Sports Shorts
Published Nov. 14, 2006
Women's basketball wins at Southern Illinois
The Missouri women's basketball team began its season on the road against Southern Illinois with a 71-60 win behind the play of seniors Tiffany Brooks, EeTisha Riddle and Carlynn Savant.
Both teams shot poorly to begin the game, and Southern Illinois was the first to reach double digits with 11:57 left in the first half. MU picked up its scoring in the latter part of the half and led 33-24 going into halftime.
MU's most experienced players — Brooks, Riddle and Savant — all played more than 36 minutes and combined for 47 points and 21 rebounds.
The Tigers and Southern Illinois traded baskets back and forth to start the second half, but the Salukis chipped away at the MU lead. Over a span of seven and a half minutes, MU made three of 14 shots, and Southern Illinois took a 49-48 lead with 9:25 left.
MU regained the lead after Savant hit a free throw with 5:41 left in the game. Alyssa Hollins then hit a three that started a 13-0 run, and MU erased a five-point deficit. Savant scored eight of the points during the run and hit her 101st career three-point shot, moving her into fifth place in the MU record books.
Volleyball can't hook Longhorns again
For three games, the No. 25 Missouri volleyball team played competitively with the No. 8 Texas Longhorns on the road in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night, and even won game 1. But MU followed that up with its lowest scoring game in team history, and fell in four games 31-29, 23-30, 27-30, 12-30.
The Tigers, who stunned Texas back in September by sweeping the Longhorns at the Hearnes Center, were led by senior Nicole Wilson, who had 17 kills. But they couldn't overcome their .109 hitting percentage for the match.
MU pulled out the first game, despite hitting just .175. The Tigers led 29-25, only to let the Longhorns hold off four game points in a row. But a Texas service error, followed by a block by Jessica Vander Kooi, allowed the Tigers to escape.
But MU's statistics got progressively worse as the match wore on. In the second game, the Tigers committed 10 errors and hit .128.
In the fourth game, MU broke a team record for the fewest points scored in a game since the NCAA implemented rally scoring. The previous total was 14, set in another match against Texas in 2002.
Ross qualifies for national championships
MU senior Tim Ross earned a spot in the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championship, which will be held Monday in Terre Haute, Ind., after finishing fifth at the Midwest Regional meet on Saturday. This will be Ross' second performance in the national meet in his career; he finished 233rd in 2004.