We turn the Starting Five preview to the women’s side today. In this feature, we’ll give you the anticipated starting lineups for each team, break down keys to a Missouri win and offer up a prediction. Here’s the breakdown of today’s NCAA Tournament first round game between Missouri (23-10) and Drake (27-6).
THE LINEUPS
OFF THE BENCH: Drake averaged 21 bench points a game in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs rely on three main scorers off the bench: Junior Brenni Rose redshirt-junior Monica Burich and senior Nicole Miller. Those three players combined for 13.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and6.2 assists this season. Miller shot 40.8 percent from three this season, which led the team. However, she went 3-9 from deep during the MVC Tournament.
OFF THE BENCH: Missouri averaged 22 points off the bench points in the SEC Tournament and the Tigers most impressive bench player was redshirt-junior Hannah Schuchts. The 6-foot-2 forward made her presence felt on both sides of the floor. She had eight blocks in three games and alter multiple other shots in the paints. However, Schuchts’ offensive versatility opened things up for Missouri. She shot 60 percent from deep and drained six threes in the SEC Tournament. Her shooting forced opposing forwards out of the paint and driving lanes were wide open. Schuchts shooting isn’t sustainable. However, her shooting threat could weaken Drake’s zone defense. Schuchts makes the SEC’s best three-point shooting team that much more dangerous.
TIP TIME INFORMATION
TIPOFF: 3:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
TELEVISION: ESPN2
RADIO: KTGR 1580 AM
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Get Sophie Cunningham Shots. Cunningham cemented herself as the greatest scorer in Missouri women’s basketball history in the SEC Tournament. She passed Joni Davis as the Tigers leading scorer, averaged 25 points and was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team. Cunningham was unguardable against Kentucky and Mississippi State and she must be just as good for Missouri to escape the first weekend. There was no hesitation or feeling out the defense in the SEC Tournament. She came out extremely aggressive and looking for her shot. Expect more of that against Drake, especially if the Bulldogs.
2. Post Touches for Smith and Cunningham. Offensive versatility is what makes Smith and Cunningham hard to guard. One area where that shows up the most is the post. Cunningham and Smith can score with their back to the basket and fight through being fronted down low. Cunningham especially abuses smaller guards with an array of post moves in the SEC Tournament. Kentucky senior Maci Morris had no answer for her in the second half of Missouri’s overtime win over the Wildcats in the SEC Tournament. The Tigers need to identify those mismatches and get either of their leading scorers the ball in the paint.
3. Win the Turnover Battle. Missouri and Drake both turn the ball over at an alarming rate. The Bulldogs averaged 17.7 turnovers a game, worst in the MVC, with a minus 1.2 turnover margin this season; Missouri was 9th in the SEC with 16.2 turnovers per game and a minus 3.97 turnover margin. Turnovers are what killed Drake against Missouri State in the MVC Championship game. The Bulldogs had 24 turnovers and gave up 25 points off turnovers in route to a 15-point loss. It was like Missouri’s 26 turnover performance against Kentucky in the SEC quarterfinals, yet the Tigers escaped with the win despite giving up 22 points off turnovers. There will be an abundance of turnovers in this game. The team that can secure the basketball in key moments and turns miscues into easy buckets will win this game.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Last season Cunningham dropped 35 points and went 14-16 from the free throw line in Missouri’s first-round loss to Florida Gulf Coast. No other Tiger was in double-digits. Cunningham will command a lot of Drake’s attention on defense and deservingly so. However, someone else must step up for Missouri to succeed. Redshirt-senior Lauren Aldridge was the second-leading scorer with nine points and six of them came from the free throw line. Smith is Missouri’s second-leading scorer and the Tigers are waiting for her to have a breakout game. She had three points in the loss to Mississippi State in the SEC semifinal. Cunningham is going to bring it; Smith needs to follow suit.
Prediction: Missouri 71, Drake 67
Player of the game: Sophie Cunningham and Missouri are on a collision course with No. 2 Iowa and Megan Gustafson. Cunningham has her third straight 30-point game in a close win over Drake.
