It took until the last six minutes of the game, but, eventually, Missouri did what Missouri does and got the job done.

A 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter was what Missouri (2-1) needed to sneak past Wright State (2-1) Thursday night, 82-80.

Jordan Chavis drilled a three-pointer to put Missouri within five, and the Tiger defense pressured the Raiders until the shot clock buzzed on the next possession. Jordan Frericks made a layup and rebounded the next missed shot from Wright State. Less than a minute later, the game was tied, 75-75, off of a Cierra Porter three-pointer.

From there, it was a battle of defenses and fast breaks, until it came down to —literally — the last second. Sophie Cunningham stepped up the free throw line with the score tied at 80 and one second left on the clock.

Swish. Times two. Missouri took the lead and stayed there for the last second.

“I just have to calm myself down,” Cunningham said about standing on the line with the game on the line. “I want to be in those situations. I want the ball in my hands. So when the time comes, I just have to prepare for it.”

When Wright State head coach Katrina Merriweather saw Cunningham stepping up to the line, she thought two things. One: The junior Missouri guard was going to make both of them. And two, it was going to be really hard to make a last-second shot.

She was right on both.

“(Cunningham) is a great player … and that’s what great players do,” Merriweather said.

It wasn’t all celebration for the Tigers throughout their home opener. In fact, it was Wright State’s cheers that filled Mizzou Arena for the 34 minutes Missouri didn’t have control of the game.

After a slow start — the first six points were off the free throw line — the Raider defense brought stout pressure. Missouri shot 40 percent in the first half — only 36 percent in the second quarter. Wright State, however, didn’t shoot all that well in the first half either, with 40 percent.

The kicker? Free throws.

Wright State didn’t miss one. Missouri missed 12.

“We want to be an inside-out team, with either a post feed or a dribble drive, and I thought there were some opportunities there,” Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton said. “We just didn’t convert.”

In the second half, Wright State continued to pressure Missouri, but the Tigers shot better — 62 and 80 percent in the third and fourth quarters. Still, Wright State held on, much in part to their three pointers.

The Raiders shot 44 percent from behind the arc, draining three of four in the third quarter.

Pingeton said a few more players than she anticipated stepped up to make those threes for Wright State. And they did so uncharacteristically.

“That dribble weave was really hard for us to guard,” she said. “A lot of rub screens, and we just tried to keep them off balance with our defense.”

The biggest reason Wright State held on, though, was Chelsea Welch. The senior guard had 36 points on the night; something that Merriweather said is not uncommon for the versatile player.

Even more impressive was that Welch played 14 minutes in the fourth quarter with four fouls. The Tigers’ focus was all on Welch for most of the game.

“She’s one heck of a player,” Pingeton said. “She’s tough as nails and has ice in her veins … we had to contain her.”

Ultimately, Missouri did, and the Tiger offense slightly edged Welch and the Raiders. Frericks led Missouri with 26 points and Cunningham followed with 19.

At least, Pingeton joked when she sat down for the post-game press conference, everyone got their money’s worth tonight.

“It’s not always going to be pretty, but they found a way to get a big win tonight,” Pingeton said.