MU women's basketball earns revenge against Wildcats

The Tigers aim to turn season around.

By Greg Young

Published Feb. 19, 2009

In a slow, turnover-ridden game, Missouri was able to capitalize on Kansas State's offensive woes and upset the No. 16 ranked Wildcats, 52-43.

The Tigers' defensive dominance was evident throughout the game, holding the Wildcats to 30.8 percent shooting, one from 18 from 3-point range and their lowest point total of the season.

The only other time the Wildcats had been held below 50 points was in their 64-48 loss against Oklahoma. The win improved the Tigers' record to 12-12, and 3-8 in the Big 12 while the loss dropped the Wildcats to 20-4, and in a four-way tie for third place in the Big 12 at 7-4, along with Texas, Texas A&M and Iowa State.

The Tigers used the full court press throughout the game, and were able to force nine steals, compared to only eight by the Wildcats. Additionally, the Tigers were dominant inside, having 11 blocks -- six by junior forward Jessra Johnson -- while Kansas State was only able to block two shots. The Tigers also out-rebounded the Wildcats 37-31.

"We have to credit Missouri's toughness," Kansas State coach Deb Patterson said. "They played hard, and they played physically."

The only success the Wildcats had offensively was at the start of the game, when they went on an 8-0 run to start the game.

"We never really have great starts," coach Cindy Stein said. "It's a matter of getting ourselves back."

From then on, the Tigers were dominant defensively, not allowing the Wildcats to score a field goal for the final 12 minutes 22 seconds of the first half. The Tigers maintained their dominance in the second half, never allowing the Wildcats to get any closer than eight points.

Patterson also credited the Tigers' toughness with their improvement since the last time the two met, which ended with a 56-51 loss for the Tigers. Despite the loss, many Tigers credited that game as the time in which their season began to turn around.

"It was a strong, aggressive performance by Missouri," Patterson said. "They played with great confidence, and it grew possession by possession."

After the game, Stein singled out two players for the Tigers, sophomore guard RaeShara Brown and junior guard Toy Richbow, for helping Missouri win. Although the two guards combined for only three points, they combined for four steals and both played defense against star Kansas state junior forward Ashley Sweat, who, although she had 17 points, shot only 5-16.

"I thought that Toy and Rae were the difference today," Stein said.

The question for the Tigers is over whether they can continue to turn their season around. Despite the win, the Tigers still find themselves in ninth place in the Big 12 conference, and dropped their previous game to Baylor, 72-43.

"This is a big deal because we have finally turned the corner," said senior guard Alyssa Hollins, who had 13 points. "We want to go in and knock the rest of out."

However, with the win, the Tigers surpassed their Big 12 win total from last season, when they finished 2-14 in Big 12 play.

"It feels good," said Shakara Jones, who had 12 points along with six rebounds. "Everyone is smiling over that."