After some early season success, the Mizzou women’s basketball team hit a major bump in the road as they lost 100-82 to Troy.
The Trojans led by seven at halftime, before outscoring Mizzou 27-15 in the third quarter to put the game away early. This is the first time the Mizzou defense has allowed 90 points in a game this year, let alone 100.
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“At some point you got to get up and guard. We switched over to zone a few times, and didn’t get out and guard in zone as well,” Kellie Harper said. “At some point our players have to take some ownership…as a staff, [we can’t] always save them at some point. They’ve got to step up and make plays.”
One factor came in the Trojans volume, finishing the game with 79 total shot attempts and 27 from three. That included 13 made triples with 10 coming in the first half alone. All those extra opportunities came courtesy of the Trojans’ press, which forced 18 turnovers that led directly to 25 points.
“When you’re hesitant against an aggressive team, they crank it up even more,” Harper said. “We did not dictate the pace. I thought we were playing right into their pace. We’re playing fast or slow, depending on how they wanted us to play. So to me that you saw a classic Troy team. I mean, this team is a really good basketball team.”
The game started at 11:30 in the morning as it was Columbia Public Schools Day, where many students from across the district flooded the arena to create the loudest atmosphere this season. A consequence of this decision meant a quick game turnaround, as tipoff was roughly 40 hours after Mizzou’s last game on Tuesday against Southern Illinois.
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The Tiger offense did their best to keep up, making 11 threes at a rate of 41%. Mizzou was efficient on free throws, going a perfect 21-21 at the line. Shannon Dowell led the scoring effort with 25 points on 8-16 shooting and 7 made FTs. Grace Slaughter was the other major scorer with 21 points on 7-12 from the field and 5 FTs. Chloe Sotell scored a season-high 11 points with three made triples on an efficient night for her offensively.
Here’s how the game played out from start to finish:
Troy led 31-30 at the end of the first quarter as the Trojans press and pace forced both teams to play fast. This press was a major struggle for the Tigers early, turning the ball over six times in the opening frame. Troy’s offensive success came in large part to Emani Jenkins, who scored 16(!) points on four triples; including one banked in at the buzzer to put the Trojans ahead. Both teams did their damage from deep, combining for 11 threes in the first quarter. The Tigers did a good job getting to the line (and converting), finishing the quarter 9-9. Slaughter and Dowell combined for 17 points through 10 minutes.
Troy took a 7-point lead at the half, keeping up the insane scoring pace from the first quarter. Mizzou had a good offensive quarter with 24 points, but only shot 1-5 on three-pointers. By contrast, Troy scored 31 and 4-8 on threes. Dowell added another 12 points in the quarter, bringing her up to 20 for the first half. After a slow first quarter with no points in three minutes, Jordana Reisma picked up the pace by scoring 7 points in the second.
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The third quarter was where it all fell apart, as the Tigers were outscored 27-15 and trailed 88-69. This was when the Troy press was most effective, forcing eight Tiger turnovers leading directly to 11 Trojan points. Mizzou did themselves no favors, as Troy shot 10 free throws for easy points. The Tiger offense missed shots at a much higher rate, finishing the quarter 5-13 from the field and 2-7 on threes.
Both offenses struggled in the final frame, as Mizzou only scored 13 on 4-14 shooting as they couldn’t close the gap down the stretch. It was a relatively slow quarter, as Troy scaled back the press as the game never seemed in doubt for the Trojans.
While a loss to a mid-major team — and make no mistake, Troy is a good MM team — isn’t a season-killer for Mizzou, it is definitely one that kills momentum as they prep for three straight neutral site games in the Sunshine State. Next up is the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Showcase against Washington State at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the ESPN World Wide Sports Complex in Orlando.
