Looking Back: 2017-18 Women's Hoops

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Robin Pingeton told reporters early in the season and again mid-season that this year’s squad was her best Missouri team yet. The Tigers’ early exit in the NCAA Tournament might overshadow her assessment, but to some extent, it’s true.

Missouri broke an attendance record, secured its first SEC Tournament win ever, and went 24-8 — its third straight season with 20-plus wins and more wins than the previous two seasons (22). The Tigers were also ranked the entire regular season. And while theymissed out on their chance at hosting the first two rounds of the tournament, they did draw the No. 5 seed, their highest ever in the 64-team bracket history.

The ending of Missouri’s season shouldn’t be overlooked, though.

The Tigers didn’t play like their usual selves come the postseason, and the results depicted that. Pingeton continues to build her program into a powerhouse, and Missouri hung with some of the best in the nation this year. Yet her program still has far to go.

Four of five starters are returning in Sophie Cunningham, Cierra Porter, Lauren Aldridge and Amber Smith. Losing Jordan Frericks could hurt, but Grace Berg is the No. 37 recruit in the nation and stands at 6 feet tall. She can help in the post as well as on the wing. South Carolina transfer Haley Troup will be eligible next year as a redshirt freshman, too.

Missouri had a really good regular season but a terrible postseason. Often times coaches and players are evaluated on the postseason only, whether that makes sense or not. But that shouldn’t be the only thing on your mind when you think of Missouri women’s basketball.

1. An 83-74 win over South Carolina on Jan. 7. With a full-blown rivalry quickly brewing thanks to last season’s win over the Gamecocks, Missouri welcomed the defending national champions to Mizzou Arena and outlasted them. It was a great win for rankings and for Missouri’s morale after losing to LSU just three days earlier.

2. A 77-73 win over Tennessee on Feb. 18. With Tennessee ranked No. 11 at the time, it was a big win for the then-No. 13 Tigers. But that game also brought 11,092 fans to Mizzou Arena, a new attendance record. The win was great for the Tigers ranking anad outlook to the postseason, but it was also great for the sport.

3. A 13-game win streak. After the season-opening loss to Western Kentucky (who made the NCAA Tournament), the Tigers bounced back with a 13-game win streak that lasted from Nov. 11 to Jan. 4 and included a win over No. 21 California. Without those wins and with the way Missouri ended the season, the Tigers could have been seeded much lower than fifth.

1. Three-game losing streak. Three ranked opponents, three losses: 62-50 at No. 20 Georgia on Jan. 25, 64-54 at No. 9 South Carolina on Jan. 28 and 57-53 to No. 2 Mississippi State at home on Feb. 1. While it didn’t hurt the Tigers’ ranking, some called into question Missouri’s ability to win big games. Having wins over more ranked opponents would have helped Missouri’s resume come seeding time, too.

2. An 82-63 loss to No. 17 Texas A&M on Feb. 25. This was the beginning of the spiral. Missouri ended its regular season with a flat effort against the Aggies, shooting just 38 percent and never leading once in the game. It also hurt Missouri’s seeding for the SEC Tournament — a win would have given a double-bye.

3. The postseason. While Missouri got its first ever win in the SEC Tournament over Ole Miss, there wasn’t much else to celebrate in Nashville. The Tigers were beat up all over the court, had no offensive firepower and suffered a second-round loss, 55-41, to Georgia. The same sort of thing happened in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Cunningham put up a season-best 35 points against Florida Gulf Coast, but she didn’t have any help from her teammates, as the Eagles led most of the game and completed the upset. It was a bad finish for how high expectations were in the beginning and middle of the season.

Honorable mention: South Carolina coach Dawn Staley’s lawsuit against Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk. Staley filed a civil lawsuit in late February in response to Sterk’s comments made on KTGR about the alleged hostile behavior that Missouri encountered at Colonial Life Arena on Jan. 28. It didn’t really impact the way Missouri played, but it certainly didn’t put the Tigers in a favorable light moving forward.

Most Valuable Player: Sophie Cunningham was the central figure on this team and is arguably the best player in Missouri history. She only needs 564 points to break the Tigers’ all-time scoring record (she scored 574 this year). She shot 46 percent from three and 86 percent from the free throw line while leading the team in scoring (18.5) this season. Her 35 points is the reason Missouri only lost by 10 to FGCU on Saturday.

Most Improved Player: Amber Smith moved from the post to guard this year and the difference was resounding. She put up 20 against South Carolina on Jan. 7 and 27 against LSU three days before. She shot 36 percent from beyond the arc, second only to Cunningham. Her offensive influence dimmed as the season came to a close, but she has two more years with Missouri and will continue to improve.

Unsung Hero: No one knew how good Jordan Frericks would be after coming back from an ACL tear, but the redshirt senior far outweighed the expectations for her. She’s only the third Tiger in program history to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. She averaged 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. On Senior Day against Vanderbilt, she was just one assist away from a triple-double. With all eyes on Cunningham, Frericks was a consistent and calm leader for the Tigers, one that they needed. Her absence will be felt next year.

What Might Have Been: If Missouri had hosted the first two rounds of the tournament, the Tigers might be preparing for a Sweet Sixteen berth in Lexington right now. Missouri was 12-2 at home this year, and players constantly praised their “sixth man” in the crowd. It is no secret that the Tigers play better on their home court — there might even have been another attendance record broken this past weekend. One has to wonder where the Tigers would be if they had kept their mid-season style and didn’t have to travel 2,000 miles to play in the first round.