Slow starts and sluggish defense. Spurts of brilliance and late runs. Lots of free throws and dominant performances by opposing bigs. Above all else: inconsistency.
It’s been a season of patterns for Robin Pingeton and the Tigers – most of them not particularly good ones – and results have been mixed. In its opener against Western Illinois on Nov. 5, Missouri overcame those shortcomings and topped the Leathernecks in overtime on the heels of Amber Smith’s heroics.
In a nearly identical performance against Nebraska on Sunday, there were just too many easy driving lanes and open jumpers for the for the Cornhuskers for the Tigers to escape with a win.
The same patterns plagued the Tigers again on Wednesday as MU fell to visiting Northern Iowa 78-73, dropping to 1-2 on the season for the first time since Pingeton’s first season in 2010. Amber Smith poured in another 19 points and registered seven rebounds, and freshman Hayley Frank broke out with a career-high 17 points, but their performances were not enough to hold off the 40-minute onslaught brought on by the Panthers. A perfect three-point shooting night for Jordan Roundtree, who finished with 12 points, couldn't push the needle either.
After getting torched for 28 points by Nebraska’s Sam Haiby, the Tigers were once again unequipped to contain opposing guards and UNI’s Karli Rucker and Kam Finley made the Tigers pay with 21 and 10 points, respectively. For a third straight contest, Missouri also found itself overmatched by an opposing big with 6-foot-1 forward Megan Maahs doing the damage this time. She finished the night with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Missouri is now off to its worst start since Pingeton took over the program in 2010.
“You can’t point fingers,” Pingeton said postgame. “We’ve got to evaluate ourselves and look ourselves in the mirror and figure some things out. We need to figure out how not to put ourselves in situations where we have to come from behind all the time. We have to be the aggressors out of the gate.”
Smith scored five of the Tigers first nine points and together with junior guard Elle Brown, who finished with four points and two rebounds, helped guide Missouri to a rare early lead. When Aijha Blackwell (nine points, five rebounds) checked into the game, the offense ran through her and Roundtree, and for the first time this season the Tigers’ offense was humming.
But the offense wasn’t Missouri’s issue Wednesday. As it has been for the entire span of this young season, it was its defense. The Tigers were again a step behind defensively over the game’s first 15 minutes and with Finley and Rucker firing early, the Tigers squandered that first quarter lead to Northern Iowa’s bench, which outscored Missouri 15-12 in the first half. On the boards, Hannah Shuchts (four points, five rebounds) continued to struggle as Maahs and fellow UNI forward Heidi Hilyard cleaned the glass, helping bring in 12 Panthers offensive rebounds to Missouri’s six on the night while out rebounding Mizzou 36-33.
Slow on the perimeter as well, Missouri was unable to contain Rucker (six of ten from 3-point range) and the rest of UNI’s shooters, who stamped out each of Missouri’s comeback attempts with one devastating jumper after another. After allowing 75-plus points for a third-consecutive game, the buzzword following the loss was communication.
“We’re not talking. When we are talking, we’re not listening,” Roundtree said. “It’s just a lot of silly breakdowns. We talk about things and we understand, we just have to make the adjustment in game play. We have to prepare better from here on out.”
“A quiet gym is a losing gym and sometimes we’re too quiet,” Smith added. “Sometimes we need to speak up.”
As Missouri’s defense toiled in the first half and the Panthers began to pull away, its offense came to life. Trailing 32-22 after a 4:07 scoring drought early in the second quarter, the Tigers turned it on in the final 5:27 minutes of the half, outscoring the Panthers 15-8. Smith ended the drought with a put back off her own miss and drained a 3-pointer two minutes later before junior Nadia Green, who played just six minutes, drained a pair of free throws to bring the Tigers with four.
In the final minute of the half, Roundtree answered a pair of UNI 3-pointers from Rucker and Rose-Simon Ressler with two of her own to send the Tigers to the break fortunate to be trailing by just three points, 40-37. A basket in the post by Smith put the Tigers ahead 42-40 in the opening minutes of the second half, but a quick three-point barrage from UNI erased the lead almost instantly and Missouri, as it did for almost the entire night chased from behind for the remainder of the quarter.
Jordan Chavis nailed three-pointers in quick succession at the end of the quarter to narrow UNI’s lead to 62-61 entering the final period. If nothing else, Missouri has shown an ability to claw back over its first three games.
“We’ve been resilient,” Roundtree said. “Over the last two games, we’ve probably been up for a total of two minutes, but we’ve fought. I’m proud of that aspect. We’re learning how to fight and we’re learning that none of these games will be easy.”
In need of an offensive jolt at the start of the final period, it was Frank who stepped up for the Tigers. After stumbling through Missouri’s first two games of the season, the four-time state champion from Strafford finally looked herself Wednesday, scoring nine of her 17 points from the free throw line. Her second chance jumper followed by a deep three-pointer to open the fourth quarter put the Tigers ahead 66-65 with 7:07 to play.
As the teams went back and forth in the closing minutes, it was the Panthers’ ability to get comfortable looks and execute when they got them that separated UNI. Missouri, on the other hand, struggled offensively once Frank went cold. After Smith went 1-4 during two trips to the foul line in the final 2:32, the Tigers comeback hopes were dashed.
“We’re just not coming out with the right intensity,” Smith said. “It’s slow starts, coming out one step behind. We should be aroused by the time the ball goes up. We have to get it figured out.”
After another disappointing home loss, the Tigers will get a change of scenery with their first road trip of the season away at Green Bay on Saturday. Traveling to play a team that beat Missouri at Mizzou Arena a year ago, the vulnerable Tigers will have their hands full with the Phoenix. But in the wake two homes losses in four days, the trip may be something Missouri welcomes. In fact, it might be exactly what this team needs.
“Maybe a shake up right now is not bad,” Pingeton said. “We love playing here at Mizzou and we love your fans. But right now maybe going on the road and getting away, and really having to rely on each other, maybe that’ll be a good stepping stone for us.”
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
