A dominant 81-50 win Tuesday at Mizzou Arena gave the Tigers much needed momentum after their loss to Kansas on Saturday.
The Tigers proved too much for the Salukis throughout the entire game, shooting 55%, 23% better than Southern Illinois’ 32%, and 21% better than Southern Illinois’ 26%. Junior guard Shannon Dowell led the way with 30 points, with senior forward Jordana Reisma, junior guard Grace Slaughter and senior guard Jayla Smith joining her in double digits. Only two Tigers, freshman forward Rika Toman and senior guard Sania Taylor failed to score.
It was a nightmare for the Salukis, as star guard Alayna Kraus scored only ten, and the offensive production for Southern Illinois was mostly limited to three scorers. Guard Kayla Cooper played well, scoring ten points, and fellow guard Karris Allen scored ten and had four rebounds off the bench, proving a spark that the Salukis needed to have a chance in this game.
The game was a close one to start, with the Salukis only down 22-18 at the end of the first quarter, but the Salukis shot only 37.9% from the field in the first. They had four more shot attempts than the Tigers, but Mizzou’s defense kept them ahead with more efficient shooting.
The following two quarters were similar, with Southern Illinois struggling to keep pace with the Tigers throughout. By the end of the third, the lead grew to 15 over the Salukis, with Southern Illinois out of gas late in the game.
The fourth quarter was absolute domination by the Tigers. The Salukis only managed to score eight points compared to the Tigers’ twenty four, shooting 20% worse than Missouri, and no Saluki had more than three points in the quarter. For comparison, Missouri guard Chloe Sottell had eight points on her own, equating the total Southern Illinois had in the fourth.
What started as a scare ended up as a relief for the Tigers, thanks to the dominant showing by the starters and the bench throughout the second half. Southern Illinois couldn’t keep up in the end, and they got thrashed in fourth because of it, ending with an 81-50 scoreline.
Missouri will face Troy at 11:30 AM on Thursday.