
The Tigers picked up their second straight win courtesy of a balanced scoring effort and stellar defensive outing.
After an up-and-down trip to Florida, Mizzou women’s basketball got back on track at home, dominating Jacksonville State 79-45 in Columbia. The win was the team’s second straight win, moving them to 7-2 on the season.
The Tigers were the superior team from start-to-finish. Their lead never dwindled below double-digits after the 4:19 mark of the first quarter, and they won the first three quarters by double-digits as well. Nine different players scored, too.
“I think our depth has been really key for us,” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “I know sometimes it can be hard as a player, you just want to be there on the court, but I do think that depth is going to be a huge, huge thing for us as we continue to move through the season.”
Laniah Randle registered her third double-double of the season, dropping 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Grace Slaughter also scored 15 points, and Ashton Judd and Abbey Schreacke scored 12 points apiece. Tilda Sjökvist also had an impactful outing despite not entering the scoring column, dishing out six assists to go along with two blocks in 21 minutes of action.
“She’s just so much fun to play with,” Hannah Linthacum said. “Super unselfish getting those six assists, and she is such a positive energy, always a positive voice uplifting all of us.”
Missouri guard Tilda Sjökvist (6) celebrates a MU score in the second half of a game against Jacksonville State on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, at Mizzou Arena. (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)
Mizzou was able to win two specific aspects of the game that propelled it especially far. One was turning the Gamecocks over at an uncharacteristic rate. Entering Sunday, JSU had averaged just 12 turnovers per game, a top-15 mark in the nation. Mizzou forced 13 in the first half alone and scored 11 points off of them; the takeaways included three off of inbounds passes — two steals by Averi Kroenke and a five-second violation. The road team finished with 20 total turnovers.
“Being able to pick up in the full court and really applying pressure to their pushers was key for us tonight,” Pingeton said. “We just want to wear teams down.”
Missouri and Jacksonville State players contest for a loose ball in the first half of a game against Jacksonville State on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, at Mizzou Arena. (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)
Jacksonville State had also started the season strong from beyond the arc. The Gamecocks averaged 11.6 made three-pointers per game in their first six contests, including a 20-triple explosion in their last game against Sewanee. Only Central Arkansas averaged more three-pointers per game (11.8); on Sunday, JSU shot just 6/25 from downtown. Even so, the Gamecocks started just 1/16.
After allowing 82 points against Syracuse, Mizzou has given up a combined 102 points to Wichita State and Jacksonville State over its past two games.
“Our biggest emphasis is trying to disrupt on defense,” Judd said. “We struggled at the beach against Syracuse, so I think that’s been even more of an emphasis in our past two games.”
Jacksonville State’s Valentina Saric (14) and Missouri point guard De’Myla Brown (1) both lose a ball in the second half of a game against Jacksonville State on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, at Mizzou Arena. (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)
Mizzou also struggled in those two facets — the Tigers committed 15 turnovers (several of which were offensive fouls) and shot just 4/15 from beyond the arc.
“(We) had too many offensive fouls,” Pingeton said. “But I did think we did a good job attacking the paint.”
But their efforts on defense and in other facets of the game (plus-12 on the glass, plus-32 in paint points) proved to be more than enough to walk out of Mizzou Arena with an emphatic victory.
Mizzou will stay home this week, as its next game will be against SMU in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Thursday at 9 p.m. CST.
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