Mizzou women’s basketball knocked off Northwestern 85-70 as the undisputed winners of the Island Division in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Grace Slaughter was a huge part in the win, setting a new career-high at 33 points. This was a big milestone for Kellie Harper, as she collected win No. 400 in her storied head coaching career.
The game went back-and-forth with four ties and seven lead changes, as Northwestern refused to go away. But Mizzou finally pulled away with a 15-7 run in the last five minutes. While the Wildcats hung around, it always felt that Mizzou was in control, as they led for 29:38.
Advertisement
The Tigers controlled the paint, winning the points in the paint battle (40-24) and rebounds (38-32). That attacking of the paint resulted in 17 free throws for Mizzou compared to only six for Northwestern. The other big advantage was the team’s efficiency on threes, finishing 10-20 beyond-the-arc compared to 9-27 for the Wildcats.
Slaughter finished with 33 points, setting a new career-high thanks to shooting 12-21 from the field, 4-6 from three and 5-8 on free throws. In addition she grabbed nine boards, one off from back-to-back double-doubles while adding five assists. To top it all off her final free throw marked her 1,000th career collegiate point in a major milestone.
Five Tigers finished the game in double-digits as Slaughter was joined by Jayla Smith, Shannon Dowell, Jordana Reisma and Chloe Sotell. Smith was the second leading scorer with 15 points on an efficient 6-8 on field goals and 3-3 from three. Dowell was a key two-way player with her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Advertisement
Here’s how the rest of the game played out:
Mizzou led at the end of the first quarter 23-19 thanks to 15 points in the period from Slaughter. Northwestern jumped out to an early 11-5 lead before the Tigers started sinking shots to close the quarter on an 18-8 run. Mizzou did it with their efficiency beyond-the-arc, shooting 4-6 on threes in the first quarter. Slaughter led that charge with an aggressive approach at the basket, finishing the frame with the aforementioned 15 points on 5-9 field goals, 3-4 on threes and a perfect 2-2 on free throws.
The Tigers held that lead into the half 42-36. Mizzou briefly gave up the lead 31-30 after a 7-0 Northwestern run. But the team rallied to close the quarter on a 12-6 run to retake the lead. During that run the Tigers made three triples, with two of them coming from Chloe Sotell for her only points of the half. Slaughter added six points in the frame, bringing her up to 21 in the first half. Smith was the second leading scorer with eight points in the half thanks to a pair of threes.
The third quarter was more of the same, as Mizzou led 62-58 after a back-and-forth quarter. After an early Northwestern run, the Tigers went on an 8-point run of their own to retake the lead. The Wildcats tied the game at 58, before a pair of Dowell free throws and a Slaughter putback gave Mizzou the four-point lead. Slaughter had another strong quarter with seven points, but Dowell added seven of her own in the frame thanks to a 5-6 performance from the free throw line.
Advertisement
Mizzou pulled away in the fourth, winning the matchup 85-70. The Tigers never trailed but Northwestern worked to cut the Tiger lead to five with five minutes remaining. However this is where Mizzou closed on a 15-7 run, getting easy buckets by working fast in transition off of either turnovers or strong defensive rebounds. This running of the open floor freed up space for Reisma, who scored eight points in the quarter on a perfect 4-4 from the field.
This marks the first power conference win for Mizzou under Kellie Harper, taking down a Northwestern team that was previously undefeated.
Next up Mizzou returns home for another power conference showdown with California in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The game takes place at 8 p.m. on Thursday from Mizzou Arena and will be available to watch on the SEC Network.
