In the second game in three days Hayley Frank and the Missouri Tigers finished with a double-digit win over the Jackson State Tigers, 74-61.
Mizzou entered Sunday with a 10-1 record and one more game left before the Bragging Rights game on December 18. Jackson State, however, entered with a 2-4 record and one more game until their home opener against Texas.
Missouri star Hayley Frank did not waste time early. Frank made her first three just 33 seconds into the game, starting her scoring barrage of 21 points. Frank finished 4-for-8 from three and 8-for-13 from the field as a whole.
“[Hayley] Frank made some really big time winning plays for us,” said Head Coach Robin Pingeton. Frank was perfect from the field in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers extended their lead to eight in the second quarter, 35-27. Hayley Frank, Haley Troup, and Lauren Hansen each had five points in the 2nd quarter.
The 2nd quarter for Jackson State was more of a collective effort. Six different players scored lead by Keshuna Luckett with four. Jackson State had eight turnovers in the 2nd quarter, which would ultimately be their downfall in the game. They finished with 22 giveaways.
Katlyn Gilbert played just four minutes in the third quarter, but impacted the game by scoring five of her nine total points.
“The pace that [Gilbert] plays with is really good. I think she is getting more comfortable using her voice and speaking up,” said Pingeton. Gilbert had the 3rd highest plus/minus in the game for the Tigers with +14. The Tigers lead 51-41 with a single quarter to go.
Missouri held Jackson State to zero points until 5:15 remaining in the final quarter, while scoring 12 points to take a 63-41 lead. In the 2nd half of the final quarter Jackson State’s Liz Martino scored 14 points, with four three pointers and two shots made at the charity stripe.
Missouri struggled in the final minutes as Jackson State cut the lead in half.
“[The] last three minutes, [we’re] not happy with what happened defensively, we gave up 13 points in the last three minutes. We got to be better in those situations,” said Coach Pingeton.
Freshman Ashton Judd connected on a big three to put the game away for the Tigers.
“As the opportunities present themselves, I’m here to be whatever I need to be for the team. Whether that’s the biggest cheerleader off the court, or getting stops on defense or hitting shots,” said Judd. Mizzou was able to hold on to a 74-61 win.
“We had a good collective effort, and a really fun win,” said senior Hayley Frank. The Tigers advance to 11-1 on the season with a week until their next test.
Missouri’s next game is December 18, against Illinois at Mizzou Arena at 4 p.m..