Mizzou women officially open Kellie Harper era with 78-71 win
A strong performance from transfer guard Shannon Dowell led Mizzou to a 78-71 season-opening win against Central Arkansas at Mizzou Arena on Monday.
Dowell posted 21 points and 12 rebounds. She shot just 3-of-10 from the field and 0-of-2 from beyond the arc, but got to the free-throw line 23 times and made 15.
She wasn’t the only new Tiger to garner a double-double in their first official game with Mizzou. Transfer forward Jordana Reisma had 12 points and 13 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks.
The pair were joined in double figures on offense by returning guard Grace Slaughter, who contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.
Tight game throughout
The teams went back and forth in the first quarter, tying at 2, 5, 12, 14, 16 and 18. At the end of the first quarter, a Dowell layup tied the game at 18 going into the first break.
Mizzou pulled away for the first time early in the second quarter when transfer guard Chloe Sotell hit a 3 and followed it with a fastbreak layup. Reka Toman then hit two free throws to make it 25-20 Mizzou.
It was the biggest lead the Tigers would take in the first half as UCA scored the final four points before the break to cut the advantage to 35-34 at halftime.
Second half
The teams traded the lead six times early in the third quarter. But two Dowell free throws started a 6-point Tiger run that put Mizzou up 46-41 with 7:14 left.
The Tigers held the lead the rest of the quarter, with a Dowell free throw sending Mizzou into the final break with a 57-52 advantage.
UCA cut the lead to 59-58 early in the fourth. But the Tigers put together an 8-point run to pull away to a 67-58 advantage.
The Tigers seemed in control. But UCA scored 13 of the game’s next 17 points to come all the way back and tie the matchup at 71 with 1:23 left.
Reisma then hit a layup to put the Tigers back in front. Then a Jayla Smith layup, a Dowell free throw and two more makes from the stripe from Reisma created the final margin.
Stats
Mizzou shot 20-of-46 (43.5 percent) from the field, 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from 3 and 33-of-45 (73.3 percent) from the free-throw line.
UCA was 28-of-69 (40.6 percent) overall, 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) from deep and 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from the stripe.
Mizzou outrebounded UCA 43-35, but UCA led 10-8 in offensive rebounds.
Injury
The Tigers announced before the game that redshirt junior guard Averi Kroenke will miss the season with a lower-body injury.
“We feel for Averi who has been the heartbeat of this team and are going to support her in every aspect of the recovery process,” Mizzou coach Kellie Harper said in a team statement. “Although we look forward to having her back on the court, I am confident she will find ways to impact our program this year.”
Up next
Mizzou (1-0) will hit the road to face Tulane at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
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