Sports Shorts

By Mike Bushnell

Published Dec. 7, 2007

Tiger gymnastics opens season Saturday

The Missouri gymnastics team will give fans a glimpse of its 2008 roster when the team hosts its Black and Gold exhibition Saturday at the Hearnes Center. The event starts at 7 p.m., and will give the team a chance to practice its routines in an environment similar to competition.

Seniors Julie Abaray and Ashley Khederian will lead the Black team while junior Adrianne Perry will highlight the Gold team. Perry, a Columbia native, won All-Big 12 honors last season for her work on the bars, vault and in the all-around exercises.

In 2007, the team finished No. 22 in the nation and their first match that counts for their record will be Jan. 12 at Bowling Green.

Tiger Tournament to be held this weekend

The Missouri's women's basketball team will be hosting the 30th annual Tiger Tournament this weekend when they play host to Mississippi Valley State on Friday. If they win, they will then play the winner of Alcorn State and Stephen F. Austin in the championship game Saturday.

MU has won the tournament every season since its inception.

The Tigers are 4-3 this season with losses to Samford and South Dakota State. The Mississippi Valley State Devilettes are 4-0 this season, averaging 83 points and 54 rebounds per game.

Junior guard Alyssa Hollins and freshman forward Shakara Jones have led the team this season. Hollins has been averaging 16.1 points per game and Jones has been averaging 23 points per game.

The Devilettes' leading scorer is senior forward Portia Wilson, who is averaging 22.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

MU-Purdue a near sellout

Men's basketball's first home game in nearly two weeks is less than 1,000 tickets shy of a sellout, according to MU's athletic department.

The Tigers will face the Purdue Boilermakers at 3 p.m. on Saturday. MU has won 22 straight non-conference games at Mizzou Arena, dating back to the beginning of the 2005-06 season.

MU is 5-3 this season with close losses at Arkansas and Michigan State in Kansas City. They lost last weekend at California as well.

The Tigers have already faced teams from the Big Ten, Pacific-10, Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference this season.