Sunday, January 31
Lexington, Ky.
Noon CT
University of Missouri
at
Kentucky
Mizzou Women's Basketball Heads to No. 15/14 Kentucky on Sunday
1/30/2021 10:19:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Tigers and Wildcats tip at Noon CT on SEC Network
| MIZZOU AND No. 15/14 KENTUCKY FACE OFF ON SUNDAY | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | TV | LISTEN | STATS | GAME NOTES |
| No. 15/14 Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | Sunday, Jan. 31 | Noon CT | SEC Network | KTGR | Stats | Notes |
THE MATCHUP
- Mizzou Women's Basketball continues its two-game road trip as the Tigers head to Lexington, Ky., to face the No. 15/14 Wildcats on Sunday, Jan. 31. Tipoff from Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for Noon CT on SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Andraya Carter on the call. In Mizzou's last time out, the Tigers outlasted the Florida Gators, 61-58, on Thursday night in Gainesville. With the win, head coach Robin Pingeton notched her 186th victory at Mizzou to move to second all-time on the wins list in program history, passing Cindy Stein (1998-10, 185-77). Kentucky has won three of its last four games, including a 81-68 home win over Alabama on Thursday. Kentucky has had two games postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Mizzou has had six games affected.
THE SERIES
- Sunday's matchup will be the 13th all-time meeting between the two programs, as Kentucky holds a 8-4 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Kentucky earned a 62-47 win over the Tigers at Mizzou Arena on Jan. 30, 2020. Mizzou has won three of the last five matchups in the series, but has never won in Lexington, as the Tigers are 0-5 at Memorial Coliseum.
HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
- Mizzou's high-powered offense has steered the way for the Tigers so far in 2020-21, as Mizzou ranks in the NCAA's top 50 in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. From the field, Mizzou is shooting an SEC-leading 50.3 percent (313-of-622), a mark which ranks third nationally. From deep, Mizzou is shooting 35.6 percent (69-of-194), which ranks third in the SEC and 43rd in the NCAA. Mizzou has shot 50 percent or better from the field in seven of 11 games this season and 60 percent or better in two contests. More on Mizzou's hot shooting later. Mizzou's scoring has been a balanced attack as well, as three players are currently averaging double figures: sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell (14.5 ppg), redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams (13.7 ppg) and sophomore forward Hayley Frank (12.6 ppg).
BALANCED SCORING
- Through 11 games this season, Mizzou has had a balanced attack leading the way in scoring, as three are currently averaging double figures: sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell (14.5 ppg), redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams (13.7 ppg) and sophomore forward Hayley Frank (12.6 ppg) with redshirt senior guard Shug Dickson (9.1 ppg) nearby.
- Consider the small sample size - 11 games - but the last Mizzou team to have four players average in double figures was the 2006-07 Mizzou Tigers.
- Already this season, Mizzou has had three games where five players have scored in double figures. That mark ties the most for a Tiger team in a season in the head coach Robin Pingeton era with the 2015-16 Tigers. The last team to have more than three occurrences was the 2005-06 team, which did so in seven contests, including four straight between Nov. 27 and Dec. 11, 2005. This season's Tigers have had five players score 10+ in two consecutive games at Arkansas (Jan. 3) and at Ole Miss (Jan. 14).
QUICK TO 500
- Sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell recorded her 500th career point against New Orleans (Dec. 19), needing only 34 games to accomplish the feat.
- Blackwell is the quickest Tiger to reach 500 career points during the Pingeton era, and might be the quickest in program history (Mizzou does not have complete game-by-game records prior to 2003). In comparison, it took Sophie Cunningham, Mizzou's all-time leader with 2,187 points, 36 games to reach 500 points.
- With 626 points through 42 career games (14.9 points per game), Blackwell appears to be in good position to challenge Cunningham for Mizzou's all-time scoring record, a mark which was set in 2019, the season prior to her arrival in Columbia.
- Sophomore forward Hayley Frank also reached 500 points in Mizzou's last contest (at Florida, Jan. 28), doing so in just 42 career games.
MILESTONE CHASING
- A host of milestones will be in-play this season for the Tigers. Below is a rundown of career achievements that have/could happen during in the 2020-21 season.
- Mizzou senior forward Shannon Dufficy will get to finish her already decorated career with a senior campaign at Mizzou. The Aussie native reached the 1,000-point career mark in Mizzou's season-opener against North Alabama (Nov. 27), and needs just 112 rebounds to eclipse 1,000 career boards. In three seasons at Utah State, Dufficy averaged 279.3 rebounds per season, including a single-season program record of 339 rebounds in 2018-19.
- Also wrapping up her collegiate career in CoMo, senior guard Shug Dickson will have the 1,000-point mark in her sights, as she currently has 793 points, needing 207 to reach the mark. In her sophomore campaign at Tulsa (2017-18), Dickson scored 410 points (14.1 ppg) in 29 games.
- In her 11th season, head coach Robin Pingeton recently recorded her 186th win at Mizzou (186-146, .559), passing Cindy Stein (1998-10, 185-77) for second-place on Mizzou's all-time win list. She already ranks second in winning percentage, trailing only Mizzou Hall of Famer Joann Rutherford, who had a 61.8 percent winning percentage in 23 seasons (1975-98, 423-261). Pingeton is just 1 of 16 Power 5 active coaches and 1 of 31 active D-I head coaches to win 500 or more career games.
- As a program, Mizzou captured its 800th win against Oral Roberts (Dec. 19) becoming the 74th program to reach the 800-win mark in NCAA history. In 47 seasons, Mizzou owns a mark of 801-589 (.557) all-time.
HOT SHOOTING
- All season, Mizzou has been able to shoot the ball at an extremely high level. Mizzou currently leads the SEC in field goal percentage at 50.3 percent (313-of-622), while ranking third in three-point percentage at 35.6 percent (69-of-194).
- Nationally, the Tigers rank third nationally in field goal percentage and 43rd in three-point percentage.
- Sophomore forward Hayley Frank has lit up the net so far this season, as her shooting percentages currently sit at 62.5 percent (50-of-80) from the field, 47.5 percent (19-of-40) from three and 90.9 percent (20-of-22) from the free throw line. Frank would rank near the NCAA's top in each category, but her makes per game fall below the minimum threshold.
- Redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams has also helped lead the charge from the field this season, as she is shooting 58.6 percent (58-of-99) from the field, a mark which ranks second in the SEC and 11th nationally. Redshirt junior guard Haley Troup helps lead the Tigers from deep, as she has made 10-of-22 shots from deep (45.5 percent) this season.
- Mizzou has shot the lights out this season, recording field goal percentages of 50 percent or better in seven of its 11 games and 60 percent or better twice. Mizzou's six games of 50 percent or better is its best since 2018-19 (six), while its two games of 60 percent or better ties the most in the Coach Pingeton era with the 2016-17 squad.
- Against New Orleans (Dec. 16), the Tigers shot an incredible 63.2 percent (36-of-57) from the field, the 10th-best mark in program history and their best mark since a 65.9 percent (27-of-41) performance against Ole Miss on Jan. 3, 2019.
- Mizzou shot above 60 percent again in its win against Southern Illinois (Dec. 20), shooting 61.2 percent (30-of-49).
- Since the 1977-78 season (43 seasons), Mizzou has shot better than 60 percent from the field just 25 times, with six occurrences (24.0 percent) happening under head coach Robin Pingeton.
DAY IN THE MIDDLE
- A much needed presence in the middle of the paint, redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams has become a go-to offensive option through her first five games in the Black & Gold. She has scored in double figures in 10 of Mizzou's 11 games, including a career-best mark of 20 points against Texas A&M (Jan. 24). Her four-game stretch between Nov. 27 and Dec. 19 marked the first time in her career she has scored in double figures in four consecutive games.
- She has been highly efficient in her offensive output as well, as she is shooting 58.6 percent (58-of-99) thorough Mizzou's first 11 games. That mark ranks second in the SEC and 11th nationally.
RIGHT WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
- In Mizzou's first 11 games, the sensational sophomore duo of guard Aijha Blackwell and forward Hayley Frank have picked up right where they left off from a season-ago, as they are averaging 14.6 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. In Mizzou's season-opening win over North Alabama (Nov. 27), Frank led the way for the Tigers with 24 points and pulled in 11 rebounds for her first career double-double, while Blackwell scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds for her eighth career double-double. It marked the fourth time in Frank's career she has reached 20 points and the ninth time for Blackwell. It was also the second time the pair have reached 20 points in the same game, with the other occurrence happening in a 82-67 win over Ole Miss on Feb. 23, 2020. More on this duo's incredible debut campaigns in a little bit.
- Blackwell has hit the glass incredibly hard this season, as she currently ranks fourth in the SEC in rebounding at 10.5 rpg, as a guard! That number would rank second on Mizzou's individual season list. The sophomore guard recorded 16 rebounds in consecutive games against Texas A&M (Jan. 24) and Florida (Jan. 28). She is the first Mizzou player since at least 2002-03 to record 15+ rebounds in consecutive games.
NOTES FROM LAST TIME OUT
- Against Florida (Jan. 28), Mizzou emphasized taking care of the basketball in the game, as they committed a season-low seven turnovers.
- Redshirt junior LaDazhia Williams led Mizzou in scoring for the second consecutive game and the fourth time this season with 16 points. It marked her 10th game in double figures this season and the fourth time she has scored at least 15 points.
- The Tiger junior matched her career-high with eight rebounds as she hit the mark for the second time this season and the fourth time in her career.
- She also set a career-best with five blocks, surpassing her previous best of four against Southern Illinois (Dec. 20).
- With 14 points, sophomore Aijha Blackwell continued her stretch of scoring in double figures, doing so for the 11th time this season and for the 26th time dating back to Jan. 12, 2020.
- Blackwell attacked the glass once again, as she matched a career-high with 16 rebounds, the second consecutive game she has hit that mark.
- With 14 points and 16 rebounds, the Tiger sophomore recorded her third consecutive double-double, the seventh of her season and the 14th of her career.
- With two steals, freshman guard Mama Dembele has now recorded multiple steals in four consecutive games. She has had 10 steals in that four-game stretch after recording just four in her first seven games.
- Redshirt senior guard Shug Dickson was a perfect 2-of-2 from the three-point line in the game, marking the first time this season and the 21st time in her career she has sank multiple three-pointers.
Players Mentioned
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