Mizzou junior Aijha Blackwell, this week’s SEC Co-Player of the Week, will be called upon again for the Tigers in Sunday’s matchup at Mizzou Arena against Texas A&M. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
Mizzou Women’s Basketball – Gameday Info
Game No. 20 – Texas A&M (11-7, 1-5) at Missouri (14-5, 3-3)
Date/Time – Sunday, January 23 – 5 pm
Location – Mizzou Arena – Columbia, MO
Broadcast – SEC Network
Live Stats – Stat Broadcast
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
The University of Missouri women’s basketball team will play its final home game of the month of January, Sunday afternoon, when it hosts Texas A&M in a key Southeastern Conference game at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
The Tigers are coming off an impressive road win over Vanderbilt this past Thursday night, that saw Missouri only trail when the score was 4-2. From that point on, Mizzou dominated every aspect of the game, on its way to ending what had been a three-game losing streak.
Now the Tigers, who are currently in seventh place in the league standings, have a chance to make a move with a series of games against teams that are struggling to stay afloat in the vaunted SEC. Mizzou already has the win over Vanderbilt, but is looking to close the month with three more, and it can begin that with a victory over Texas A&M.
The Aggies come to town, following a loss to Mississippi on Thursday, which happened to be A&M’s fifth loss in the six games it has played since the calendar turned to 2022.
Despite its record, A&M can still be a dangerous team. The Aggies are a high-scoring team that averages 73.3 points per game. They also lead the SEC in three-point shooting and will come into Sunday as the fourth-best three-point shooting team in the country.
Staying close to A&M’s shooters and making sure they don’t allow many offensive rebounds on the shots the Aggies miss will be a key factor in Mizzou picking up this much-needed victory.
Players to Watch: Mizzou is led by a high-scoring junior trio of Aijha Blackwell, Hayley Frank, and Lauren Hansen. Blackwell is scoring 16.6 points per game and leads the SEC and the entire NCAA in rebounding at 13.1 per game.
Frank is averaging 15.8 ppg and leads the SEC with 50 three-point makes. Her 47.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc is second-best in the conference overall. And as impossible as it seems, Frank has been even better in SEC play, where she’s hit 52.5 percent (21-40) from three-point land.
Hansen will also have to have a good day. The Long Island, NY native will come into Sunday averaging 12.2 ppg, while also ranking fourth in the SEC in three-point shooting at 41.7 percent.
Another important player for Mizzou will be senior post player LaDazhia Williams. She played limited minutes (or not at all) in the Tigers’ recent losses to Arkansas, LSU, and Georgia. But she returned on Thursday and was able to give Mizzou a much-needed post presence against Vanderbilt.
The Aggies have five players that are 6-foot-2 or taller, which gives them a real good chance to dominate the boards and control the paint. So it will be very important for Williams to contribute whatever she can when she’s on the floor.
A&M has its own high-scoring trio in juniors Qadashah Hoppie and Jordan Nixon, and senior guard Kayla Wells.
Wells leads the Aggies in scoring at 16.4 ppg and also recently passed Mizzou’s Frank as the SEC’s leading three-point shooter at 53.7 percent. The Dallas-area native is also A&M’s all-time leading three-point shooter in makes and percentage.
Nixon is A&M’s second-leading scorer at 11.9 ppg, Hoppie is third at 10.4. A&M’s other two starters are 6-3 forward Aaliyah Petty and 6-4 center Sydnee Roby.
Up Next: Mizzou will be on the road for its final two games in January, when it travels to Starkville on Thursday, to take on Mississippi State, then follows that up with a trip to Tuscaloosa, next Sunday, for a matchup against Alabama.
Mizzou’s next home game will come on Thursday, February 3, when the Tigers will host Mississippi. All three of those games (along with the one after it, on February 10 at Tennessee), will be televised by the SEC Network.
A&M will be in Starkville next Sunday, for its own matchup against Mississippi State, before returning home on February 3, for a game against Arkansas.
Probable Starters
Texas A&M Yr. Pos. Ht. PPG RPG APG
2 Qadashah Hoppie Jr. G 5-9 10.4 2.9 2.6
5 Jordan Nixon Jr. G 5-8 11.9 2.6 4.2
11 Kayla Wells Sr. G 6-0 16.4 3.6 1.1
32 Aaliyah Patty Sr. F 6-3 4.9 6.9 0.8
44 Sydnee Roby Sr. C 6-3 6.1 4.3 1.2
Missouri Yr. Pos. Ht. PPG RPG APG
1 Lauren Hansen Jr. G 5-8 12.2 2.5 1.5
4 Mama Dembele So. G 5-6 4.9 2.2 3.7
13 Haley Troup Sr. G 5-10 8.1 2.4 3.5
33 Aijha Blackwell Jr. G 6-0 16.9 13.3 1.5
43 Hayley Frank Jr. F 6-1 15.7 4.8 1.7
| Mizzou Tigers Women’s Basketball Upcoming Schedule |
| Sun., January 23 — vs. Texas A&M — 5 pm |
| 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. |