Junior forward Hayley Frank his seven three-pointers to lead Mizzou to a huge come-from-behind win over Texas A&M, Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Texas A&M	19	12	22	16	69
Missouri	16	13	28	21	78

by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

Hayley Frank scored a career-high 28 points, which included knocking down a career-best seven three-pointers to lead the University of Missouri women’s basketball team to a 78-69, come-from-behind win, Sunday evening at Mizzou Arena against Southeastern Conference foe, Texas A&M.

Frank, a junior forward from Strafford, Mo., who won four state titles in high school and was the two-time Gatorade Missouri Girls State Player of the Year, was the leading force behind Mizzou making a season-best 16 three-pointers in a game the Tigers trailed for most of the first half.

In fact, Texas A&M led by as many as 11 points midway through the second quarter, before a 12-0 Mizzou run – led by Frank, who hit two clutch threes and a pair of free throws in a span of 2 1/2 minutes, to give the Tigers the lead at 28-27.

A&M put together a quick rally of its own in the final minute to take a 31-29 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was when Mizzou played its best ball of the game. The Tigers outscored the Aggies, 28-22, and made 10 of the 16 shots they took (62.5 percent), which included making five-of-seven threes, to take a 57-53 lead into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, A&M was the team that came out hot and began the period with a 7-2 run, which gave the Aggies a 60-59 lead.

Mizzou answered as only Mizzou could though, with a barrage of three-pointers – five in a row, in fact – that helped power the Tigers to a 15-4 run, which gave Mizzou a 64-54 lead with 1:49 to go in the game.

A&M, which came into the game as the top three-point shooting team in the SEC, missed four shots in a row – including three threes – to eliminate any chance it had of making a late comeback.

The Tigers eventually closed out the game by making a series of free throws that made the final score look more comfortable for Mizzou than it actually had been.

Three other Tiger players scored in double-figures, paced by Lauren Hansen, who had 14 points, Hayley Troup, who had 11 points, and Aijha Blackwell, who finished the night with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Blackwell, who leads the country in rebounding (13.7 per game), posted her 15th double-double of the season, which is also the most of any player in the country.

Mizzou also got a strong contribution from sophomore point guard Mama Dembele, who had eight points, seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals.

The victory lifted Mizzou’s record to 15-5 overall and 4-3 in SEC play, while A&M fell to 11-8 and 1-6.

The Tigers will next be in action on Thursday, January 27, when they’ll travel down to Starksville to take on Mississippi State. That game will tipoff at 5:30 p.m., and will be one of the featured nationally televised games of the night on the SEC Network.

Mizzou’s next game after that will also be on the road and will also be a nationally televised contest on SECN, on Sunday, January 30, when the Tigers will be in Tuscaloosa to play Alabama.

Mizzou’s next home game will be on Thursday, February 3, when the Tigers will host Mississippi at Mizzou Arena. Tipoff that night is set for 6 p.m.

Texas A&M 69

##	Player	GS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	ORB-DRB	REB	PF	A	TO	BLK	STL	PTS
11	Kayla Wells	*	33	6-15	1-3	1-2	2-3	5	1	2	0	0	0	14
03	Destiny Pitts	*	33	5-11	3-7	0-0	0-6	6	4	0	0	0	2	13
44	Sydnee Roby	*	20	6-7	0-0	1-1	0-4	4	5	2	4	2	0	13
02	Qadashah Hoppie	*	40	3-8	2-5	3-4	1-1	2	2	6	3	0	0	11
05	Jordan Nixon	*	33	3-8	2-7	0-0	0-6	6	2	1	4	0	2	8
32	Aaliyah Patty		14	1-1	0-0	1-2	0-1	1	2	1	1	0	1	3
25	Keslynn Oxendine		0+	1-1	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
24	Sahara Jones		14	1-1	0-0	0-0	0-2	2	2	0	0	0	0	2
23	McKinzie Green		7	1-1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
14	Maliyah Johnson		6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0
21	Eriny Kindred		0+	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TM	TEAM		0	0-0	0-0	0-0	1-1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TOTALS	–	200	27-53	9-23	6-9	4-24	28	19	12	14	2	5	69

Missouri 78

##	Player	GS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	ORB-DRB	REB	PF	A	TO	BLK	STL	PTS
43	Hayley Frank	*	38	8-16	7-14	5-6	2-6	8	3	2	1	0	1	28
01	Lauren Hansen	*	34	5-12	4-9	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	2	0	2	14
13	Haley Troup	*	24	4-7	2-4	1-2	0-0	0	2	3	3	0	0	11
33	Aijha Blackwell	*	38	4-8	1-2	1-2	5-10	15	3	2	2	1	2	10
04	Mama Dembele	*	36	2-6	1-2	3-4	0-4	4	2	7	0	0	2	8
00	LaDazhia Williams		22	1-6	0-0	2-2	2-1	3	1	0	2	1	1	4
24	Kiya Dorroh		5	1-3	1-2	0-0	0-1	1	1	0	0	0	0	3
02	Sara-Rose Smith		3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
TM	TEAM		0	0-0	0-0	0-0	2-1	3	0	0	2	0	0	0
	TOTALS	–	200	25-58	16-33	12-16	11-24	35	13	15	12	2	8	78

Mizzou Tigers Women’s Basketball Upcoming Schedule

Thu., January 27 — at Mississippi State — 5:30 pm

Sun., January 30 — at Alabama — 5 pm

Thu., February 3 — vs. Ole Miss — 6 pm

Thu., February 10 — at #5 Tennessee — 5:30 pm

Sun., February 13 — vs. Arkansas — 2 pm

All Mizzou home basketball games will be played at Mizzou Arena.