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 game between Missouri (14-4) and Georgia (12-5)
Off the bench: Jenna Staiti has the potential to dominate inside against Missouri. The 6-foot-6 transfer from Maryland is averaging 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.1 minutes a game this season. Also, she is shooting above 50 percent from the field and three-point line through 17 games. Staiti finished with 12 points and 7 boards in Georgia’s upset victory over Tennessee on Sunday. It was her third SEC game this season with at least 10 points. The Lady Bulldogs jumbo lineup of Staiti and Caliya Robinson could cause serious problems for the Tigers in the paint and on the boards.
Off the bench: Missouri’s bench has continued to impress, despite the loss to Florida. The Tigers finished with 26 bench points against the Gators. However, forwards Emmanuelle Tahane and Cierra Porter must play even better in Thursday’s matchup against Georgia. Tahane and Porter will likely see their minutes increase due to the Lady Bulldogs size and willingness to play multiple bigs at once. If coach Robin Pingeton decides to match Georgia’s size inside, both forwards will need to defend the paint, increase their activity offensively and finish the layups that Missouri failed to make against Florida.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1.Move on. Sunday was a disaster for Missouri. The Tigers squandered an opportunity to start 4-0 in the SEC at the hands of one of the worst teams in the conference. The 58-56 loss to Florida was a game that fans immediately wanted to forget. Unfortunately, Pingeton and the team didn’t have that luxury. They watched the film and saw themselves collapse in the fourth quarter. Hopefully, they learned everything they could from the upset. Now it’s all about preventing that one loss from spiraling into another as the Tigers face Georgia and No. 15 South Carolina this week.
“It always feels like it only happens to you and your team,” Pingeton said as she put the loss in context on Tuesday afternoon. “But when you look around the country throughout the season you have games like this. The elite don’t, but we aren’t there yet.”
Pingeton is correct, but that doesn’t take any of the disappointment away from Sunday’s loss or take any pressure away Missouri on Thursday. The Tigers need to put the loss behind them and come out strong against Georgia. It’s the difference between the first three games of SEC play looking like a fluke or Missouri validating its early success.
2. Finish. The Gators comeback win was fueled by outscoring Missouri 17-3 in the final 3:28 of the game. Things couldn’t have gone worse for Missouri. Sophie Cunningham fouled out (we’ll talk about this later), there were several questionable foul calls against the Tigers, and Missouri’s offense basically fell apart down the stretch. That’s why “playing hard for 40 minutes” was the biggest takeaway for Amber Smith.
“We relaxed a little bit on Florida and gave them an opportunity to come back on us,” Smith said.
Missouri was in control throughout most of the game against Florida. If the Tigers just avoid the big run at the end of the game, they escape with a victory. This seems like an easy fix for Missouri. It should be a close game against Georgia and the Tigers must execute late in the fourth to defeat the Lady Bulldogs. Redeem yourself in the fourth quarter Missouri. It’s just that simple.
3. Keep Cunningham on the court and involved offensively. Cunningham fouled out of Missouri’s losses to Green Bay, South Dakota, and Florida this season. Her absence was immediately felt in the first two games. However, the game against Florida was different. Cunningham took five shots after playing 35 minutes in a performance that left me utterly confused.
She is Missouri’s best offensive player. She had good looks throughout the game. Her three-point shooting should have broken down Florida’s zone defense.
Yet, Cunningham seemed content with just being a distributor the entire game. She finished with eight assists, but it seemed like she could have done more scoring.
It doesn’t matter if this was a coaching decision or if Cunningham was just in a giving mood. Both are poor explanations for what happened; Cunningham can lead the team in assists and take more than five shots. There is no reason for Cunningham to focus on one or the other when she can clearly do both.
This can’t happen against Georgia. Cunningham had seven points on 3-17 shooting in the Tigers 55-41 loss to the Lady Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament last season.
The Tigers need to get her the ball often to be successful. I doubt Cunningham turns down those shots in back-to-back games.
TIP TIME INFORMATION
TIPOFF: 6:00 p.m. Central
WHERE: Mizzou Arena
TELEVISION: SEC Network
RADIO: KTGR 1580 AM
THE BOTTOM LINE
Georgia is in an interesting place four games into the SEC season. The Lady Bulldogs cruised past LSU and Vanderbilt. Then Georgia played two competitive games against Mississippi State and Tennessee. MSU pulled away for a nine-point victory, but Georgia defeated the Lady Vols 66-62. That victory gave Georgia confidence heading into Columbia and diminished Missouri’s victory over Tennessee, which is 1-3 in conference play.
This is a statement game for Missouri. The Tigers just dropped a game in Gainesville and lost to Georgia by double digits twice last season. We are only four games into SEC play, but this is close to a must-win for the Tigers. A loss against the Lady Bulldogs and Missouri could have a serious problem on its hands before traveling to South Carolina on Monday.
Caliya Robinson and Taja Cole are the only returners that got prolonged minutes against the Tigers last season. Robinson finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first game, then Cole had 13 points and 3 assists in the second.
Cunningham had 20 points in the first meeting last season, but Amber Smith was held under 10 points in both matchups. Cunningham and Smith combined for 13 points against Florida. That can’t happen in Thursday’s matchup against the Lady Bulldogs. Look for Cunningham and Smith to outplay Georgia’s trio of Robinson, Cole, and Connally.
PREDICTION: Missouri 63, Georgia 59
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Co-player of the game awards go to Missouri’s top two leading scorers, Cunningham and Smith combine for 40 points in a close Missouri win.
