Grace Slaughter powers Mizzou women to 2-0 start
When the Tigers needed a play on the road at Tulane, they turned to Grace Slaughter.
Slaughter poured in a game-high 27 points, while dishing out six assists and bringing down five rebounds. She shot 6-of-16 from the field, 3-of-6 from 3 and had a perfect night at the free-throw line, shooting 12-of-12, including multiple trips late when Tulane had cut the Tiger lead.
Slaughter’s big night led the Tigers to a 77-69 win against Tulane, giving Mizzou a win in its road opener for the first time since 2022-23. And the Tigers’ first 2-0 start since the same season.
“Our coaches really prepared us to play up tempo and just be really aggressive,” Slaughter said on the broadcast after the game. “… So just being able to be calm with the ball, take advantage of opportunities, be able to find one another and get to the line when we get fouled.”
The Tigers seemed to be in control after an Abbey Schreacke 3 with 2:27 left made it 70-59. But Tulane went on a 10-3 run to cut the Tiger lead to 73-69 with 32 seconds left. A Mizzou turnover gave Tulane an opportunity to cut the lead to one score, but Tulane was called for a travel and gave the ball right back.
The teams combined for 40 turnovers, with Mizzou committing 19.
“Sometimes we got a little bit sped up, so just being able to come together, get ourselves calmed down, take it one possession at a time,” Slaughter said. “We got multiple kill plays so just being able to take it up a notch defensively was something we really focused on.”
Starting off
Tulane took the early lead as Mizzou started slow in its road debut. The Green Wave led 10-5 after four minutes. But Slaughter got her scoring started with a 3, then Schreacke hit the first of her four 3s to put the Tigers in front 11-10. Schreacke went on to score 13 points, one of five Tigers to reach double figures.
Slaughter then hit two free throws to finish an 8-0 run.
Mizzou scored 14 of the final 19 points of the first quarter to take a 22-15 lead into the first break.
Second quarter
The Tiger offense slowed in the second quarter as Mizzou scored just 11 points.
Tulane tied the game at 25, then retook the lead at 27-25 and led 31-28 with 3:16 left before halftime.
But Jordana Reisma hit a layup and Chloe Sotell added a 3 from the right corner to send Mizzou into halftime leading 33-31.
Third quarter
The game was almost all Mizzou in the third quarter as a Schreacke 3 and a Shannon Dowell layup, two of her 10 points, put the Tigers up 38-31 early.
Mizzou went on to score 17 of the next 25 points to build a 55-42 lead with 53 seconds left. Tulane added two free throws to cut the advantage to 55-44 going to the fourth.
Holding on
The free throws began for Slaughter right at the start of the fourth as she hit two and Lisa Thompson connected on a layup to make it 59-44 with 7:54 left to play. Thompson ended with 10 points.
Then Slaughter hit a 3 to make it 62-46.
But Tulane chipped away, hitting four 3s in the final 7:10 after making just one in the game’s first 32:50.
But the Tigers were able to stay in front with a Schreacke 3 and a Jayla Smith 3, then Slaughter’s game-ending free throws. Smith was the final Tiger to reach double figures, adding 10 points.
“We have a lot of new players,” Slaughter said. “So being able to get in a flow with each other and really work well together, it’s been a lot of fun. On the road, it’s never an easy win, but we’re learning as we go and we have a great coaching staff that helps prepare us.”
Stats
Mizzou shot 24-of-61 (39.3 percent) from the field and 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) beyond the arc. Powered by Slaughter’s 12-of-12 performance, Mizzou was 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the free-throw line.
Tulane shot 29-of-70 (41.4 percent) overall, 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from 3 and 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) from the line.
The Green Wave led 44-38 in rebounds, including a 14-7 advantage in offensive boards. Tulane led 40-15 in bench points as the Tigers stuck to a primary rotation of just seven players.
Mizzou had just nine players available with junior forward Hannah Linthacum, senior guard Saniah Tyler, redshirt-junior guard Averi Kroenke and sophomore guard Sydney Mains all out with injuries.
Missouri coach Kellie Harper said after the Tigers’ game Monday that Linthacum and Mains will be out for an extended period. She said Tyler was closest to returning, but has just started rehab. Kroenke will miss the season.
In their absence, the Tigers played seven players at least 10 minutes, and five of them scored in double figures. The only ones who didn’t were Reisma, who fouled out with two points, four rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes, and Sotell, who had 3 points on 1-of-7 shooting and two rebounds in 14 minutes.
Up next
The Tigers will return home looking to reach 3-0 when they host Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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