Missouri women's basketball experiences late-game problems
The Missouri women’s basketball team has dropped eleven of its last twelve games, giving them a 1-10 conference record to start Big 12 play.
A lack of offensive production from poor shooting has been the recurring problem of this cold streak. But in the last few games, the Tigers have found a new way to lose.
In their most recent contests, Missouri travelled to Kansas State on Feb. 10 before hosting Nebraska last Saturday. The two matchups could not have been more different: K-State is the second worst team in the Big 12 ahead of the Tigers, while Nebraska leads all with a 10-0 conference tally.
But thanks to the Tiger’s tendency to both play up to their best competition and down to the worst, the two games took on similar storylines. Though one game set a record low in scoring for both sides and the other became a barnburner, they ended the same way for Missouri.
At Kansas State, the Tigers kept it close all game before grabbing the lead with less than five minutes to play. But the Wildcats responded with a 7-2 run en route to the 37-33 win as Missouri failed to find the rim in the final minutes.
The late-game debacle was even more agonizing against Nebraska, when the Tigers held a 78-72 lead with a little more than three minutes left in the game. The rest of the game consisted of four consecutive turnovers for Missouri and 10 unanswered points by the Huskers.
A failure to finish has been a recurring problem this season, as the Tiger’s have lost all five of their games that were decided by four points or less. Coach Cindy Stein knows they have to work on finishing if they want to get better.
“The key for us is to be able to teach kids how to win,” said Stein after the loss to Nebraska. “To have that poise under pressure when everyone is screaming at you. That's where we have to get better."