COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri women’s basketball team starts a two-game road trip with an excursion to Athens, Ga., where the Tigers will face the Bulldogs. Tipoff from Stegeman Coliseum is slated for 6 p.m., the contest will be broadcast on SECN+ and KTGR.
The Tigers enter with a 14-6 overall record with a 3-4 standing in SEC play following a close home loss against Tennessee. After falling behind in the first quarter, Mizzou outscored the Lady Vols in each of the last three quarters, though a late run put Tennessee ahead in the closing seconds. The loss is the Tigers’ fourth in a row.
Senior forward Hayley Frank led the offense with a season-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field. Her point total was the most by a Tiger this season and also marked the 20th career game with 20+ points. She also logged a season-high 40 minutes along with three boards and a trio of assists.
Another key contributor for the Tigers was junior center Jayla Kelly, whose breakout performance powered the Tigers in the first half. She fell just short of a double-double with a career-high 14 points and nine rebounds. Kelly also played a career-high 26 minutes.
Mizzou also received a standout performance from freshman guard Averi Kroenke, whose 33 minutes shattered her career high while tying her career high with seven points and breaking another career high with five steals. Her steals are the most by a Mizzou freshman since Mama Dembele plucked six at Mississippi State on Feb. 28, 2021.
The Tigers had great success at the free-throw line once again, knocking down 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the stripe. For the third consecutive contest, Mizzou has hit at least 85 percent of its free throws. The last time the Tigers accomplished that feat was between Feb. 24 and March 3, 2022.
As Missouri enters Thursday’s contest, Frank has the opportunity to move up on the Tigers’ all-time scoring list. With 1,373 points to her name, Frank is one point away from surpassing Morgan Eye (1,374) for 14th, eight away from Kesha Bonds (1,381) for 13th and 16 points from Ericka Fields (1,390) for 12th.
Mizzou and Georgia will square off for the 18th time in history, with the Bulldogs leading the all-time series, 11-6. The Tigers are in the midst of a three-game losing streak against Georgia, with the last win coming on Feb. 6, 2020, when the Tigers came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to knock off the Bulldogs in Athens.
Georgia enters Thursday’s matchup with a 13-8 record while performing 2-5 in SEC competition. The Bulldogs are also enduring a losing streak, having lost their last three, including a close loss at Texas A&M on Sunday.
Head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson leads the Bulldogs in her first year at the helm in Athens after an impressive six-year stint with UCF. The Golden Knights finished the 2021-22 regular season 26-4 and won the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles under Abrahamson-Henderson’s guidance.
She inherited a Bulldogs team that finished with a 20-8 record, an NCAA Tournament appearance and a final ranking of No. 12 in the AP Top 25.
The makeup of Georgia’s roster is quite different from last year’s squad, as three of the regular starters transferred in. The Bulldogs are also tied for the most newcomers in the SEC with 10. Guard Diamond Battles and forward Brittney Smith, both UCF transfers, lead Georgia in scoring after joining Abrahamson-Henderson in her move this offseason, and they have picked up where they left off last season.
Battles was named to the Preseason Second Team All-SEC list after earning AAC Player of the Year and a WBCA All-American Honorable Mention last season, and averages 13.7 points per game and along with 3.0 assists per contest this year.
Smith earned AAC Sixth Player of the Year honors last year and has continued her strong play with 12.2 points per game and 5.9 boards per game.
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