
Schreacke’s heroics aren’t enough in upset loss
For the second time in as many weeks, Mizzou women’s basketball (1-2) has fallen to a mid-major. This one stings much worse, as it happened in front of their home crowd at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers trailed all night, unable to surpass Norfolk State (3-0), losing 57-54.
The Tigers offense failed them late, with only ONE POINT in the final five minutes as the defense couldn’t do it all. A last-minute layup from Kierra Wheeler sealed the upset victory for Norfolk State. After playing the fouling game, Mizzou’s offense had one last chance with six seconds remaining. After a near turnover, video review of said play, a Pingeton timeout, ANOTHER near turnover, a Schreacke three fell aimlessly wide.
Missouri forward Laniah Randle (4) drives to the rim in a game against Norfolk State on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, at Mizzou Arena. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
“I think as coaches, we got to look at our offense, see what we need to tweak a little bit, see where our challenges are, how can we put our players in a better position to be successful because we’ve been a little bit stagnant,” head coach Robin Pingeton said in her opening statement after the game.
After a slow offensive first half, both teams exploded in the third, combining for 33 in what was the most exciting quarter from start to finish. While Norfolk State was poised to pull away, the Tigers closed the final four minutes on a 9-2 run. This was capped by a big-time triple from Abbey Schreacke, pump-faking a defender before nailing the open shot to pull Mizzou within two.
(CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
The real hero of the quarter was Angie; After limited minutes in the first half thanks to a pair of fouls, Angie rebounded with 8 points and 2 blocks, control the paint on both sides.
After two more paint buckets from Angie, it was all Abbey. The sophomore’s shot was pure, draining three straight triples to finally put the Tigers ahead once again with five minutes remaining.
The only thing keeping Norfolk State alive was star Diamond Johnson. After a quiet first three quarters, Diamond controlled the fourth with nine points on an array of buckets. Joining her in double figures was Niya Fields and Kierra Wheeler, serving enough of a supporting role to secure the upset.
Mizzou struggled early, with only 12 points on 4-15 shooting in the first quarter. Four early turnovers was just the icing on the cake. All this combines for a one-point Spartan lead after the first quarter.
The poor shot making continued into the second quarter, as neither team could buy a bucket for long stretches. One player who found the bottom of the net was Texas transfer Tionna “Tree” Herron, making her appearance for the black and gold. Tree made two appearances in the quarter, finding nylon in each stretch.
“It was good to see Tree out there in her minutes. And probably would have gotten her a few more minutes if Angie wasn’t having a half that she was having,” Pingeton said.
One area the Spartans separated themselves was beyond-the-arc. While Mizzou finished the half with a higher three-point percentage, Norfolk State made five to the Tigers’ three. Nyah Wilson’s shooting struggles continued going 0-4 from the field and taking some real head-scratchers. She finished the game 0-7 with no points.
Missouri guard Nyah Wilson (8) plays defense against Norfolk State’s Diamond Johnson (3) in a game on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, at Mizzou Arena. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
Grace Slaughter was noticeably absent for the final 3:45 of the game, coming in only for the heave in the final two seconds. It was a down game for the sophomore, who finished with only 5 points on 2-6 shooting.
The stats between both teams were extremely even, so there’s not one area that sticks out when you look at the box score. But then again, you shouldn’t be playing a team like Norfolk State even. But despite the losses, the offense struggles, Pingeton is not giving up on this team. And that doesn’t feel like “coach speak”, you can tell she means it.
“We just gotta continue to go back to the drawing board, but I believe this team I think it’s gonna be hell of a year for us I think we got a really high ceiling,” Pingeton said.
Hopefully this team can raise the bar in their next home game against Tulane on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. on SECN+.
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