NICEVILLE, Fla. – Led by 22 points from Ashton Judd and a double-double from Laniah Randle, University of Missouri women’s basketball earned an 85-57 victory over Wichita State Tuesday night in Raider Arena.
Judd added five rebounds and a steal to accompany her season-high point total.
Randle notched her second double-double performance of the season and the 14th of her career with 12 points and 10 boards. Defensively, Randle added two steals.
Sophomore guard Grace Slaughter contributed 12 points and three rebounds. Following the game, Slaughter was named to the All-Tournament team.
Senior guard Nyah Wilson added 11 points and dished three assists.
Graduate Forward Angelique Ngalakulondi totaled 10 points and three boards.
Missouri attacked the paint early and took a 16-8 lead with 14 points coming around the basket.
With just over two minutes left in the opening quarter, a second-chance tip-in by Ngalakulondi sparked a 10-1 Tigers’ run that gave Missouri a 13-point advantage. Judd and Wilson added 3-pointers to power the run.
Leading 26-15 entering the second, the two programs exchanged offensive opportunities.
Slaughter connected on two triples and tallied eight early points before graduate guard De’Myla Brown converted a 3-point play to give the Tigers a 17-point lead with two minutes remaining before the half.
Wichita State narrowly cut into the advantage in the final moments as Missouri led 45-32 as the teams entered their respective locker rooms.
The Tigers outrebounded the Shockers 26-to-11 in the opening 20 minutes.
Missouri locked down defensively to begin the third quarter as the Tigers forced four Shockers turnovers in the opening three minutes.
On the offensive side, Missouri mounted a 9-3 run to begin the half as a steal and layup on the first possession by Randle led to additional layups from Wilson, redshirt sophomore guard Averi Kroenke and Slaughter.
Wichita State responded with an 8-2 run to balance the offense in the quarter. The Tigers ramped their attack into another gear and mounted a 15-0 response run that spanned the quarter break and was capped off by Judd with a triple and fastbreak layup.
The back-to-back scoring plays ignited Judd to an 11-point final quarter as she and Missouri were able to close the contest by outscoring the shockers 19-14.
Brown, freshman guard Londyn Oliphant and sophomore Tionna Herron all notched baskets down the stretch.
The Tigers ballooned their lead to 32 points, their largest of the contest with just over four minutes remaining.
Missouri scored 44 points in the paint to Wichita State’s 20 and added 23 second-half points off 11 Shockers’ turnovers.
UP NEXT
Missouri will return to Columbia, Missouri to face Jacksonville State at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Mizzou Arena. The content will stream live on SECN+.
