COLUMBIA, Mo. – Led by four Tigers in double figures, the University of Missouri women’s basketball team (14-2, 3-0 SEC) earned a 66-65 victory over Alabama (12-4, 1-2) Thursday night at Coleman Coliseum.
With the win, Missouri improved to 3-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
The Tigers led by six with just over three minutes remaining in the contest and sealed the victory with a pair of critical defensive stops on the game’s final two possessions.
Graduate guard Katlyn Gilbert (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the balanced Missouri attack with a versatile performance that resulted in 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Junior guard Sara-Rose Smith (Victoria, Australia) notched her fifth double-double off the bench this year with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Smith propelled the Tigers in the first frame as the junior scored eight consecutive points to erase an early deficit.
Missouri’s depth proved to be a vital difference maker. The Tigers’ reserves outscored their Crimson Tide counterparts by an impressive 38-9 margin.
TURNING POINT
Leading by three with time expiring in the third quarter, senior forward Hayley Frank (Strafford, Mo.) brought the ball up the court, sized up her defender just past the midcourt logo, and buried a deep step-back 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. The momentum-shifting make was part of a larger 12-0 run that spanned the final break and gave Missouri eight points of separation with just under eight points remaining.
TOP TIGERS
- Smith was an efficient 5-of-7 from the floor to achieve her point tally, she also notched a block and a steal
- Ashton Judd (West Plains, Mo.) scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench
- Lauren Hansen (New York, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points with a trio of 3-pointers
GAME NOTES
- Graduate guard Haley Troup set a new all-time program record with her 132nd career appearance
- Each of the team’s leading scorers, Gilbert and Jada Rice are mothers
- Missouri evened the all-time series at 8-8
- Gilbert led the Tigers in scoring for the first time this season
- The Tigers improved to 5-0 when trailing after the first quarter this season and 14-0 when leading after the third frame
- With a team-high +/- of 11, freshman guard Averi Kroenke has posted a team-best +/- in two of the last three games
- Judd reached double figures for the sixth time during her true freshman season
UP NEXT
Missouri will return home to face Arkansas in Mizzou Arena on Sunday. The conference contest is scheduled to tipoff at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on SECN+
