Friday, March 22
Iowa City, Iowa
Approx. 3 PM CT
University of Missouri
vs
Drake
@MizzouWBB Opens NCAA Tournament Against Drake on Friday
3/20/2019 9:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mizzou and Drake matchup set for Friday at 3 PM CT on ESPN 2
| No. 7 Mizzou vs. No. 10 Drake | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | TV | LISTEN | STATS | GAME NOTES | BRACKET |
| Drake | Iowa City, Iowa | Friday, March 22 | Approx. 3:00 p.m. | ESPN2 | KTGR | Stats | Notes | Bracket |
THE MATCHUP
- Mizzou Women's Basketball (23-10, 10-6 SEC) returns to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season when the 7-seeded Tigers face off against the No. 10 seed Drake Bulldogs on Friday, March 22 in Iowa City, Iowa. Tipoff from Carver Hawkeye Arena is slated for 30 minutes following the conclusion of the No. 2 Iowa/No. 15 Mercer matchup at 1 p.m. CT. It will be the fifth all-time matchup between the two programs, and the first since 1981, as Drake holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series.
DANCING AGAIN
- Mizzou has secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season, marking the first time the Tigers have done so since a five-year run from 1982-86. With a win in the opening round of the Big Dance, seniors Sophie Cunningham and Cierra Porter will do something no other Tigers have ever done, win three games in the NCAA Tournament. Cunningham and Porter led the Tigers to first round victories over BYU in 2016 and South Florida in 2017. Mizzou has never won three NCAA Tournament games in any four-year stretch in program history, and has won multiple NCAA Tournament games just once, in its last Sweet 16 appearance in 2001. Mizzou also reached the Sweet 16 in 1982 when the NCAA Tournament field featured 32 teams.
#S3NIORSOPH
- Senior guard Sophie Cunningham, an All-SEC First Team selection for a third consecutive season, became Mizzou's all-time leading scorer in the Tigers' SEC Tournament semifinal game against Mississippi State (March 9), as the senior scored 33 points. Cunningham's 2,158 career points surpassed Joni Davis' (1981-85) mark of 2,126 points. The Tiger senior does a little bit of everything for Mizzou, as she is the nation's only player to average 18.0 ppg, make 80 three-pointers, make 140 free throws and record 200 rebounds. Cunningham has been recognized among the nation's best this season, as she is currently a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, and sits on the watch lists for the Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy.
TOURNEY HISTORY
- Mizzou made history in Greenville, S.C., at the 2019 SEC Tournament, as the Tigers defeated Florida (March 7) and Kentucky (March 8) to advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since joining the league prior to the 2012-13 season, and to a conference tournament semifinal for the first time since 1994 when the Tigers won the Big Eight Conference Tournament championship.
- Mizzou's win over Kentucky in the quarterfinals marked the first time the Tigers have won multiple games at the SEC Tournament, and the first time the Tigers have won multiple games at a conference tournament since the same 1994 Tigers captured the Big Eight title.
- Senior guard Sophie Cunningham had a dynamic performance in Greenville, earning All-Tournament honors after averaging 25.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Cunningham set the Mizzou SEC Tournament record for points, twice, as she scored 30 points against Kentucky (March 8) and 33 points against Mississippi State (March 9). With her SEC All-Tournament honors, Cunningham became the first Tiger to earn conference All-Tournament honors since 1994 when Nikki Smith and Erika Martin earned Big Eight All-Tournament recognition.
20 & 10
- Mizzou has reached 20 wins and 10 conference wins for the fourth and third consecutive seasons, respectively, feats with have not been accomplished since the mid-1980s in Columbia.
- With a 73-67 win over Arkansas on Feb. 28, Mizzou secured its fourth consecutive 20-win season for the first time since 1983-87, which was the tail end of a seven-year stretch of 20-win campaigns for the Tigers led by Mizzou Hall of Famer Joann Rutherford.
- Head coach Robin Pingeton has now led Mizzou to 22, 22, 24 and 23 wins, respectively, since the 2015-16 season.
- Mizzou defeated Alabama, 82-47, to close the regular season on March 3 and record its third consecutive season with 10+ wins in conference play, a feat which has not been accomplished since 1983-85, the first three seasons of round-robin play in the Big Eight Conference.
STIFLING DEFENSE
- A trademark of head coach Robin Pingeton-led teams, Mizzou has been suffocating on the defensive end this season, as it has held its opponents to 57.9 points per game. Mizzou has held its opponents to 65 points or fewer in 26 of 33 games this season, the SEC's top mark, ahead of LSU, Kentucky and Georgia (22).
- Mizzou closed the regular season by leading the SEC in field percentage defense at 36.3 percent while ranking third in the SEC in scoring defense at 57.2 points per game. In conference games only, Mizzou ranked first in the SEC in both scoring defense (58.4) and field goal percentage defense (36.4 percent).
- The Tigers have forced 10 or more turnovers in 22 of 33 games this season, and have held their opponents to less than 40 percent from the field in 24 games.
- In Mizzou's 61-35 win over Georgia, the 35 points Mizzou allowed was the fewest points ever scored against Mizzou in a conference game. It was the fewest points allowed by the Tigers since Nebraska scored 35 during the 2016-17 season (11/14/16), and was the Bulldogs' lowest total since they were held to just 26 against Auburn during the 2014-15 season (2/22/15). The previous low Mizzou held a conference opponent to was 36 against Iowa State on Jan. 28, 1977.
#S3NIORSOPH'S ASSAULT ON THE RECORD BOOK
- Senior guard Sophie Cunningham is closing out her outstanding Mizzou career with another highly notable campaign. Cunningham was named to the All-SEC First Team for a third consecutive season, and continues to move up the Mizzou record book in numerous categories.
- Cunningham scored 33 points against No. 5 Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament semifinals to become Mizzou's all-time scorer, surpassing Joni Davis (1981-85 – 2,126 points) and Renee Kelly (1983-87 – 2,119 points). Cunningham has now scored 2,158 points in her career.
- Cunningham is Mizzou's most prolific free throw shooter, as she has sank 527 career free throws, and is one of just three players in program history to make 200 career threes. With 235 threes, she only trails Morgan Eye (2011-15 – 367).
- Among all program career records, Cunningham currently ranks No. 1 all-time in scoring (2,158 points), No. 2 in career 3-pointers made (235), No. 4 in PPG (17.0), No. 1 in free throws made (527), No. 2 in 3-point percentage (.407), No. 3 in free throw percentage (.837), No. 8 in field goal percentage (.503), No. 4 in assists (384) and No. 4 in career field goals made (698).
HIGH SCORING OUTPUTS FROM CUNNINGHAM
- Mizzou's leading scorer for each of the last four seasons, senior Sophie Cunningham, has scored in double figures in 27 of 33 games this season, while scoring 20+ in 15 games and 30+ in four contests. Cunningham is currently on a 15-game run of double-digit scoring performances with nine 20-points games. Of Cunningham's 15 20-point performances, 10 have come against SEC opponents.
- This season, Mizzou is 13-2 when Cunningham scores 20+ points, and 3-1 when she scores 30+.
- Cunningham has 48 career 20-point games, and has now recorded 10 or more 20-point games in each season of her collegiate career (10 in '15-16, 10 in '16-17, 13 in '17-18, 15 in '18-19).
- Against Georgia (Jan. 17), Cunningham led the Tigers in points (23), rebounds (eight) and steals (five), as she was just the third Tiger in the last 21 seasons to record such a stat line, joining Jordan Frericks (27 points, 17 rebounds, six steals at Bradley, 12-6-14) and Christine Flores (25 points, 14 rebounds, five steals vs. Eastern Illinois, 12-7-11).
- In her 20-point games, Cunningham has recorded 5+ assists twice, giving her nine of her career, the most by a Tiger since the 2000-01 season.
- Cunningham's has record 11 30-point games in her career, which ranks third in Mizzou history, trailing only Renee Kelly's 16 and Joni Davis' 13. Mizzou is 8-3 all-time in games where Cunningham scores 30+ points.
Players Mentioned
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