Mizzou women roll to win over Ole Miss in first round of SEC Tournament
March 05, 2020 | Sports,
GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA- Missouri women’s basketball got off to a strong start in the 2020 Southeastern Conference TournamentWednesday, defeating Ole Miss 64-53, in their first round game.
All-SEC Freshman Aijah Blackwell added another solid outing to an already stellar freshman season leading the Tigers with 16 points, shooting 6-11 from the field while grabbing nine rebounds and two assists.
Jordan Chavis helped get the Tigers off to a hot start scoring nine in the first quarter. The senior from Lexington, North Carolina gave the Tigers a boost and took early pressure off Blackwell and fellow All-SEC Freshman Hayley Frank.
It was a game of runs in the second quarter, with the Rebels getting off to a 5-0 run to start the quarter. Scoring spurts between both teams ensued but the Tigers ended up outscoring the Rebels 17-13 in the second quarter taking a 10 point lead into halftime.
Missouri got red hot in the third quarter stifling Ole Miss on defense and piling on the points themselves. Aijah Blackwell showed off her scoring ability dropping 7 points in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was a nervous one for the Tigers. Ole Miss outscored Missouri 16-5, but Missouri’s early momentum was enough to carry the Tigers to the finish line despite the Rebel comeback effort.
Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton felt Missouri kept the right mindset throughout.
“I thought we went in stretches where we looked really sharp and had stretches where we didn’t look so sharp, but overall I thought we maintained that mentality of playing to win [rather than] not to lose” Pingeton said postgame.
Missouri’s hot start to the game and solid shooting allowed them to hold the lead from start to finish. The Tigers shot 55% from the field and 47% from three, prolific numbers that coach Pingeton will want the Tigers to carry to the next round.
Ole Miss ends it season without a single win against an SEC opponent all season. Missouri marches on to face Tennessee tomorrow night at 6:30 central. You can listen to the game on KCOU.fm.
Edited by Garrett Jones | sports@kcou.fm