In Kansas City, saw two teams evenly matched against each other go head to head in a bitter rivalry clash. The free throws and the assists were the key factors for Kansas as Mizzou missed nine free throws and had twelve less assists than the Jayhawks, which were the key reasons for a Kansas win.
For Mizzou, their three point shooting in the first half was less than ideal with six of the fourteen shots beyond the three point line going in. The highest scorer for Mizzou was guard Shannon Dowell with eight points and three rebounds as well. Fellow guard Grace Slaughter scored seven and had 4 rebounds, leading her team in rebounds.
The first half for Kansas was ballistic, with guard Elle Evans scoring 13 points, shooting five for six, and a perfect three for three from the three point line. Forward Jaliya Davis dominated the mid-range, scoring 11 points.
The shooting percentages told the story early, as although the Tigers shot one more time than Kansas, the Jayhawks made four more shots and shot more efficiently from three, with 66.7% for Kansas compared to 42.9 for Mizzou.
A fast start for Mizzou combined with a slow start by Kansas let the Tigers get back within two by the time it was middle of the third quarter. The quarter got chippy from there as Kansas tried to hold onto their lead, but 35.7 percent shooting made it difficult for them to do so. However, they made all six free throws while Mizzou made only seven out of twelve free throws, keeping Kansas in front by four at the end of the third.
The Tigers closed the gap quickly at the beginning of the fourth quarter though, as the teams traded blows, and Kansas was only up by three at the around the six minute mark in the fourth. The Tigers, in this tense quarter, had a scoring drought and four turnovers in a four minute stretch in that fourth quarter.
The Jayhawks scored six out of eight shots in that timeframe and were up by as much as nine with two and a half minutes to go. The Tigers continued to be stuffed by the Kansas defense late and Kansas, despite not scoring in that same timeframe, held on to win the game.
The second half was when the defenses came to play, as both teams scored less than they did in the first half. The Tigers could not get it going from three, as they missed fifteen threes in the second half compared to six from Kansas. Kansas guard S’Mya Nichols had twelve points in the second half, leading her team to victory.
The Tigers, after losing this close game to their hated rival, will play Southern Illinois on Tuesday, hoping to recover from a crushing loss. Kansas on the other hand will play the Golden Gophers on Wednesday, hoping to keep the momentum from this big win.