Four takeaways from Mizzou WBB exhibition against Maryville
The Missouri Tigers opened the women’s basketball season with a 90-84 overtime loss against Maryville at Mizzou Arena on Tuesday. Here are four of my takeaways from the game.
Though a scrimmage isn’t a full game and isn’t always played like one. So, grain of salt with all of this.
1. 3-point shooting is going to be an issue.
The Tigers were just 3-of-30 from beyond the arc. And that was against a defense that left many open opportunities.
When the Tigers face SEC teams that will stay closer on defense, it’s going to be a problem.
The attempts were spread around. And both Grace Slaughter (1-of-7 from deep) and Abbey Schreacke (0-of-7 from beyond the arc) have proven they are better shooters than they showed Tuesday.
But the Tigers brought in multiple players in the portal who they expected to be effective shooters.
Chloe Sottell was just 1-of-9.
Shannon Dowell was 0-of-2 beyond the arc.
That’s not going to be good enough.
2. Jordana Reisma is legit.
The big Mizzou got from Cleveland State is a better rebounder than I think the Tigers have had in the past couple of years.
And Jordana Reisma a solid player in the post on offense and defense.
Problem is, she blocked a shot in the fourth quarter, went down hard and instantly began crying on the floor in pain.
She had to be helped off the floor, though walked off with her arms around staff members.
It was a very scary moment for the Tigers. If she misses time, the Tigers might be in serious trouble.
But when she’s on the floor, she’s a clear difference maker. She ended with 21 points and 11 rebounds to go with five blocks.
3. The defense isn’t incredible.
After the Tigers fell behind in the second half, the offense started attacking the basket and was using the free-throw line to orchestrate a comeback.
But the defense couldn’t get consistent stops.
It seems like there was some lacking effort at times from specific players. Not everybody, but it looked pretty clear to me from a couple.
I’m sure Missouri coach Kellie Harper will notice that on rewatch if she didn’t in the moment and there will be some conversations.
This is one where I think the game being an exhibition had a big effect. Maybe the effort specifically will be better once the games count, but the overall defense struggled.
4. The free-throw shooting is better.
This one is pretty simple, Mizzou shot 70.9 percent from the free-throw line last year. They hit 27-of-37 (84.4 percent) tonight and used the free throw line as a spot to orchestrate the comeback.
I doubt they’ll clear 80 percent as a team consistently this season, but even just a few percentage points better than last year can make a difference in close games.
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