Mizzou Women’s Basketball Set for SEC Tournament

• Mizzou Women’s Basketball opens the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday, March 4 against Alabama. Tipoff from Bon Secours Arena in Greenville, S.C., is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network with Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck and Steffi Sorensen on the call. Mizzou enters the tournament clicking at just the right time, as the Tigers have won two of its last three games, including a 77-57 win over Mississippi State, a team ranked in the top-25 for much of the season, on Sunday (Feb. 28) to close the regular season. The theme of Mizzou’s season has become ‘close but no cigar’ as five of the Tigers nine losses in SEC play have come by a combined 25 points. Four of those five setbacks have come against ranked opponents as the Tigers look to make a run in postseason play. Alabama has dropped its last two games entering the SEC Tournament, falling to No. 2 Texas A&M, 73-67, on Feb. 25 and No. 13 Arkansas, 94-76, on Feb. 28.

THE SERIES

• Thursday’s matchup will be the 14th all-time meeting between the two schools, as Mizzou holds a slight 7-6 advantage in the all-time series. However, Alabama has won the last two meetings in the series, including a 74-59 win over the Tigers to open the SEC season on Dec. 31, 2020. Mizzou and Alabama have never met in the SEC Tournament, but have met one other time in postseason play as the Crimson Tide earned a 68-67 win over the Tigers in the 2002 WNIT.

HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE

• Mizzou’s high-powered offense has steered the way for the Tigers in 2020-21, as Mizzou leads the SEC and ranks sixth in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 48.6 percent (535-of-1,100). Mizzou has shot 50 percent or better from the field in nine of 19 games this season and 60 percent or better in two contests. More on Mizzou’s hot shooting later. Mizzou’s scoring has been a balanced attack as well, as four players are currently averaging double figures: sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell (14.0 ppg), redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams (13.3 ppg),  sophomore forward Hayley Frank (12.9 ppg) and redshirt senior guard Shug Dickson (10.5 ppg).

BLACKWELL & DEMBELE EARN SEC HONORS

• Sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell and freshman guard Mama Dembele each earned All-SEC honors, announced by the league office on March 2.
• Blackwell is the 10th All-SEC honoree for the Tigers since joining the league prior to the 2012-13 season, and the first since Sophie Cunningham earned first team honors in 2019. Dembele is the seventh Tiger to be named to the league’s All-Freshman Team, with all seven honors coming since 2016, as she joins Sophie Cunningham (2016), Cierra Porter (2016), Amber Smith (2017), Akira Levy (2019), Blackwell (2020) and Hayley Frank (2020).
• Blackwell is looking to become the fifth Tiger in program history, and first since 1997-98, to average a double-double as she is currently averaging 14.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Her 12 double-doubles rank third among SEC players and 13th nationally, and are the most by a Tiger since Cierra Porter hit the same mark in 2016-17.
• Dembele has taken on the role of floor general in her debut campaign, as she remains the only freshman in the SEC to start every game of her team’s season. She is currently averaging 3.5 points, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game while boasting an impressive 1.2 assist to turnover ratio. Her 1.5 steals per game rank as the top mark among SEC freshmen and 16th overall.
• Her season-best mark of six steals at Mississippi State (Feb. 28) was the most by a Tiger since Jordan Chavis had six against Kansas City on Dec. 8, 2019. She has dished out multiple assists in 12 games this season, including a season-best mark of seven in Mizzou’s win over Florida (Feb. 21).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

• Always an elite scorer, sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell has elevated her rebounding production this season to become a double-double machine.
• Blackwell has scored in double figures in 17 of 18 games played this season, and has produced 12 double-doubles, the most by a Tiger in a single season since Cierra Porter had 12 in 2016-17. Her six consecutive double-doubles from Jan. 18 to Feb. 7 was the longest streak in her career as she became the first Tiger to reach that mark since Christelle N’Garsanet had six straight in the 2005-06 season.
• Blackwell currently ranks third in the SEC and 17th in the NCAA at 11.3 rebounds per game. She is the first Tiger since at least 2002-03 to record 15 or more rebounds in consecutive games, let alone three-straight straight when she did so against Texas A&M (16, Jan. 24), at Florida (16, Jan. 28) and at Kentucky (19, Jan. 31).. Her 19-board performance at Kentucky (Jan. 31) was the most since Jessra Johnson had 19 on Nov. 15, 2007.
• Her 11.3 rebounds per game would be the best mark-ever by a Mizzou sophomore and would rank second overall on the single-season list.

THREE WITH 20+

• In Mizzou’s win over Florida (Feb. 21), Mizzou had three players score 20+ in the game, as senior guard Shug Dickson (20 points on senior day) was joined by the electric sophomore duo of forward Hayley Frank and guard Aijha Blackwell, who had 26 and 21 points, respectively.
• It marked the first time three Tigers scored 20+ in the same game since Nov. 29, 2008, when Alyssa Hollins (27), Shakara Jones (22) and Jessra Johnson (21) did so in a three-overtime game.
• The last time Mizzou had three score 20+ in regulation was Jan. 6, 1995 vs. Oklahoma when Nikki Smith (23), Erika Martin (22) and Mandy Bryan (20) did so.

HOT SHOOTING

• All season, Mizzou has been able to shoot the ball at an extremely high level. Mizzou currently leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally in field goal percentage at 48.6 percent (535-of-1,100).
• Sophomore forward Hayley Frank has lit up the net so far this season, as her shooting percentages currently sit at 55.6 percent (85-of-153) from the field, 44.9 percent (35-of-78) from three and 87.0 percent (40-of-46) from the free throw line. Frank would rank near the NCAA’s top in each category, but her makes per game fall below the minimum threshold.
• Redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams has also helped lead the charge from the field this season, as she is shooting 58.9 percent (95-of-163) from the field, a mark which ranks second in the SEC, 11th nationally and would be the second-best mark in a single season in program history.
• Mizzou has shot the lights out this season, recording field goal percentages of 40 percent in 14 of 19 games, 50 percent or better in nine games and 60 percent or better twice. Mizzou’s two games of 60 percent or better ties the most in the Coach Pingeton era with the 2016-17 squad.
• Against New Orleans (Dec. 16), the Tigers shot an incredible 63.2 percent (36-of-57) from the field, the 10th-best mark in program history and their best mark since a 65.9 percent (27-of-41) performance against Ole Miss on Jan. 3, 2019.
• Mizzou shot above 60 percent again in its win against Southern Illinois (Dec. 20), shooting 61.2 percent (30-of-49).
• Since the 1977-78 season (43 seasons), Mizzou has shot better than 60 percent from the field just 25 times, with six occurrences (24.0 percent) happening under head coach Robin Pingeton.

LETHAL FROM DEEP

• Mizzou has heated up from beyond the three-point arc recently, hitting seven or more three-pointers in the last seven games, and 12 or more in the last three games. Mizzou’s 38.4 percent (144-of-375) success rate from deep ranks third in the SEC.
• Mizzou’s 18 three-pointers against Florida (Feb. 21) matched a program record, the third time its hit that mark after also doing so on Jan. 16, 2013 (vs. Auburn) and Dec. 8, 2013 (vs. Bradley).
• Frank’s nine field goals made matched a career-high, while her sixth threes were a career-best and the most since Sophie Cunningham made seven against Vanderbilt on Feb. 10, 2019.
• Sophomore forward Hayley Frank’s six threes against Florida were a career-best and the most since Sophie Cunningham made seven against Vanderbilt on Feb. 10, 2019. Redshirt senior guard Shannon Dufficy also set a career-high in three-pointers against the Gators with five, surpassing her previous best of four that she set three times while playing for Utah State.
• Mizzou has four players who are shooting 40.0 percent from deep or better, led by Frank who is shooting 44.9 percent (35-of-78) from beyond the arc. Joining Frank at 40 percent or better from deep is sophomore guard Lauren Hansen at 43.9 percent (25-of-57), Dufficy at 42.6 percent (23-of-54) and redshirt guard Haley Troup at 40.9 percent (18-of-44).

BALANCED SCORING

• Through 19 games this season, Mizzou has had a balanced attack leading the way in scoring, as four are currently averaging double figures: sophomore guard Aijha Blackwell (14.0 ppg), redshirt junior forward LaDazhia Williams (13.3 ppg), sophomore forward Hayley Frank (12.9 ppg) and redshirt senior guard Shug Dickson (10.5 ppg).
• As the season winds down, the last Mizzou team to have four players average in double figures was the 2006-07 Mizzou Tigers.
• Already this season, Mizzou has had five games where five players have scored in double figures, the most since the 2005-06 Tigers did so in seven contests, including four straight between Nov. 27 and Dec. 11, 2005.