Published Feb 17, 2019
Starting Five: Mizzou vs Tennessee
Langston Newsome
Staff Writer

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 Pink Out game between Missouri (19-7, 8-4) and Tennessee (16-8, 5-6).

Advertisement
Tennessee Projected Starters
PlayerHeightYearPositionPts/GameReb/Game

Evina Westbrook

6-0

SO

G

15.7

3.7

Rennia Davis

6-2

SO

G/F

14.7

8.0

Meme Jackson

5-11

SR

G/F

11.5

3.0

Zaay Green

6-0

FR

G

10.9

4.5

Cheridene Green

6-3

SR

F

8.6

7.6

OFF THE BENCH: Freshman Jazmine Massengill was the only Tennessee bench player to attempt a shot in the first matchup between Missouri and the Lady Vols. Massengill played 21 minutes, which is more than the rest of the bench combined. She went 3-8 from the field and finished with six points. However, Massengill’s scoring has been up and down since that game. She is averaging 3.8 points per game this season, which is the fourth most of Tennessee’s reserves. Forward Mimi Collins and center Kasiyahna Kushkituah lead the bench in scoring. Kushkituah is averaging 5.3 points per game, while Collins averages 4.5. They played a combined eight minutes against Missouri in early January, due to Missouri’s ability to push the ball in transition and willingness to go small. It will be interesting to see how Coach Holly Warlick can get either of them involved in the game, especially if the Tigers pick up the pace offensively.

Missouri Projected Starters
PlayerHeightYearPositionPts/GameReb/Game

Sophie Cunningham

6-1

SR

G

17.4

6.0

Lauren Aldridge

5-7

SR

G

6.6

1.7

Jordan Roundtree

5-9

JR

G

3.7

2.9

Amber Smith

5-11

JR

G

12.8

7.2

Cierra Porter

6-4

SR

F

6.1

4.7

OFF THE BENCH: Redshirt-freshman Haley Troup had her breakout game of the year against Tennessee. She finished with 16 points and made four three-pointers. Those are both season highs for the 5-foot-10 guard. However, Troup has gone 5-21 from deep and scored 19 points since that game. Freshman Akira Levy will most likely step in and fill that role in the second matchup. Levy isn’t a threat from the three-point line like Troup. But, she can put the same amount of stress on the Lady Vols defense. Levy is coming off her most complete performance this season. She had 10 points and five assists in the Tigers win over No. 5 Mississippi State. Her perimeter defense and speed helped Missouri gain momentum at the end of the third quarter. Levy only played 12 minutes in the first matchup. Now, she presents a new defensive task for Tennessee.

                                         TIP TIME INFORMATION

TIPOFF: 4:00 p.m. Central

WHERE: Mizzou Arena

TELEVISION: ESPN 2

RADIO: KTGR 1580 AM

                                           KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Finish Defensive Possessions. One of the biggest takeaways from Missouri’s 66-64 victory over Tennessee was the Lady Vols dominance on the offensive glass. Tennessee had 18 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points. The Lady Vols were reliant on the offensive glass in the fourth quarter to extend possessions. It helped them overcome one of their worst shooting performances of the year. Senior Cierra Porter will be a major difference for Missouri in the rematch. She only played 13 minutes in her third game since returning to the team. Porter finished with three points and five rebounds. However, over the past two weeks, it’s easy to see that she is a different caliber of player now than when she was still working out the kinks in early January. Tennessee is second in conference play in offensive and defense rebounds. The Lady Vols are second to Mississippi State and Texas A&M in those categories. Both of those teams outrebounded the Tigers in losses. Missouri competing better on the boards should lead to forwards Rennia Davis and Cheridene Green scoring less than 29 points. That would force Tennessee's guards to carry more of the scoring load.

2. Force Tennessee To Take Three-Pointers. Tennessee’s advantage over Missouri lies within the paint and not along the perimeter. The Lady Vols shot 30 percent (4-13) from the three-point line against Missouri, which is above average for Tennessee. The Lady Vols are shooting 27.5 percent from the three-point line, which is last in the SEC. Tennessee has taken 13 threes in their last five games and shot 26 percent over that span. That includes a 0-13 performance against LSU on Jan 27. Davis and Zaay Green combined for the Lady Vols four threes in the first matchup. That seems unlikely to happen again, especially because Green is shooting 21 percent from deep this season compared to Davis’ 38 percent. Missouri is second in the SEC in points allowed per game and sixth in three-point percentage defense. The Tigers could force Tennessee into another poor shooting game, but it starts with packing the paint and allowing the Lady Vols to shoot.

3. Understand the importance. The victory over No. 5 Mississippi State kept Missouri’s hopes of hosting an NCAA Regional game alive. It was something that the Tigers came up short in doing last season and it was high on Coach Robin Pingeton’s lists of goals at the beginning of this year. The path to winning out and potentially having that opportunity is on the table. Tennessee is the toughest game left on the Tigers regular season schedule. Missouri defeated Arkansas by 18-points on Jan 10, won by nine over Auburn on Jan 27, and Alabama is 3-8 in SEC play. The hard part is out of the way for the Tigers. Now, it’s about sustaining this level of play throughout the last four games of the regular season. Missouri can put itself in position to host.

                                           THE BOTTOM LINE

Offensive rebounds and turnovers held Missouri back in the matchup in Knoxville. The Tigers were outrebounded 41-34 and had 19 turnovers in the win on Jan 6. This time around Missouri has improved on both of its weaknesses. Senior Sophie Cunningham and Porter are both playing at a higher level later in the season. The Tigers are rolling on a three-game winning streak and have an opportunity to continue that with a season sweep of Tennessee.

PREDICTION: Missouri 72, Tennessee 65

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Levy continues to dazzle off the bench. She finishes with 12 points and seven assists in a tone-setting victory over the Lady Vols.