Tigers bounce back, beat Auburn
Senior Janiah McKay put her head down, passed her defender and drove right into Cierra Porter. Porter had the size advantage, so McKay had to get crafty. She got to the left block and slipped a layup under Porter’s outstretched hands.
Auburn needed a bucket and McKay delivered in impressive fashion. There was 1:32 left in the first quarter and that layup was the Tigers' first basket. It cut Missouri's lead to 18-2.
There was a collective groan from several reporters in the press section. The possibility of Missouri forcing a shut-out in the first quarter was over.
Missouri used that 23-2 run in the first quarter to defeat Auburn 74-65 in a much-needed win. The Tigers dropped two road top-25 matchups this week. But, when Missouri needed it the most, Coach Robin Pingeton’s team used a strong first half to stay ahead of the Auburn in the SEC standings.
Auburn’s zone defense is what separates this team from the rest of the SEC. The Tigers switched between a 1-2-2 and 2-3 zones throughout the entire game and extended it into a press late the second half. It’s a play style that Missouri hadn’t faced a lot this season.
“It’s just a different look than any other team you face,” Coach Pingeton said after the game.
Although the style was different, it took little time for Missouri to adjust to Auburn's zone pressure. The Tigers started with back-to-back threes from junior Jordan Roundtree and senior Sophie Cunningham. The corners of the zone were wide open and Missouri took advantage. The Tigers drained 5-10 threes in the first quarter and Cunningham made three of them. She led all scorers with 12 points in the first quarter.
On the other hand, Auburn couldn’t hit anything. They started 0-11 from the field with several missed layups right at the rim. Everything seemed to be going right for Missouri in the opening minutes of the game, while Auburn was getting good looks and continually coming up short.
“At that point, you just try to keep them calm,” said Auburn head coach Terri Williams. “There’s a lot of time left in the game. If you panic in the first quarter, you’ll lose them for the whole game.”
Missour lead 23-2 after a quarter. Afterward, the visiting Tigers shot 52 percent from the field and outscored Missouri in the last three quarters. But it hardly mattered.
Cunningham continued to light it up in the second quarter, chipping in nine more points on four three-pointers. She ended the first half with a buzzer-beating three from the top of the key. The shot gave her 21 of Missouri’s 43 points and the Tigers finished with 11 made threes.
“I play best when I’m feisty,” Cunningham said. “I just want to protect this program. We do things the right way around here.”
Cunningham finished with 30 points, it was the ninth 30-point performance of her career.
Missouri started to work inside in the third quarter. Missouri had eight points in the paint in the quarter, the most in any quarter against Auburn. Amber Smith played a large role in that. She went scoreless against No. 15 Kentucky but was extremely active scored in the second half. She had eight points at the beginning of the third quarter and she finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Missouri led by as much as 19 points in the fourth but had to survive a late push from Auburn at the end of the game. Auburn went on an 11-0 run and with three minutes left Missouri’s lead was down to single digits for the first time since the first quarter.
It looked like the women’s team might find a way to blow a double-digit lead like the men did the day before. Ultimately, Auburn came up short as Missouri closed out the game with several defensive stops and free throws.
It was the ending Missouri needed to a tumultuous week. Missouri responded to the blowout losses to South Carolina and Kentucky. The Tigers moved to 5-3 in the SEC and 5th in the conference standings.
“Adversity brings out the best or the worst in you,” Pingeton said. “This has been a tough week… I think we’re closer than we’ve ever been all season long. So, as you go through the course of the season and you go through some ups and downs. It’s easy to either take a step back or lean in.”
Missouri has its bye week this week in the SEC. The Tigers return Monday, Feb 4 against in Baton Rouge against LSU (12-7,3-4) at 6:00 p.m.