Tigers utilize bench for win over Colorado
Published Jan. 30, 2007
After senior center EeTisha Riddle picked up two quick fouls in the early minutes of Sunday's win over the Colorado Buffaloes, the Tigers needed their bench to keep the team afloat. Not only did they do that, but they took control of much of the middle of the game, scoring 24 points and setting the tone for Missouri's 61-48 victory.
Starting guard Alyssa Hollins was scoreless, but backup guard Marchele Campbell put in eight points, much to the dismay of Colorado coach Kathy McConnell-Miller.
"If you would have told me before the game that Hollins would go scoreless and Riddle would score only 12 points, I would have told you we would have won by 16," she said.
Riddle played just four minutes in the first half, but freshman forward Jessra Johnson picked up the slack, scoring all nine of her points in 11 minutes during the first half. MU coach Cindy Stein said the bench — Johnson specifically — came through when the Tigers needed it to.
"The bench was outstanding tonight," Stein said. "Jessra's points were really important in the first half."
Johnson said she knew she had to keep MU focused after Riddle sat down.
"I felt like I had to get in there and make something happen once (Riddle) got in foul trouble," she said.
The backups, including junior guard Kassie Drew who had five points, scored 16 of Missouri's 23 points in the first half and gave the Tigers a three-point halftime lead despite shooting just 29 percent as a team. Riddle said the bench took a lot of pressure off her and the rest of the starters.
"It is kind of a good feeling knowing that I can sit and watch sometimes," she said.
Johnson, who was used sparingly early in the season, has been a spark plug off the bench in the last two games.
In the Jan. 20 loss to Nebraska, Johnson had 10 points and four rebounds.
"Jessra's become much more comfortable inside and out," Stein said. "She's working really hard, and it's emblematic of the whole bench."
Riddle said during the eight days between games, the bench has been playing against the starting team in practice, which she thinks has improved the whole team.
"As a team, we've been all working really hard against each other," she said. "Everybody's on this team for a reason and that showed."
In the second half, the starters returned and helped pull away from the Buffaloes. Riddle had all of her team-high 12 points in the second half and picked up just one foul in 16 minutes.
"I knew that once I got back in the game, I had to make something happen," Riddle said.
Even though the starters were the ones who slowly put the game out of Colorado's reach, Stein credited the bench with keeping Missouri focused.
"We weren't used to foul trouble like this," she said. "But the bench kept our heart in the game."