Youth movement hits year two for women's hoops

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR HOLIDAY SUBSCRIPTION SPECIALS AND GET A NIKE OR ADIDAS GIFT CODE

Clarity and assurance haven’t exactly been accurate words to describe college sports in 2020.

If the tumultuousness of college football has taught us anything, scheduling games this year is a crapshoot. COVID-19 does not discriminate and will gladly wreck any and all plans of a smooth season once it latches on to infect many or all members of a team.

Missouri women’s basketball knows the impact of the virus firsthand. Per coach Robin Pingeton in a press conference earlier this month, the entire team had to quarantine due to an outbreak in October right before the official start of practices, leaving the Tigers’ preparations for the season delayed.

Fortunately for Missouri, no known outbreaks have occurred since then, a good sign as the college basketball world tips off again next week. In a season of the unprecedented, the Tigers — like the rest of the sport — are looking to follow protocols, avoid disruptions and maintain the most normal out of an abnormal situation as possible.

Normal is what Missouri desperately needs. With several new faces and a duo of budding young stars, gelling quickly is what will propel the Tigers in what’s sure to be a brutal Southeastern Conference schedule this year.

In a year unlike any other, PowerMizzou.com breaks down what to know about Missouri women’s basketball for the 2020-21 season.

When Missouri lost all-time leading scorer and Columbia native Sophie Cunningham to the WNBA two seasons ago, it was obvious that whoever would take the reins as the Tigers’ leader in her place would have a massive job on her hands.

In a stellar, if inconsistent, freshman season, Aijha Blackwell certainly did her best to fill those shoes.

The sophomore guard put up one of the best freshman campaigns in school history in 2019-20, averaging a team-leading 15 points and 7.3 rebounds to go along with 2.7 assists per game. What’s more intriguing is that all of those numbers improved during conference play (17.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game), suggesting that Blackwell only got better as the season went along.

A nightly double-double threat — her seven last year were the most by a Missouri freshman since 2002-03 — Blackwell can already be considered one of the SEC’s premier guards. Blackwell reached double figures in scoring in all but one conference game last year, with her eight 20-point games as a freshman only bettered by the likes of Julie Helm (12, 1996-97) and Cunningham (10, 2015-16).

An easy pick for the All-SEC Freshman Team last year, that accolade was upgraded Tuesday as Blackwell was named to the Preseason All-SEC second team. However, Blackwell wasn’t the only Missouri freshman that impressed last year.

Sophomore Hayley Frank excelled alongside Blackwell, notching 11.8 points and 4 rebounds per game to earn herself an all-SEC Freshman Team nod. The 6-foot-1 Strafford, MO product is a capable shooter from 3-point range (38.1%), coupling that with an excellent rate from the free throw line (87.8%) that was the best single-season mark from a freshman in school history.

Outside of that sophomore pairing, however, the amount of experience Missouri returns is low. Senior Nadia Green and redshirt junior Haley Troup, who combined to start five games last season, are the Tigers’ only other experienced returners as the team graduated a senior-laden class featuring key contributors Amber Smith (11.9 points per game), Jordan Chavis (7.3 points per game), Jordan Roundtree (6.5 points per game) and Hannah Schuchts (4.9 points per game), who had a combined 115 starts between them.

Fortunately for Pingeton and her squad, a load of experienced transfers are cleared to play for the upcoming season, instantly regaining much of that high-level Division I experience.

Perhaps the most notable name is redshirt senior forward Shannon Dufficy, a Utah State transfer who the Tigers beat the likes of Duke and Syracuse to sign. The 6-2 Australian averaged a double-double a night for the Aggies in 2018-19 (15.8 points, 10.3 rebounds), finishing her time tied for the program’s all-time lead in double-doubles (31) and second all-time in rebounds (838).

Dufficy was named to the 2019 Mountain West All-Conference team, then sat out the 2019-20 season for Missouri due to NCAA transfer rules. As an efficient scorer all around the floor, shooting 44.2% from the field and 33.3% from 3, Dufficy should pair nicely down low with Frank as each can burn defenders both inside and outside of the arc.

Then there’s Shug Dickson, a transfer from Texas Tech who also sat out last year for the Tigers. Dickson never played a game with the Red Raiders after transferring from Tulsa, where the Lutheran North grad really made her mark in two full seasons with the Golden Hurricane.

The 5-9 guard averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game during her freshman season in 2016-17, earning herself a spot on the American Conference’s All-Freshman team. Dickson turned her game up a notch the next year, averaging 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, but after playing in three games for Tulsa in 2018 decided to leave the program. As a veteran starter, Dickson is expected to fill in nicely as one of the Tigers’ main ball-handlers as well as provide a leadership role within a squad filled with young talent.

The additions don’t stop there. Auburn transfer Lauren Hansen (7.9 points, 1.4 rebounds in 2019-20) was cleared to play this season by the NCAA on Tuesday, making the 5-foot-8 guard likely another heavy contributor in the Tigers’ backcourt. 6-foot-4 redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams played sparingly in two seasons (2017-18 and 2018-19) on a loaded South Carolina team, but adds additional depth down low with Micah Linthacum, who redshirted last season.

Finally, there’s the incoming recruiting class. Parkway Central grad Jayla Kelly is likely the most familiar to Missouri women’s basketball fans as the 6-3 forward was a double-double machine (13.2 points, 11.5 rebounds per game) with the Colts. The No. 2 prospect in Missouri by ESPNW and Prospects Nation, Kelly chose the Tigers over the likes of Saint Louis, Purdue and Missouri State.

Guards Sara-Rose Smith and Mama Dembele were Pingeton’s other two pickups on the recruiting trail, from Australia and Spain, respectively. Smith was a machine at the Australian collegiate level with 20.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game scored in her final season there, while Dembele was named to Spain’s national team at the 2019 U18 European Championships, averaging 3.3 points and 3.7 assists per game.

Even as virus-induced schedule limits have shortened Missouri’s season to just 24 regular season games, the Tigers still find themselves up against a stacked slate. That's life in the SEC, the best conference in women's hoops.

Missouri plays six games against Preseason AP Top 25 competition in 2020-21, five of which come in conference play. The Tigers visit No. 1 South Carolina on Feb. 11 in a matchup that’s had some hostility in recent seasons.

The other ranked games are at No. 6 Mississippi State (Feb. 28), at No. 11 Kentucky (Jan. 31), vs. No. 13 Texas A&M (Jan. 24), vs. No. 14 Arkansas (Feb. 4) and vs. No. 24 Missouri State (Dec. 13). The Tigers went 0-8 against ranked foes last season, including losses to all the teams listed above.

Elsewhere on the non-conference slate is an intriguing selection of showdowns. North Alabama begins the season in Mizzou Arena next Thursday, while the Tigers visit Saint Louis two days later. Morehead State visit Columbia on Dec. 2, followed by a pair of strong Big 12 foes in TCU on Dec. 6 and at Texas Tech on Dec. 10.

Three home games then close out non-conference play: the Missouri State game, New Orleans (Dec. 16) and Oral Roberts (Dec. 19). SEC play begins Dec. 31 at home against Alabama.

In one of the nation’s premier conferences for women’s basketball, coaches weren’t high for Missouri in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Tuesday.

The Tigers were picked to finish 10th in the SEC, ahead of Ole Miss, Florida, Vanderbilt and Auburn, which would be one place above their 11th place finish in 2019-20. Between five top 15 teams and another team (Tennessee) who received votes in the AP poll, for any other team to establish themselves within the league’s top half would be a monumental task.

Even with its improvements, to expect Missouri to compete with the might of South Carolina, Mississippi State or Kentucky — all of whom could make deep NCAA Tournament runs — is perhaps a bit far-fetched at this point. Blackwell, for all her talent, still led Missouri by far in both turnovers (138) and fouls (101) last year, while Frank only has eight career starts to her name. And though transfers like Dufficy and Dickson are certainly talented, both players have had a year off of play — and in Dickson’s case, nearly two years off — and aren’t proven contributors in a league with the prestige of the SEC.

Perhaps a more realistic goal for Missouri is to improve its standing with the middle and bottom-half of the conference. Out of the Tigers’ five conference wins in 2019-20, only one (LSU) came against a team with a league record over .500 while two came against Ole Miss, who went winless in SEC play. Missouri didn’t win games last year against Auburn, Florida or Alabama, all of which were positioned with the Tigers in the latter half of the SEC. If the Tigers want to improve upon their 9-22 record from last year, it likely has to involve getting it done in conference play against teams at their level.

That being said, Missouri can’t slack off in non-conference play, either. The Tigers struggled mightily prior to conference play as Pingeton attempted to find what starting lineups worked best, with Missouri already 3-10 prior to its conference opener against Tennessee in early January. With Blackwell and Frank now having a year under their belts along with transfers who’ve been through the slog of a season before, it’s reasonable to expect Missouri won’t start as slowly this time around, barring the ever present threat of a virus outbreak.

The Tigers’ schedule begins next Friday against North Alabama at a to be determined time. Mizzou announced Tuesday that games will be capped at 20% capacity — approximately 3,000 fans — with numerous protocols in place to promote social distancing.

Get 25% off your first year and a $75 Nike or adidas gift card with our holiday specials

Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair

Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage

Follow our entire staff on Twitter