COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou women’s basketball will travel for the first time this season to face Little Rock at 7 p.m. Friday at Jack Stephens Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and on the radio through the Mizzou Tigers app.
Mizzou enters the contest following an overtime win over Howard on Monday. The Tigers battled back from a 19-point deficit to claim the victory.
The comeback was led by sophomore transfer McKenzie Mathurin, who posted a team-high 29 points, the most in a Mizzou debut since at least the 2002-03 season.
Freshman forward Khloe Ford recorded a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Ford’s rebounding total was also the highest since at least the 2002-03 season.
Head coach Kellie Harper is in her second year at the helm of the program after she claimed the best start for a new head coach in program history with a 12-3 start a season ago. In 21 seasons as a head coach, Harper has led her teams to nine NCAA Tournament berths. She has guided her squads to 15 top-three league finishes and four conference tournament championships. Harper also produced four consecutive first-round WNBA Draft picks from 2021 to 2024.
Mizzou concluded last season with a 17-17 overall record (4-12 SEC) and a second-round appearance in the WBIT. Its 17 victories were the most for the program since 2022-23. The Tigers also earned their first postseason victory since 2023.
Senior guard Grace Slaughter headlines the Mizzou roster after ranking sixth in the SEC and 37th nationally with 18.7 points per game a year ago. Slaughter is currently 12th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,466 points. She is just 15 points shy of passing Sandie Prophete (1985-89) for 11th place.
Three players from Mizzou’s No. 25-ranked recruiting class, the program’s highest-ranked class since 2018, made their debut in the opener. Along with Ford, Natalya Hodge and Ellie Muller scored on Monday.
Among Southeastern Conference teams, Mizzou also has the highest percentage of underclassmen on its roster at 66.67% (8-of-12).
Indiana transfer Naveah Caffey also made her Mizzou debut, tallying 17 points against Howard.
With the additions of Caffey and Mathurin, Mizzou has five top-100 recruits on its roster spanning the 2025 and 2026 classes: Mathurin (No. 39), Caffey (No. 42), Hodge (No. 54), Ford (No. 82) and Maples (No. 96).
Little Rock enters the matchup at 1-0 following a 108-12 victory over Central Baptist College on Monday. The win broke a 40-year-old scoring record for the program.
Little Rock head coach Steve Wiedower is in his second season with the Trojans. Wiedower led Little Rock to a 14-16 overall record last season, including a 12-8 mark against Ohio Valley opponents.
Freshman guard Payton Futch tallied 18 points, including three 3-pointers and four steals, against Central Baptist.
The contest will be the second meeting between the programs, with Mizzou earning a 78-49 victory on Nov. 22, 2024.