Mizzou women’s basketball held its first and only exhibition match against Maryville University on Oct. 28 at Mizzou Arena. In the first public appearance of the Tigers this season, the Tigers lost to the Saints in overtime 90-84. The last exhibition loss for the Tigers occurred in the 2001 season against the then University of Houston-Victoria Jaguars. The game started out perfect for the Tigers as they started with a 13-1 scoreline midway through the first quarter. Then, it crumpled. Fast. 

10%

The most evident first impression of the team was the lack of the three-point shot. The team didn’t shy away from shooting from three, but it most definitely was not pretty. Out of the 30 shots attempted, only three found their way into the hoop. For a team that shot 36.6% from beyond the arc last year, 10% was not the start the Tigers hoped to have. 

Even the best shooters from the 2024 team struggled to find their mark during the match as junior guard Grace Slaughter went one-for-seven and junior guard Abbey Schreacke missed all of her seven attempts. The team’s dire need of points even forced senior forward Jordana Reisma to attempt a few of her own. Before transferring to Mizzou, Reisma had zero three-point attempts in her three years with Cleveland State.

Moving forward, I do expect this team to be able to make the three-point shot. Whether it be through Pepperdine transfer Chloe Sotell, or other members like junior guard Abbey Schreacke, it will start clicking at some point, I have no doubt. 

I personally have high expectations for players like sophomore guard Chloe Sotell to become centerpieces in this aspect and improve game-by-game by providing quick, off the bench points, similar to how graduate guard Jacob Crews did for Mizzou men’s basketball in 2024. Sotell shot a team-high nine shots against Maryville and had good looks deep. If she can convert as she did at Pepperdine, she will soon become a key role-player. 

Turnovers

Turnovers continue to be the bane of the Tigers’ offensive existence. During its match against Maryville, it had 18 turnovers compared to its opponents’ 11. 

For the Tigers this season. The magic number is 15. The Tigers cannot allow more than 15 turnovers in a match or their chances of winning drastically decrease. In the 2024 season, when the Tigers had 15 or less turnovers, their record was 11-17. When they had more than 15, it drops to 3-15. While turnovers are not the deciding factor when it comes to matches, it definitely does help to maintain possession of the ball and attempt more shots. They cannot start the season as they did last year against Vermont and come out swinging with 26 turnovers.

Free Throws

One of the biggest strengths of this team is the physicality the team possesses. Players like Shanon Dowell drove the ball in, attempted a shot and drew the foul. And for her bravery, she was awarded 11 shots, nine of which she made. The team as a whole out-attempted their opponents by six shots at the charity stripe and drained 84.4% of them. The extra nine points over their opponents almost compensated for their lack of firepower displayed on the court. This high-free-throw-percentage will definitely come in handy down-the-line in crucial moments this season. 

Averi Kroenke

Averi Kroenke was an interesting player to take a look at for her first appearance in 2025. Despite playing similar minutes to Grace Slaughter, 41, she only had two points, and while leading the team in assists in 2024 with 94, she only had one tonight. I personally felt as though Harper was piecing her to become a defensive center-piece for the Mizzou squad this year. 

While she didn’t lead the team in rebounds or blocks, she was one of five players that had a positive plus-minus score and collected two offensive boards.  

The transfer class

The transfer class has been the biggest source of offensive firepower for this new look Tigers. Cleveland State transfer Jordana Reisma and Illinois State transfer Shannon Dowell lead the way with a combined 40 points for the Tigers. Reisma’s presence in the paint was especially crucial as she converted easy layups and had 11 rebounds for the night. She also had five blocks for the night as she swatted away balls from the Saints. While she briefly exited the game in the fourth quarter in an injury scare, she returned and played overtime for the Tigers. 

As for Shannon Dowell, she can best be described as a handi-man. She had 19 points for the Tigers, three steals and nine rebounds while only playing 23 minutes. She was limited in her minutes because she ran into early foul troubles but managed to stay active against Maryville until she eventually fouled out two minutes into the fourth quarter. 

It’ll be interesting to see if her fouling out during the exhibition is a mere one-time thing or a recurring issue she deals with throughout the season. Nonetheless, she currently is too big of an asset to be in foul-trouble early and risk losing early into the game.  Keeping up with Slaughter with half the minutes played is a truly impressive feat. 

Final Thoughts

This game was not a do-or-die game nor was it a game from the NCAA March Madness Tournament. There is a full six months for the team to grow chemistry and find their identity against tough SEC opponents. 

“Last year at Missouri State, to be exact, we played a D-II team, and we lost and would you believe that our team ended up going to the sweet sixteen that year,” Mizzou head coach Kellie Harper said. “I will tell you, (this loss) will grab their attention better than anything else.”

Mizzou looks to regroup and refocus themselves for their season opener coming up. The Tigers will face off against Central Arkansas at 6:30p.m. Monday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.