LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Senior guard Grace Slaughter moved up to No. 11 on the program’s all-time scoring list as Mizzou women’s basketball earned a 73-50 victory over Little Rock on Friday night at Jack Stephens Center.
Slaughter paced Mizzou with 23 points and seven rebounds to pass Sandie Prophete (1985-89) on the points leaderboard.
Freshman guard Natalya Hodge contributed 15 points and five boards to the effort.
Freshman forward Khloe Ford posted eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The senior led the charge for Mizzou early in the contest. She drove through the lane to open the scoring and buried a jumper moments later to match the Little Rock offense. The Tigers’ defense clamped down and held the Trojans scoreless for more than five minutes, while the offense made a quick five-point scoring charge to take a two-point lead. Little Rock scored in the final minute of the opener to tie the contest at 13.
Mizzou found its rhythm to begin the second quarter as sophomore guard McKenzie Mathuin sparked the scoring with a 3-pointer from the left wing. Hodge accelerated the run with a triple before Slaughter capped the push with a layup, giving the Tigers a 10-point lead. The Trojans closed the gap, but a putback bucket by Ford in the final minute gave Mizzou a 35-26 lead at the break.
Fifth-year guard Tanyuel Welch and Slaughter scored the Tigers’ first seven points of the second half to push the lead to 44-32 nearly three minutes into the third.
Minutes later, Hodge connected on a shot from beyond the arc that began an 11-2 Tigers’ run, which gave the Black and Gold over 20 points of separation. The offensive onslaught saw Mizzou lead 60-44 at the conclusion of the quarter.
The Tigers’ defense dominated the fourth quarter as the Trojans were held to just three points over seven minutes of action. Offensively, Hodge contributed seven in the final quarter, and freshman forward Cecilie Brandimore scored the first collegiate points of her career. The limited scoring kept Mizzou in control until the conclusion of the contest.
The Tigers held Little Rock to just 9 percent shooting from beyond the arc, and the Tigers’ reserves outscored the Trojans’ bench 25-13.
UP NEXT
Mizzou returns home to face Tennessee Tech at 11 a.m. Monday at Mizzou Arena. The contest will serve as the annual field trip day, as the Tigers will welcome students from Columbia Public Schools and surrounding districts. The matchup will be broadcast on SECN+ and on the radio through the Mizzou Athletics app.
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