Missouri State Preview
Mizzou returns to action in the most important non-conference matchup of the season
Tigers fans had to wait 17 days, but they’ll finally get another glimpse at a revamped Missouri offense tonight. Mizzou will host the No. 21 Missouri State Lady Bears at Mizzou Arena at 7 p.m. on Dec. 14, more than 24 hours after the game was originally scheduled.
Missouri is coming off a 96-78 win over North Alabama at home on Nov. 27 that saw eight players make their Tigers debut. The Tigers looked rusty in the first half, but came out as an entirely different beast in the second. Sophomores Hayley Frank and Aijha Blackwell both scored 20-point double-doubles, and junior LaDazhia Williams had a career high 18 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Overall, the Tigers shot 58.5 percent from the field and secured an effective field goal percentage of 63.8 percent.
Missouri State (3-1) already has a few games under their belts, including an upset win over Maryland, a blown fourth quarter lead-turned-loss to Wake Forest, and a 62-point shellacking against Division II Lincoln. The Lady Bears’ schedule has also been restructured because of a Covid-19 and Missouri State had a week off to prepare for the in-state rivalry. Whether more time off will help or hurt the Tigers is still to be determined, but this isn’t the first time they’ve had to deal with adversity because of quarantining. If Missouri can match their high-speed, new-look offense with a defense that keeps Missouri State at bay and out of the paint, this team might just turn some doubters into believers. The others will just have to wait until Missouri can prove itself during SEC play.
Player Leaderboard
Missouri State: Brice Calip (17 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists), Abby Hipp (11.7 points, 6.3 points, 2.0 assists), Jasmine Franklin (9.3 points, 8.7 rebounds)
Mizzou: Hayley Frank (24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals), Aijha Blackwell (21 points, 10 rebounds), LaDazhia Williams (18 points, 5 rebounds)
Some other details
Last meeting: Missouri State beat Mizzou 79-72 in Springfield, Mo. on Dec. 15, 2019. It was the first time Missouri State beat the Tigers since December 2014. Mizzou leads 22-8 all-time in the series.
Missouri State out-rebounded Mizzou 44-34 last year, including 15 offensive rebounds to Missouri’s seven. Mizzou’s team looks much different this year largely because of added size from transfers Williams and Shannon Dufficy and freshmen Micah Linthacum (R/S) and Jayla Kelly. The Lady Bears are averaging 47.7 rebounds this season; the Tigers had 46 against Northern Alabama.
All Tigers played last game. Redshirt junior Haley Troup started and played a team-high 34.7 minutes, followed by Frank (32.0) and Blackwell (28.1), who was in foul trouble. Freshman starter Mama Dembele played 27.5 minutes in her collegiate debut. Freshmen Sara-Rose Smith and Linthancum played less than five minutes, and senior Nadia Green only played 2.1 minutes at the end of the first half. Jayla Kelly checked in with less than two minutes left in garbage time.
Missouri State is made up of mostly upperclassmen, led by senior Brice Calip, but the blow out against Lincoln allowed for the younger players to get some valuable on-court experience.
How Mizzou wins this game
Minimize turnovers — Turnovers hurt Mizzou last year and was a factor in a lot of their losses. While the offense definitely looked better, they turned the ball over 20 times, which led to 19 points for UNA. Missouri State has forces an average of 17.7 turnovers a night, so protecting the ball will be crucial.
Cash in on free throws — Mizzou hit 14-of-23 from the free throw line in the season opener, which is uncharacteristically low for the Tigers. Missouri has one of the conference’s best free throw shooters in Frank and a high-volume free throw shooter in Blackwell (who was six for eight from the line last game), but everyone else who gets to the line needs to make their shots.
Produce from the three-point line — Mo. State is not a strong three point shooting team, so the Tigers have the potential to dominate from the perimeter if they can hit a hot streak from deep. Missouri State has only hit 10 triples this season (not counting their 12 against Lincoln) for 24.4 percent from behind the arc. The Tigers have options outside in Frank, sophomore transfer Lauren Hansen, Troup, and Blackwell.
All numbers are from Her Hoop Stats.