After a series of precarious runs in the first half to keep the game within striking distance, the Missouri Tigers came out of the locker in the second room shooting for their first lead of the game. After Haley Troop fed Jayla Kelly for a pick and roll, two key defensive stops on the other side of the floor led to three consecutive Hayley Frank pointers.
With the crowd standing and gathering for a run, the Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper had no choice but to use a timeout a minute and a half into the third quarter to let the dust settle. The timeout proved effective, as Missouri (14-7, 3-4 SEC) suffered a 68-65 loss despite what could be considered a rebounding performance amid a four-game losing streak consecutive. Tennessee (16-6, 8-0) extended its own winning streak to ten games, continuing its dominance in SEC play.
Facing a team in contention for the top 25 and amid a nine-game winning streak, the Tigers had their hands full. To make matters worse, the Tigers entered the game as one of the least dominant rebounding teams in the SEC.
Try the challenge, Jayla Kelly provided a much-needed jolt of scrap on both sides of the ball in a career game.
“I felt like I was really trying to let the game come to me by not rushing, not forcing shots,” Kelly said. “I talked about being more aggressive with the rebound, so being intentional with that and getting as much of it as possible.”
The Chesterfield, Mo. junior finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds in what ended as a stellar performance for the Tigers on the glass.
Tennessee shot 53.6 percent in the first half, including 2-6 from deep. Tennessee leading scorer Rickea Jackson shared the scoring load with Karol Striplin and Sara Puckett, with the trio combining for 22 points in the first half. Puckett finished with 17 points (7-9 shooting), while Jackson added 15 (6-11), including the layup winner with 1.1 seconds left.
“She [Jackson] is a very, very talented player, but I think for the most part defensively we did what we had to do,” Pingeton said of the Missouri defense. “I mean we had breakdowns in some possessions and missed some key outings that will just linger, but overall we did a really good job.”
Meanwhile, the Tigers relied heavily on Kelly to provide the offensive muscle needed to stay in the game, as she topped the paint with eight points on 4-6 shooting. Missouri shot 30.3 percent from the field and just 18.2 percent from long range, but trailed by just six heading into the second half.
“I liked the pace we were playing in the first half,” Pingeton said. “You just felt like everything would be fine because we were playing with good pace, I thought we had good ball movement and looked good, they just weren’t falling in love with us.”
Despite the relatively poor shooting spreads in the first half, the Tigers did a terrific job of beating Tennessee at the Vols’ weak points. They often came back hacking Tennessee runs with timely steals and offensive rebounds, earning extra possessions and momentum-changing buckets.
Although they calmed down in the second half, the Vols finished 28-58 from the field, relying on a strong offensive offense to find weak spots in the Tigers’ zone defense and attack those dribbling and shooting spots. pass.
MU relied heavily on Hayley FrankThe season-high 26 points on the streak, carried by his 19 points in the second half to bring the game back into balance. Frank also drew two key offensive fouls in the fourth and brought in two offensive rebounds, helping the Tigers take a lead halfway through the fourth quarter.
“I thought my teammates were really willing displays and trying to get me to look open and hit me at the right time, so big credit to them,” Frank said. “Even when I was missing shots, my confidence didn’t waver.”
But in the final two minutes, the Tigers failed to contain the Tennessee offense and gave up a few key plays to lose control of the game and end up with the loss. After a pair of offensive rebounds, a key turnover in the final minute leading to a layup, and a defensive breakdown to allow a three-way draw, Tennessee completely erased Missouri’s advantage.
“We didn’t have the sense of urgency you need to have at the end of the game. It was a tough few minutes there. Robin Pingeton
Missouri continues its SEC road campaign in Georgia on Thursday and Kentucky on Sunday, hoping to build on a tough loss to end its four-game losing streak.
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