University of Missouri
9-3,0-0SEC
Illinois
9-1,1-0Big Ten
Women’s Basketball Falls in Tightly Contested Contest to Illinois
12/10/2025 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Mizzou women's basketball fell short to Illinois 70-62 on Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena.
Junior guard Grace Slaughter led Mizzou and earned her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior guard Lisa Thompson scored a season high 11 points, dished four assists, and grabbed three boards.
Junior guard Shannon Dowell contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
The Tigers faced an eight-point deficit midway through the opening quarter. Mizzou utilized a balanced attack and battled back to cut the deficit to just two before a late basket saw Illinois leading 14-10 headed into the second.
Mizzou clamped down defensively in the back-half of the frame to aid the run as the Tigers swatted three shots and claimed the early rebounding battle.
Illinois pushed the advantage back up to eight, but a 7-0 run accelerated by a triple from senior forward Jordana Reisma brought Mizzou within one.
The Illini responded with a run of their own before red-shirt senior guard Jayla Smith connected on a triple and Thompson sliced through the lane in the final minute of the half. The baskets saw Mizzou trailing 34-26 at the break.
Mizzou made its first eight free throws in the contest, which marked 31 consecutive attempts at the line dating back to the win over Cal on Dec. 4. This is the most consecutive made free throws dating back to the 2000-01 season.
Missouri trailed by 10 early in the third before Schreacke buried a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Tigers a jolt of energy. Defensively, Mizzou held its opponent scoreless for over three minutes of action.
Minutes later, Thompson and Slaughter connected on consecutive triples that cut the deficit to just two.
In the final seconds of the frame, junior guard Shannon Dowell raced down the floor for a layup to capitalize on an Illini turnover as Mizzou trailed 50-47 headed into the fourth.
After a back-and-forth battle in the early minutes of the fourth, the Tigers closed in on the Illini's lead with a 3-point jumper from sophomore guard Chloe Sotell, cutting the deficit to one with just under five minutes remaining.
The game remained a one-possession contest over the next two minutes, but Illinois was able to hold onto its lead at the free-throw line and closed out the contest.
Mizzou outrebounded the Illini 36-34 on the evening, led by a season-high nine boards from Sotell.
UP NEXT
Mizzou will travel to take on Saint Louis at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Chaifetz Arena. The game will be live on ESPN+.
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