
No one walks into Mizzou Arena and beats the Tigers…again
Mizzou WBB (2-2) trailed Tulane (0-2) 37-30 at the half, as fans everywhere feared for the worst. But the Tigers refused to give in and lose their second straight, outscoring the Green Wave 30-15 in the second half to walk away with the 8-point W.
Head coach Robin Pingeton gave a perfectly executed halftime speech as the Tigers started the second half on an 8-0 run as the began to attack the basket, shooting more free throws in the first three minutes than they did the entire first half.
“The message at halftime was just, you know, there wasn’t much more than we’ve got to do a better job rebounding,” Pingeton said. “This summer, we flipped tires, and I said, ‘There’s no way we can flip the tires we were flipping and not be able to move bodies.’”
(CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
Both teams struggled offensively after this stretch, combining for 12(!) points in the final 7:30 of the third quarter. While the Mizzou offense continues to be an issue, the defensive has been quietly good to even great this year. Averi Kroenke and Laniah Randle led the way as the primary on-ball defenders, giving opponents fits in the full-court.
Tulane fought back to start the fourth, taking a 50-48 lead thanks to a three-point play from Sherese Pittman. The Stony Brook transfer gave Mizzou fits all night, tallying a Green Wave-leading 20 points.
The Tigers refused to go away, however, thanks to a 5-0 run by Slaughter before Randle capped off the media timeout by converting the first part of an and-one. Mizzou’s 5-point lead under 5 minutes marked its largest lead since early in the second quarter.
“I feel like I just get myself hyped up, and I feel like I get the team hyped up if I do so,” Randle said.
Mizzou locked up their win on the defensive end, forcing turnover after turnover to frustrate the Green Wave. When things were all said and done, the Tigers forced 26 turnovers, proceeding to score 24 points off those mistakes. Angie Ngalakulondi was the unsung hero on that end, leading the team with a combined 6 “stocks”.
A final Slaughter three with under 3 minutes remaining sealed the win after a tumultuous first three quarters. Mizzou walked away victorious 59-52 to crawl back to .500. Slaughter’s new career high came on an efficient night, finishing 8-12 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc.
“We’re in the gym a lot, and so I think you’ve put in that work to go into the game and feel confident just in your shot,” Slaughter said.
(CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
The Tigers led 17-13 after the first quarter (football score), taking advantage of an array of Tulane turnovers. The Green Wave finished the first quarter with 6 turnovers, allowing Mizzou to get out in transition.
The first four minutes of the second quarter favored the Tigers, holding a 27-21 (football score, again) lead with 5:47 remaining. Abbey Schreacke served as a spark off the bench AGAIN, with 8 points including a pair of contested threes.
After that it all went downhill for Mizzou for the remainder of the half. Tulane closed the half on a 16-3 run to take a seven-point lead (37-30). The Tiger offense went stale again, with four turnovers and no points over the final 4:30 minutes as Tulane appeared poised to pull off the upset. Another issue was the free-throw discrepancy; Mizzou managed to get to the line just once in the first half while their opponents shot eight freebies. In just five minutes, point guard Nyah Wilson managed to pick up two fouls.
Mizzou made the first starter change of the season, moving Averi Kroenke to starting point guard ahead of Wilson. The New Mexico transfer has struggled to score consistently thus far, with only two points on 1-13 shooting in her first three games as a Tiger. While Kroenke doesn’t impact the game as a scorer, she made her presence known with 6 assists plus a pair of steals finishing at +5.
(CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
Pingeton mentioned the importance of trying different lineups, especially when it comes to the three point guards: Wilson, Kroenke and Tilda Sjökvist.
“To have three different types of point guards that bring something completely different to our team, I think is really big,” Pingeton said. “So happy for Averi. She works her tail off, but I think they’ve all just got next man up mentality.”
Mizzou will look to build on this win as they hit the road for a date at Western Illinois at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 on ESPN+.
(CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
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