Columbia, Mo. – The University of Missouri women’s basketball team improved its winning streak to five games with a 74-61 victory over Jackson State Sunday at Mizzou Arena. The result sets the Tigers at 11-1 on the season, while the Lady Tigers fall to 2-5 on their campaign.
Senior forward Hayley Frank (Strafford, Mo.) galvanized the Tigers’ offense, pouring in 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and tied a season high with four made 3-pointers.
Missouri garnered the lead after a tight first quarter thanks to a strong defensive effort that held Jackson State scoreless from beyond the arc and at the free-throw line. Senior guard Lauren Hansen (Long Island, N.Y.) closed out the period with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to maintain the advantage.
Mizzou’s offense picked up steam as the first half progressed, as a spell of five consecutive made field goals built an eight-point lead for the Tigers by the halftime break. Hansen, Frank and graduate guard Haley Troup (Gadsen, Ala.) each contributed five points as Mizzou shot 50% on 7-of-14 shooting from the field in the quarter.
Frank and graduate guard Katlyn Gilbert (Indianapolis, Ind.) combined to score the Tigers first 13 points following the break. The veteran duo’s effort ballooned Missouri’s lead to 14 and was a precursor to a final scoring charge that put the contest out of reach.
TURNING POINT
Mizzou pulled away from Jackson State with a 14-0 run that lasted just over five minutes of game time and connected the third and fourth quarters. After Jackson State cut the lead to within single digits, the Tigers found key contributions from freshman guard Ashton Judd (West Plains, Mo.) and Troup to help Mizzou construct a lead that peaked at 26 points.
TOP TIGERS
- Frank marked her fifth-straight game with at least 10 points, tallying 21 on an 8-of-13 shooting performance to go along with four boards.
- Hansen scored in double figures for the fifth-consecutive contest with 13 points while tying a career-high four steals. She also tied her career high with six free throw attempts, finishing the game 5-of-6 at the stripe.
- Judd tied her career high with 12 points while shooting an efficient 5-of-7 from the field
GAME NOTES
- With the win, Missouri improved to 11-1 for the sixth time in program history, a feat Robin Pingeton has now accomplished three times during her tenure.
- The victory gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the all-time series between the two schools.
- For a second consecutive outing and fourth time overall, Mizzou never trailed on its path to victory.
- Missouri has outscored its opponents in 36-of-48 quarters this season including all four tonight.
- With the performance, Missouri’s defense ranks 21st nationally, yielding just 53.0 points per game.
- After its 51.9% shooting performance tonight, Missouri is shooting 46.9% from the floor this season, the 25th-best mark in the country.
- The shooting performance also counts as the fourth game in which the Tigers have made at least half of their field goals this season.
- Missouri collected 13 steals on the contest, the team’s season high and the most the Tigers have tallied since they snatched 14 steals against Southern Illinois on Dec. 20, 2020.
- Hansen tied her career high with four steals, while Judd set a career high with the same amount.
- With four steals apiece, Judd and Hansen became the first duo to earn four steals in a game since Nadia Green and Jordan Chavis accomplished that feat against Auburn on Feb. 27, 2020.
- Gilbert recorded three steals to mark her season high. Alongside Hansen and Judd, the Tiger trio became the first to separately record three steals in a game since Sophie Cunningham, Lianna Doty and Sierra Michaelis accomplished the feat against Abilene Christian on Nov. 11, 2016.
- Senior forward Hayley Frank currently continues climbing the all-time scoring list, as her 22-point performance puts her 21st all-time with 1,261 career points.
- Frank made four 3-pointers to match her season high against Massachusetts on Dec. 3, 2022.
UP NEXT
Mizzou continues its homestand in a Braggin’ Rights showdown against Illinois Sunday at Mizzou Arena. The contest will begin at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network and KTGR.
