University of Missouri
3-8
Missouri State
9-1
Mizzou Women’s Basketball Drops Road Contest to Missouri State
12/15/2019 6:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Smith, Blackwell and Troup score in double figures for Mizzou
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Mizzou Women's Basketball (3-8, 0-0 SEC) fell short to in-state foe No. 20/18 Missouri State (9-1, 0-0 MV), 79-72, on Sunday afternoon in Springfield, Mo. Mizzou led early in the third quarter after starting the half on a 6-0 run, but was out scored in the rest of the quarter to drop its second straight contest.
Mizzou had three players score in double figures, led by senior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.), who scored a game-high 22 points. Freshman guard Aijha Blackwell (Berekley, Mo.) chipped in 16 points, while redshirt sophomore guard Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) scored a season-high 12 points.
TURNING POINT
After heading into the locker room down by three at 35-32, Mizzou came out of the locker room energized, scoring the first six points of the half to take a 38-35 lead. However, the Lady Bears responded with a 9-0 run to regain a six point lead at 44-38. Mizzou would not take the lead again, as the Lady Bears led by as much as 15 in the second half.
TOP TIGERS
- Smith scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game and the ninth time this season, pacing the Tigers with 22 points. She also contributed seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in the game.
- Blackwell filled the stat sheet once again, scoring 16 points points, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out four assists.
- Troup played her best game of the season, scoring 12 points while shooting 2-of-4 from three and dishing out three assists.
NOTES
- With the loss, Mizzou now leads the all-time series, 21-9, suffering its first lost to the Lady Bears since Dec. 30, 2014.
- Mizzou shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field, marking the seventh time this season Mizzou has shot 40 percent or better from the field.
- With a game-high 22 points, Smith notched her third 20-point game of the season and ninth of her career. Smith matched a career-high with her third 20-point game of the season, matching her three 20-point efforts from her sophomore (2017-18) and junior (2018-19) campaigns.
- Smith grabbed seven rebounds in the game, marking the eighth time this season and the 55th time in her career she has pulled in at least five boards.
- Blackwell scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game and the sixth time this season with 16 points. The Tiger freshman made a career-high 6-of-11 shots from the free throw line.
- Blackwell grabbed five rebounds, marking the ninth consecutive game she has had at least five rebounds, and dished out four assists, marking the fourth time this season she has had at least three assists.
- Troup scored a season high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and dished out a season-high three assists.
- Playing near her hometown, freshman forward Hayley Frank (Strafford, Mo.) pulled in a career-high eight rebounds.
- Frank drained one three-pointer in the game, continuing her mark of 1+ three in every game this season. She is the first freshman to start her career with at least one three-pointer in each of her first 11 games.
UP NEXT
Next, Mizzou returns home for back-to-back games at Mizzou Arena to finish off the nonconference portion of its schedule. First, the Tigers host Princeton on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.
For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouWBB (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
