COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Women's Basketball returns home to host SEMO (2-4, 0-0 OVC) at 2 p.m. Saturday in Mizzou Arena. The contest will air on SEC+.
The Tigers enter the contest following an, 87-81 overtime loss to Virginia in Thursday's SEC/ACC challenge.
Graduate forward Haley Frank led the way for Mizzou against the Cavaliers, tallying 21 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Frank has scored 20+ in four of the last five contests, including a career-high 30-point night in the Tigers' recent matchup against Kent State.
The veteran forward currently ranks sixth on the program's all-time scoring leaderboard, standing just 99 points shy of Sharon Farrah (1975-79) for fifth.
Freshman guard Grace Slaughter recorded an impressive performance on Thursday, notching 17 points behind a 3-of-5 performance from beyond the arc to complement three rebounds and two assists. This marked the freshman's sixth double-digit scoring contest.
Senior guard Mama Dembele recorded six points, seven assists and six rebounds. Dembele currently ranks sixth nationally (No. 2 SEC) with 6.9 assists per game and sixth in the country with 3.4 steals (No. 3 SEC).
The Tigers have displayed a high-efficiency offense this season, as Missouri ranks 29th nationally in field-goal percentage at 47.3% (No. 3 SEC).
After Thursday's effort against the Hokies, Missouri has scored 83+ points in five games this season, including four consecutive contests from Nov. 9-20. The stretch marked the first time the program accomplished the statistical feat since Dec. 9-29th, 1989.
The Redhawks enter Saturday's matchup off a 38-point win over Harris-Stowe State. Prior to Tuesday's victory, SEMO dropped three consecutive contests, including losses against Missouri State, Northwestern and UIC.
The Redhawks are led by eighth-year head coach Rekha Patterson, who guided her team to a 16-win season just a year ago. Patterson's 2023 squad went 10-8 in the OVC, making it to the semi-finals of the conference tournament before coming up short against top-seeded Little Rock.
SEMO's scoring effort is commanded by sophomore guard Alecia Doyle, junior guard Jaliyah Green and freshman guard Indiya Bowen, who all average double-digits this season.
Missouri holds the 18-1 all-time advantage over the Redhawks, as the Tigers have secured the past seven straight contests. In their previous meeting, Mizzou defeated the SEMO at home, 62-50 (Nov. 13, 2022).
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