Women's basketball falls in season opener
Missouri sees mistakes as building blocks for improvement.
Nov. 17, 2008
Junior guard Toy Richbow dribbles past South Dakota State sophomore Macie Michelson during Friday's game at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers lost their season-opener 55-50.
(Click graphic to enlarge)
The Missouri women's basketball team had not lost a season opener in 12 years. But the South Dakota State Jackrabbits ended that streak with a 55-50 win over the Tigers.
"For us, it was really good to be able to gut one out when things maybe weren't going well and weren't looking good early in that game," Jackrabbit's coach Aaron Johnston said. "I know this one will probably sting from their standpoint, because in many ways, they certainly played as well as we did, and we came away with the win."
Both teams struggled on the offensive side of the ball. South Dakota shot 37.3 percent from the field and made only one 3-point shot in 16 attempts. Missouri was slightly better from the field, managing to shoot 38.5 percent, but did not make a three-pointer in four tries. But the Tiger's biggest problem came from the free throw line, where they made only 10 of 21 shots.
"The game was lost at the free throw line," coach Cindy Stein said. "There is no reason for us to shoot like that. And that's just something we have to get better at."
While the first half was not spectacular by any means, the Tigers held a 24-17 lead over the Jackrabbits. Sophomore forward Shakara Jones scored seven of the team's first 11 points and gave Missouri an 11-4 lead early in the half. But Missouri experienced scoring droughts of three and four minutes in the half.
However, the momentum completely changed in the second half. The Jackrabbits came out and went on a 6-0 run to close Missouri's lead to 24-23. The Tigers maintained their lead until South Dakota senior forward Jennifer Warkenthien sank a field goal to put her team on top 31-30. The Jackrabbits would not trail again in the game.
"In the second half, I just thought we were so much more poised," Johnston said. "In the first half we looked frantic, and I'll be the first to admit it. It was our timidness and Missouri's aggressiveness. In the second half, we were aggressive, as was Missouri."
Missouri senior guard Alyssa Hollins, who had been battling a stomach virus, tried to keep the Tigers close. She displayed her leadership by scoring 11 of her 13 points in the second half. With less than a minute left, Missouri only trailed by two, but could not complete the comeback.
"The momentum shifted, and they went on a run" Hollins said. "They're too good of a team to let them go on a run that long, and not respond. Like Coach said, when we were getting all those stops, we weren't getting buckets back to expand our lead. We should have put them away early."
The Tigers know they had plenty of chances to win their season opener. While the loss is disappointing the team is trying to put it in perspective.
"As I expressed to my team, this is the first mile in a marathon," Stein said. "We have lots of miles yet to go, and we can build off of this. Everything that was a mistake tonight is something we can improve on."
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