The Kellie Harper era at Mizzou started not with a bang but a whimper, as the Tigers lost to Division 2 Maryville 89-84 in overtime. The last time Mizzou lost an exhibition game came in 2001 against the Houston Jaguars (who definitely are not an NCAA-sanctioned team). Here’s what led to the upset loss inside Mizzou Arena.
After allowing the first point to the visitors, the Tigers went on a 16-0 run in less than five minutes. A big part of this run came from the team’s ability to get downhill and draw free throws. Mizzou finished the quarter with seven free throws. Shannon Dowell was particularly eager to get the season going, finishing the quarter with seven points and five rebounds. She finished the game with 19 points and nine rebounds while going 5-11 from the field and 9-11 from the free throw line. Dowell did not play down the stretch, as she fouled out with just under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and spent most of the second quarter on the bench due to foul trouble.
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After that, it was a struggle for the home team to score. The biggest issue came on three-pointers, as Mizzou finished 3-30 from beyond-the-arc. By comparison, Maryville finished 12-34 on three-point attempts. While the Tigers did a good job getting to the line at the opening and conclusion of the game, they struggled during the middle part with four free throws in the second/third quarters.
While the Mizzou offense struggled, it gave Maryville just enough wiggle room to get back into the game. The dam finally broke when the Saints finished the third quarter 5-9 on three pointers with 25 points in the frame; taking a 50-45 lead over their SEC hosts. While the defense never looked bad, there was no sense of urgency. The Tigers never tried to double or really pressure the ball, letting Maryville run its offense relatively mistake-free.
Mizzou was quite the opposite, finishing with 18 turnovers. The Saints turned these mistakes into easy points with 10 points off turnovers. Turning the ball over was a major issue during the tenure of Robin Pingeton, and that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
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“I think 18 for us is extremely high. It needs to be several, several lower than that,” Harper said.
Jordana Reisma made a big impression in her Tiger debut with a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double. She briefly left the game in the fourth quarter after tripping over her own feet. She returned several minutes later, hitting a big three to tie the game at 74.
“I think we were better getting her the basketball after some rhythm, I think after some ball reversals. I think that gave her some easier opportunities,” Harper said. “When we were trying to go quick action to her, that’s where we saw the defense collapsing a little bit more, and she was having a harder time getting her shot off…so we’ve got to be able to be disciplined in that moment and know where we need to get the basketball when we do have those ball reversals.”
Grace Slaughter continues to be a consistent piece in her third season, leading the team in points with 25 while adding 11 rebounds, shooting 7-16 from the field and 10-11 on FTs.
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As a whole the Tigers struggled to get contributions from role players, as the big three I outlined earlier combined for 77% of Mizzou’s points. Starters/returning players Abbey Schreacke and Averi Kroenke only combined for four points on 1-15 shooting.
“Our minutes were a little bit lower with some of those other players. We’ve got to do a better job there, growing those minutes. Players have to give us the confidence that we need in practice,” Harper said. “I need them to earn that right. You may earn it while getting a deflection, maybe just make an easy pass, not getting yourself in trouble. There’s a lot of lot of ways they can do that. I still believe they’ll be able to. We’ve got to get more production out of more players, for sure.”
One factor to consider is that the Tigers were shorthanded in the exhibition, missing Saniah Tyler, Hannah Linthacum and Sydney Mains.
While this game will not count for Mizzou’s permanent record, you can’t really ask for much worse of a start. There is clearly much work to be done behind closed doors before the regular season kicks off in less than a week.
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But if you’re looking for silver linings, you can definitely squint and find one. Well, first of all this game doesn’t actually count for anything, and you play these exhibition games for a reason. Second, Kellie Harper lost an exhibition at Missouri State to D2 Central Missouri in her final season there. That team quickly rallied an made the Sweet Sixteen; so it’s absolutely possible to lose a gimme like this and still have a successful year.
Mizzou looks for a better result when they open the regular season in a home matchup against Central Arkansas on Monday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Mizzou Arena.
