Women’s basketball beats Sooners, then falls

By Ross Taylor
March 14, 2008

In a way, this week’s Big 12 women’s basketball tournament was a microcosm of the entire season for Missouri. The Tigers, despite their youth, were able to reach some milestones but ultimately fell short as a result of inconsistent offense.

MU’s season ended Wednesday with a 65-39 loss to No. 4-seed Texas A&M in the quarterfinals at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium. The defeat came one day after a historic 70-64 overtime victory over No. 5-seed Oklahoma, in which the Tigers (10-21, 3-15 Big 12) became the first 12-seed in conference history to win a tournament game.

Against Oklahoma on Tuesday, the Tigers were able to match their opponent blow-for-blow and avoid the long stretches of offensive droughts that had plagued them all season. Four Tigers finished in double figures in scoring, propelling MU to its historic upset of the two-time defending conference champions.

On Wednesday, Missouri had no such luck against Texas A&M. The Tigers shot 34 percent from the field, and only junior guard Alyssa Hollins, who set multiple school records for 3-pointers during the season, finished in double figures in points, with 11.

“Every time I came off of an on-ball screen, there was a trap there,” Hollins said. “They were making it tough for me, and you’ve got to give it to them, but I still need to knock shots down.”

Missouri trailed by seven at halftime, but was outscored 6-0 in the first 3 minutes, 11 seconds of the second half. Thereafter, the Tigers could not get any closer than 11 points.

But if there’s a silver lining in the Tigers’ tough season, it’s the experience it gave to the young team.

The team’s freshmen and sophomores combined to play 64.5 percent of the team’s minutes, making the Tigers the eighth-youngest team in the nation based on minutes played. MU’s lone senior, center Nicole Wilson, played only 4.3 percent of the team’s minutes this year.

“The whole experience is good for this team,” sophomore forward Jessra Johnson said. “Winning a game like (the Oklahoma game) gave the girls a feeling of what it feels like to win and how great it feels and how high you can fly.”

The Tigers will enter next season with a better understanding of what it takes to win in the Big 12, rated as the nation’s toughest conference, according to RPI. Entering the conference tournament, the Big 12 had five teams in the AP’s Top 20.

With an eye toward next season, coach Cindy Stein spoke about her team’s heart and the challenge of playing in the Big 12.

“We have fighters on our team. They’re going to keep working at it,” Stein said.

The transition from conference cellar to conference contender might not be a long one. In 2007, Kansas State finished dead last in the Big 12.

One year later, the Wildcats won the conference’s regular season title outright and entered the conference tournament as a No. 1 seed.

“You’ve got to learn how to play consistently hard and well,” Stein said. “You just can’t play hard, you have to do things right, and that’s where we were inconsistent all year.”

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Women’s basketball beats Sooners, then falls

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