Basketball team falls to Cowgirls
Published March 20, 2007
Senior EeTisha Riddle went out with a bang, scoring 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, as the women's basketball team lost its first game of the WNIT.
Sunday's loss on the road against the Wyoming Cowgirls dropped the team's final record to 17-14.
"EeTisha Riddle is the real thing," Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. "There's no question. We had a plan to try and stop her, but she still scored 31 on us."
Despite Riddle's performance, MU coach Cindy Stein said she felt the team left something to be desired.
"Our execution wasn't very good down the stretch," Stein said. "And we missed some easy baskets too."
Stein gave credit to Wyoming for countering her game plan.
"I think you got to applaud Wyoming," she said. "We threw everything at them. We put a lot of pressure on them through the night, and it came down to we missed a lot of easy shots under the basket."
The Tigers trailed by 12 with 3:12 to go. They were able to cut the deficit to three with 1:22 remaining but were unable to close it any further in the 73-67 loss. "Personally, I just wanted to go out there and do everything I can and bust my butt and not look back and have any regrets," senior Blair Hardiek said. "I mean, I think everyone's disappointed. We've been working hard all season, and the WNIT was the second chance for us, and we've been practicing hard all week, but the outcome just wasn't what we expected."
The first was characterized by a series of runs. The Cowgirls opened up with a 7-0 lead. MU came back to tie it at 17, but another Cowgirl run put them ahead 31-19. MU was able to trim the gap to 38-34 at the half. Despite the deficit, the Tigers shot 54 percent in the first half, but Wyoming's six first-half 3-pointers made up for the disparity.
Legerski said he knew the Tigers would make runs at his team's lead.
"It was important for us to maintain the lead," he said. "One, so that we could keep our energy and dictate the play of the game, but also so that they couldn't gain a big lift. When you know the game is 40 minutes, how quickly you get out of the gate is going to be a challenge."
The Tigers shot 41 percent from the field on the day, making six 3-pointers. Sophomore Alyssa Hollins had two of those 3-pointers. Her season total of 64 ties her for second in MU history.
The game was the final one for the careers of the seven seniors, including Tiffany Brooks.
"This is not how we wanted our season to end," Brooks said. "Of course we wanted to be in the championship game of the WNIT, but that's not what we were dealt."
The Cowgirls, with Columbia natives Jodie and Amy Bolerjack, will host the Oregon Ducks in the next round, while the Tigers begin preparation for next season.