NICEVILLE, Fla. – University of Missouri women’s basketball was defeated by Syracuse 82-59 in the opening round of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida on Monday night.
Sophomore guard Grace Slaughter led Missouri with 13 points and four rebounds. For Slaughter, the outing marks her seventh game in double-figures this season.
Senior guard Laniah Randle added nine points and a team-high seven boards.
Sophomore guard Abbey Schreacke contributed six points and tallied three rebounds.
Behind Slaughter, Missouri raced out of the gate and led 8-1 following the opening two minutes. Slaughter scored the first five points of the contest before Ashton Judd buried a 3-pointer from the right wing.
Missouri diversified the offensive attack in the frame as six Tigers scored led by Slaughter’s seven points.
Missouri converted 64.1 percent of its shots in the first, but trailed by five after one.
Utilizing a pair of 6-0 runs, Syracuse was able to extend its lead in the second quarter.
Schreacke, freshman guard Averi Kroenke and Slaughter tallied points in the frame, but the Orange held a 44-28 lead at the break.
Missouri battled early in the third quarter as graduate forward Angelique Ngalakulondi recorded a layup and Nyah Wilson converted at the charity stripe.
Slaughter and sophomore Hannah Linthacum added baskets in the heart of the quarter, but Syracuse was able to push its advantage to 69-44 entering the final quarter.
In the fourth, the Tigers and Orange were even in the scoring column deep into the frame as DeMyla Brown and Tilda Schokvist buried triples for their first points of the game.
Brown added another 3-pointer before the final buzzer.
UP NEXT
Missouri will be back in action tomorrow to face the loser of Wichita State and Creighton at 5 p.m. CT to conclude the Emerald Coast Classic. The contest will be streamed live on FloCollege.com.
