The Missouri Tigers found themselves in a dogfight with the Murray State Racers down the stretch but thanks to clutch shooting and defense in the final minutes. But, the Tigers came away with a 76-70 victory in their opening game of the 2021-22 season.
The game was very back and forth for the majority of the first half. However, the Tigers went on a late run at the end of the half to take a 44-33 lead into the break. The pesky Racers didn’t go down without a fight. They didn’t have any huge scoring runs in the second half but they chipped away due to timely shooting and swarming defense.
“Murray State executed their offense very well,” Tigers Head Coach Robin Pingeton said.
The Racers found themselves up by two with just over two minutes left in the game after they held Mizzou scoreless for nearly six minutes. However, the Tigers put the pedal to the metal in crunch time. Hayley Frank and Mama Dembele hit back to back three pointers to put the Tigers up four and Dembele took a huge charge to keep the momentum going in the Tigers’ favor.
“I’m so proud of her,” forward Aijha Blackwell of Dembele said.
Clutch free throw shooting and tight defense helped seal the game for Mizzou. Aijha Blackwell was a dominant force in the paint for the Tigers with 19 points and shot a very efficient 7-11 from the floor.
Blackwell also tallied 15 rebounds which was half of the team’s 30. Katelyn Young was excellent for Murray State, racking up 21 points. Hannah McKay was also brilliant for the Racers as she hit all three of her attempts from long range and contributed 17 points and seven rebounds. Mizzou will return to action on Sunday afternoon against Morgan State.