The Missouri Tigers hosted the Indiana State Sycamores ahead of their first road game of the season. A brief history of the programs consist of a 2-0 record between the two. Both teams had just come off of a victory in their season openers earlier in the week. The Sycamores are looking to improve from a disappointing season finishing ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri began the game firing from deep, behind 13 early points from sophomore guard Ashton Judd. She canned three 3-pointers along with two shots coming from inside the arc, forcing a timeout from Indiana State after a 12-2 Missouri scoring run and a three minute scoring drought from the Sycamores. Missouri’s hot start slowly cooled off with some errant passes leading to turnovers from the Tigers. Indiana State’s on ball pressure helped stop the bleeding as they cut the deficit. Missouri’s hot hand seemingly disappeared, failing to connect on multiple deep balls. The lead was cut down to just five as the scoreboard read 21-16 after the first quarter buzzer.
The story continued for the Tigers, with costly turnovers and a lack of made field goals. Indiana State hit some transition threes, but the Tigers came roaring back. A combination of some great finds from Mama Dembele and a few offensive boards from Missouri ignited another scoring run, causing another Sycamore timeout. The momentum was still on the Tigers’ side, the Missouri defense started to intensify, leading to connected 3-point attempts. The Indiana State offense looked rushed, dropping turnovers and missing shots. The Tigers closed out the second half with a 20-2 run.
The story of the third quarter was all Ashton Judd, cashing out threes like she works at Wells Fargo. Dembele’s active hands on defense and quick playmaking style got the ball in the hands of Judd behind the arc. Mizzou Arena started to get out of their seats as another Judd scoring outburst took place. She checked out of the game for the last time at the end of the third quarter with an impressive 31 points, including 7-9 from behind the arc.
The tight defense of the Tigers was too much for the Indiana State offense to handle translating to exciting offensive plays on the other end. Freshmen Grace Slaughter and Abbey Schreacke joined in on the action in the fourth, each finishing with 17 points of their own. The final buzzer sounded and the Tigers claimed an explosive 98-57 victory over the Indiana State Sycamores.
Although every team member played a large role in the win, the Tigers will have to tidy up their offense a bit heading into their first road game against the Saint Louis Billikens Nov. 12. Missouri ended with 25 total turnovers which will be a focal point for Pingeton’s squad as the season kicks off into full gear. Nonetheless, a victory that Tigers fans are certainly happy to see.