Missouri women's basketball takes Ball State inside

Missouri dominated with points in the paint after a dismal first half.

By John Montesantos

Published Dec. 8, 2009

After two weeks on the road, the Tigers returned to Mizzou Arena for a victory over Ball State on Saturday. After a dismal first half by both squads, Missouri went on a run in the second half and controlled the paint en route to the 66-55 win.

With the Cardinal defense keying on senior forward and leading scorer Amanda Hanneman on the outside, the door was opened for Missouri's post scorers.

Senior forward Shakara Jones earned her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and senior forward Jessra Johnson led all scorers with 18 points. The duo dominated inside, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds between them and scoring the majority of Missouri's 46 points in the paint.

"We had a great inside presence," coach Cindy Stein said. "I think our post-play was phenomenal tonight. Hats off to them on looking to attack inside."

This presence was not seen early, as both teams crawled out of the gate and each shot 3 of 13 from the field in the first eight minutes.

Once the shots started falling, it was a back-and-forth battle fueled by the post work of Johnson and Jones for Tigers and the 3-pointers of senior guard Audrey McDonald for the Cardinals.

Missouri was down 27-26 at halftime, and Stein said she needed her team to "calm down" and focus.

"We were rushing things so much in the first half," Stein said. "We've been building these big leads in some of these games, and I think we were trying to do that in one possession."

After a few lead changes to start the second, the Tigers went on a 13-0 run midway through the half. Down 42-38 with 13 minutes to play, Missouri capitalized on Ball State turnovers and took a nine-point lead.

Stein attributed the run to hustle plays and energy, both of which came from junior guard RaeShara Brown.

"In almost every game that we need a run, she starts it offensively," Stein said of Brown. "She pushes us to run the floor and makes the defense have to play her. She did a great job getting us going."

Brown created opportunities for herself and her fellow Tigers, earning three trips to the free throw line and dishing out a game-high seven assists. She said she values playing with energy and keeping the team pumped over any statistic.

"When you get excited, your teammates get excited too," Brown said. "They want to join in on the fun. I thought the run was a big momentum swing for us, and I was just enjoying the moment."

After the run, Missouri matched every Cardinal basket in the final minutes to hold on for the win.

As Johnson and Jones dominated the box score, sophomore forward Christine Flores also added 10 points in her first big game of the season. Injuries to both ankles have held her back in the past, but she is working to put them behind her.

"I needed confidence," Flores said. "My teammates helped me out a lot on that. Just getting my head back in the game, basically, and not focusing on injuries."

The Tigers will travel to take on Bradley on Tuesday.