COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri women's basketball team relied heavily on its bench in a 60-55 triumph over UT Martin Thursday at Mizzou Arena. The balanced scoring attack featured over 40% of the points coming from the Tigers’ reserves
Among the bench standouts, junior guard
Sara-Rose Smith (Victoria, Australia) notched her third double-double of the campaign with 12 points and 12 boards, while freshman guard
Ashton Judd (West Plains, Mo.) continued her strong first collegiate season with 11 points and six rebounds.
Two other Tigers scored in double figures, as senior forward
Hayley Frank (Strafford, Mo.) led Mizzou with 15 points and senior guard
Lauren Hansen (Long Island, N.Y.) dropped 11 points for her fourth-consecutive contest with double-digit points.
The Tigers received over half of their first-half production from Judd and Smith, who combined for 13 points in the opening 20 minutes to narrow Mizzou’s halftime deficit to just a point.
Mizzou’s defense played a consistent game and did not allow the Skyhawks’ stat leaders to get going. The Tigers held UT Martin’s Kenley McCarn, who averaged 25 points per game entering Thursday, to 15 points on 5-19 shooting from the field. She was the only Skyhawk to crack double figures.
With three players recording at least five rebounds, Mizzou also limited UT Martin’s second-chance opportunities. The Skyhawks only netted four offensive rebounds, and the Tigers won the rebounding battle 36-29.
The Tigers also caused over a quarter of UT Martin’s possessions to end in a turnover, as Mizzou’s defense forced 17 turnovers and recorded eight steals on the night, including a pivotal steal from Smith to prevent a final shot.
TURNING POINT
After falling behind by as much as five points in the first half, the Tigers created their first bit of separation midway through the third quarter with a 7-0 run. Mizzou re-took the lead with a layup from Haley Troup on the fast break, followed by a Hayley Frank 3-pointer and a Lauren Hansen make from in close. The run put the Tigers up by six and put Mizzou in the lead until the final buzzer.
TOP TIGERS
- Frank led the Tigers with 15 points, including 11 in the second half and grabbed six boards.
- Smith logged 32 minutes of action and added two steals to go along with her double-digit point and rebound tally.
- Judd led Mizzou with eight first-half points and shot 5-7 from the field on the game.
GAME NOTES
- Mizzou extends their all-time series lead over UT Martin to 7-0. They are now 53-4 in matchups against current OVC members
- With the win, Mizzou advances to 5-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history, following the 8-0 start boasted by last year’s squad.
- After holding the Skyhawks to nine points in the third quarter, it marked the sixth time this season the Tiger defense held an opponent to single digits in a quarter.
- Missouri has held their opponents to under 40% shooting in every game this season.
- Sara-Rose Smith set a career-high with 12 points on the night.
- Hayley Frank (15), Sara-Rose Smith (12), Ashton Judd (11) and Lauren Hansen (11) all scored in double-digits on the night, marking the second time this season four Tigers accomplished the feat.
- Lauren Hansen led the Tigers by logging a season-high 37 minutes in the contest.