Mizzou Women's Basketball Youth Shows in Loss to No. 7 LSU
Despite a strong first half, Missouri Tigers women's basketball was unable to pull off an upset over No. 7 LSU to begin SEC play. The reigning national champions won 92-72, sending Missouri back to Columbia with a 9-5 record.
Missouri was only trailing 39-32 by the end of the first half. But things quickly became one-sided towards LSU when the Tigers of Baton Rouge outscored Missouri 32-17.
Missouri was able to keep pace with LSU in the first half by matching their physicality by way of graduates Hayley Frank and Abby Feit and with Mama Dembele bringing energy in the transition offense.
"I thought they really battled and competed and I thought in stretches, we matched them (in) just the intensity and the physicality of the game and there was some stretches, especially in that third quarter, that hurt us," Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton said.
Frank was Missouri's leading scorer on the night as the resilient veteran came away with 22 points. Dembele played with a smooth confidence in the first half, grabbing five steals and points.
Similar to the Tigers' loss against No. 14 Kansas State in early December, the shooting success Missouri had in the first half could not be replicated in the second. Missouri shot 50% in the first half but dipped to 27.8% in the second. The night and day contrast for the Tigers was caused by the LSU defense coming out much more aggressive in the second half, causing the Missouri offense to end the game with 18 turnovers.
LSU began to built momentum in the final minutes of the second period by going on a 8-0 run that it carried into the third period where the Tigers would sustain a 23-5 run in the middle minutes.
"I don't know what (Coach Kim Mulkey), the magic she's got at halftime but that third quarter seems to be a problem for everyone and we were prepared for that, Pingeton said. "We talked about it, the importance of those first five minutes coming out of half but they (LSU) just took it to a whole other level."
Thursday's loss outlined the problems that have plagued the Missouri team all season as the Tigers have been able to compete for long stretches, especially in the first half, but unable to fight back when the opponent finds momentum.
"We've got a lot of young players out there and you're playing in a really tough environment," Pingeton said. "We've got a young team playing at a big stage and we've just got to continue to learn and grow from it."
The road will not get any easier for Missouri as it will host a 13-3 Alabama team on Sunday before facing off against No. 1 South Carolina next Thursday.
