COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri women’s basketball had a busy week of action, competing at home on Tuesday against Tulane and on the road against Western Illinois on Friday. The quick turnaround didn’t faze the Tigers, as they earned a pair of wins to move to 3-2 and gain momentum heading into tougher matchups in their out-of-conference schedule.

However, the performances were mixed, as Missouri’s offensive swings continued to trouble the team’s progression.

Missouri: 60 | Tulane: 52

Tuesday’s game against Tulane showed the vulnerabilities of Missouri’s offense.

The first quarter was tentative, as the two teams traded the lead back and forth. Missouri led at the end of the quarter 17-13 thanks to a late three-pointer by Abbey Schreacke followed by a Nyah Wilson layup.

Midway through the second, the first of many scoring droughts began for the Tigers, giving Tulane the chance to take the lead heading into the half. To its credit, Missouri’s defense held strong, allowing the Green Wave only free throws and a single layup from junior forward Dyllan Hanna. Regardless, Tulane led 37-30 halfway through, and Robin Pingeton had her hands full to prepare for the second half.

The beginning of the third quarter went well for the Tigers, as three straight layups from Laniah Randle, Grace Slaughter and Ashton Judd cut the Green Wave’s lead to one. Again, scoring struggles were an issue with the offense stalling for over three minutes, allowing Tulane to recapture a larger lead. However, Missouri center Angelique Ngalakulondi pulled the Tigers out of their stupor with a crucial layup and free throws to take the 44-43 lead at the end of the quarter.

The third of Missouri’s final scoring droughts appeared early in the fourth quarter, but the difference would end up being Grace Slaughter and Missouri’s defense. 12 of Slaughter’s season-high 22 points would come in the final quarter, and Missouri would only allow Tulane’s Sherese Pittman to increase their point total, leading to a 60-52 victory.

Missouri’s win was hard-fought, but deficiencies stood out. With less than 15 points in both the second and third quarters, Missouri’s lack of production would be condemning against tougher teams. If Grace Slaughter hadn’t taken the game into her hands, the result of the game could very well have gone the other way.

Head coach Robin Pingeton would echo much of that sentiment in the post-game press conference, happy with the win, but recognizing Missouri had much more work to do to be considered a contender in the gauntlet that is the SEC.

Missouri: 75 | Western Illinois: 55

Against Western Illinois, Missouri’s offense looked its best all year, scoring a season-high 75 points on the road.

Missouri led at multiple points in the first quarter, thanks to a well-dispersed attack where multiple players contributed to scoring. However, Addi Brownfield’s five points and Raegan McCowan’s free throws gave the Leathernecks  a 17-15 lead.

Missouri started to take over in the second quarter. Off the bench, Missouri’s Abbey Schreacke scored 14 points in the quarter, hitting three straight shots behind the arc before adding a mid-range jumper and another three before the buzzer to signal the half.Western Illinois tried to keep it close in the third quarter, but Missouri’s shots continued to fall. Missouri scored 23 points, its highest total in any quarter thus far this season, thanks to a combined effort from Schreacke, Slaughter, Randle, Wilson and Judd.

Schreacke would cap off her career-best performance with another three-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Both teams would offer little as time expired, but Missouri extended its lead while holding Western Illinois to only 11 points.

Winning on the road would be impressive enough for the Tigers after they lost their season opener at Vermont 62-46. To win the way they did, though, beating Western Illinois 75-55 in its highest-attended basketball game in program history, proves that this Missouri team may have more than what was previously believed.

Final Thoughts

Four Tigers all had 10-plus points, and the team shot 48% from three-point range against Western Illinois. With Schreacke now offering valuable scoring from the bench, the offense will always have a chance if she can find her shot.

However, it is still unknown if offensive consistency will last with this team. Against Tulane, the Tigers went dark for major stretches, allowing the subpar Green Wave to take the lead back multiple times. If those same issues remain in SEC play, a familiar outcome to last season could be in store.

Missouri is still early in its schedule, and with opportunities to round out the offense, nothing is determined for the Tigers who sit at 3-2.

Missouri takes on St. Louis at home on Wednesday, Nov.19.