The Tigers struggled throughout the game, but they controlled the final seven minutes to beat the Tulane Green Wave 60-52 on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena.

“I thought we had a really good second half defensively,” Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said. “... We kept closing the gap from a rebounding standpoint, which we felt was huge. I thought our ball movement the second half was maybe a little better at times.”

The Green Wave led for almost 14 minutes and had an advantage with 7:20 left to play after Sherese Pittman connected on an and-1 layup to put Tulane up 50-48.

Then the Tigers had control the rest of the way as Grace Slaughter took over.

Slaughter connected on a layup to tie the game with 6:47 left, then hit a right-wing 3 off an Averi Kroenke assist with 6:19 left to put the Tigers in front for good at 53-50.

“We played a little bit more freely and just found the hot hand,” Slaughter said. “The other night, it was Shreacke and Angie (Ngalakulondi). We’re getting to a space where we’re just able to acknowledge if someone’s a little hot, just trying to get them the ball. Some nights, that’s going to be you, and other nights, it’s not.”

Laniah Randle added a layup, two of her 12 points, then Hannah Linthacum hit a free throw and Slaughter added a 3 off another Kroenke assist with 2:41 left to extend the lead to 59-50.

“We found the hot hand, Grace had some big shots for us,” Pingeton said. “I thought Laniah’s defense was really good for us and just found a way.”

Pittman cut the lead back to seven with a layup, two of her 20 points to lead Tulane, but Ashton Judd grabbed an offensive rebound and turned it into a free throw to create the final margin.

“I’m proud of the girls for just continuing to fight,” Pingeton said. “We just kind of continue to grow and learn and keep moving.”

Kroenke started for the first time as a Tiger after missing her full sophomore season and making 29 appearances without a start as a freshman. She totaled six assists, four rebounds and two steals in 29:47.

“I thought she played really well,” Pingeton said. “I think she plays with a lot of passion. … We said from the jump we might be changing lineups and just trying to figure out rotations.”

The teams went back and forth in the first quarter with Missouri taking the biggest lead of the opening 10 minutes when Randle turned a turnover into a jumper at the 4:53 mark to create a 12-7 advantage.

“I’m gonna lock them up, that’s all that’s going through my head,” Randle said of her defensive mentality.

Tulane came back to take the lead, but Missouri ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 17-13 lead into the first break.

The Tigers extended to a 21-13 lead early in the second quarter when Randle added a jumper following an Angelique Ngalakulondi steal, but Tulane chipped away to get back within five, then used a 12-0 run to take a 37-30 lead into halftime.

“The message at halftime was just, there wasn’t much more than we’ve got to do a better job rebounding,” Pingeton said. “This summer, we flipped tires, and I said, ‘There’s no way we can flip the tires we were flipping and not be able to move bodies.’”

The halftime message worked as the Tigers stormed out to an 8-0 run and took a 38-37 lead after two Ngalakulondi free throws, two of her 10 points to go with nine rebounds.

The teams stayed close through the rest of the quarter with Missouri taking a 44-43 advantage into the final break.

Missouri shot 23-of-55 (41.8 percent) overall, 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from 3 and 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the free-throw line.

Tulane made 18-of-49 (36.7 percent) from the field, 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from deep and 12-of-16 (75 percent) at the line.

The teams were even in the rebounding battle at 34. Missouri forced 26 turnovers and committed 18.

“We’re not clicking on all cylinders,” Pingeton said. “But defensively, I felt like they just had the mindset that we’re not going to back down, not tonight, we’re going to find a way. And I thought they really did a good job defensively, especially the start of that second half.”

Missouri (2-2) will go back on the road to face Western Illinois at 7 p.m. Friday.

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