OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Missouri women’s basketball team fell 72-64 in a narrowly contested contest with Ole Miss on Thursday night in Oxford, Miss.
Senior guard Lauren Hansen (Long Island, NY) led the Tigers (17-11, 6-9 SEC) with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting. The scoring output marked the highest of the season for the senior.
Senior Forward Hayley Frank (Strafford, Mo.) pitched in 14 points and added a couple of boards.
Trailing 14-4 late in the opening quarter, the Tigers responded with a 7-0 run in the final minutes of the stanza to stay in contention. Troup, Hansen and Sara Rose-Smith (Victoria, Australia) contributed to the surge.
Hansen continued to lead Missouri’s offense in the second as she dropped six points in the frame. Despite the offensive pressure from the Tigers’ guard, the Rebels (21-7, 10-5) were able to utilize an 11-0 run to take a 36-24 advantage into the locker room.
A combined effort from Frank and Hansen quickly closed the scoring gap for Missouri in the opening minutes of the second half. The duo connected on a trio of 3-pointers to propel a 9-3 scoring charge. As a team, Missouri continually ramped up its aggressiveness in the quarter as the Tigers got out in transition and received several easy buckets by committee.
Missouri’s momentum spanned the quarter break as the Tigers opened the final frame with a 7-0 run that was capped off by a triple by graduate guard Katlyn Gilbert (Indianapolis, Ind.). Despite holding a four-point advantage, the Tigers were unable to connect on a smattering of shots down the stretch as the Rebels claimed the victory.
Missouri made 44 percent of their attempts from the floor and shot 47.4 percent from deep as a unit to go along with 26 rebounds. The Tigers turned the ball over just 10 times and held Ole Miss to 46.2 percent shooting.
UP NEXT
Missouri will close out the regular season against Florida at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Mizzou Arena. Fans are encouraged to be in their seat 30 minutes prior to tipoff as the Tigers will honor departing graduate Haley Troup in a pregame ceremony.
