debut season in the Black & Gold was among the best in terms of three-point shooting from Mizzou freshmen, as she ranked sixth all-time in threes made (30) and seventh in three-point percentage (.361) among Mizzou freshmen.
In 2018-19, Mizzou matched a program record for most threes made in as season, as their 292 tied a program record with the 2013-14 squad. The team's 36.0 percent success rate from deep also ranked fourth all-time for Mizzou teams.

SECOND GENERATION TIGERS

Mizzou's family atmosphere is not exclusive to its on-court team, it extends back to previous generations for four student-athletes. Senior Jordan Roundtree, junior Elle Brown, and freshmen Aijha Blackwell and Micah Linthacum are all second-generation or more Tigers.
Jordan Roundtree's father, Bill was a standout basketball player for the men's basketball team from 1982-86. He was a captain on Norm Stewart's 1984-85 squad, and earned Big Eight Academic All-Conference honors in 1985.
Elle Brown's mother, Natasha (Kaiser), is one of the most decorated female student-athletes to ever don the Black & Gold. As a member of Mizzou's Track & Field team (1985-89), Kaiser-Brown was a six-time NCAA All-American, five time Big Eight Champion, and captured the 1989 NCAA Indoor Championship in the 400m dash. She was named the 1989 Big Eight Female Athlete of the Year, and still owns two school records (indoor and outdoor 400m dash). After her collegiate career, Kaiser-Brown went on to become a two-time Olympian, as she represented the United States in the 4x400m relay at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In Barcelona, Kaiser Brown ran a leg on the 4x400m relay team that captured a silver medal. Natasha (Kaiser) Brown is the current Associate Head Coach of the Mizzou Track & Field team, while Elle's father is the Executive Associate AD for Student-Athlete Development, Integrated Health Care and Inclusion for Mizzou Athletics.
Aijha Blackwell's father, Ernest, was a standout running back for Mizzou from 1994-97 and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1998. Ernest earned Big Eight Honorable Mention honors in 1997after rushing for 551 yards and six touchdowns.
Micah Linthacum's father, Larry, played football for Mizzou from 1987-90. Linthacum is a fourth-generation Tiger, as her great-grandfather, grandfather and father all played football for Mizzou.