Mizzou’s Jayla Kelly attempts a shot against several Vanderbilt defenders during Thursday’s SEC women’s basketball game at the Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville. (Photo courtesy: Vanderbilt Athletics)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 10 | 17 | 23 | 16 | 66 | 14-5,3-3 SEC |
| Vanderbilt | 9 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 52 | 10-9,1-4 SEC |
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
The University of Missouri women’s basketball team put an end to a three-game losing streak, Thursday night, when it defeated Vanderbilt University, 66-52, at that school’s historic Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn.
The Tigers led almost the entire game and outscored the Commodores in all four quarters, to earn themselves a much needed win, following a trio of tough losses to LSU, Arkansas, and Georgia.
Junior guard Lauren Hansen led Missouri with 15 points, with 10 coming in the second half, while teammate and fellow junior Hayley Frank added 13 points to help power the Tigers.
Mizzou also got 12 points (all in the second half) and a game-high 17 rebounds from Aijha Blackwell, who improved her NCAA-leading rebounds per game total to 13.3. Thursday’s performance also gave Blackwell 14 double-doubles on the season, which is also the most of any player in the country.
The game began with a slow start for both clubs, as three minutes in, Mizzou had just one basket and Vanderbilt had just two.
That was when the Commodores had their only lead of the night, at 4-2, but the Tigers responded by scored eight straight points to go ahead 10-4, and Mizzou would never trail again.
Vanderbilt did get within a point on a couple of occasions, but an 8-2 run by Mizzou at the start of the third quarter helped the Tigers produce their first 10-point lead. Then, after the teams traded baskets, Mizzou went on a 13-4 run late in the third to go ahead 50-34.
Mizzou’s biggest lead of the night came when it went ahead by 17 points midway through the fourth quarter.
Vanderbilt did manage to cut its deficit to 10 points with just over a minute left in the game, but that was as close as the Commodores would get, as Hansen made a layup and Blackwell added two free throws to close out the game’s scoring.
The victory lifted Mizzou’s overall record to 14-5 and moved the Tigers to 3-3 in SEC play, while Vanderbilt fell to 10-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
Mizzou will be back in action on Sunday, January 23, when it will host Texas A&M at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Tipoff that evening will be at 5 p.m., and the game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.
Missouri 66
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lauren Hansen | * | 32 | 6-10 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| 43 | Hayley Frank | * | 22 | 5-8 | 3-6 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 33 | Aijha Blackwell | * | 28 | 4-7 | 0-1 | 4-6 | 2-15 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 13 | Haley Troup | * | 30 | 4-8 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 04 | Mama Dembele | * | 33 | 2-5 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 00 | LaDazhia Williams | 13 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 24 | Kiya Dorroh | 22 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 20 | Sarah Linthacum | 8 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 02 | Sara-Rose Smith | 7 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 | Jayla Kelly | 4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 40 | Micah Linthacum | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | – | 200 | 26-54 | 9-17 | 5-9 | 6-26 | 32 | 20 | 14 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 66 |
Vanderbilt 52
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Brinae Alexander | * | 38 | 8-20 | 2-4 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 19 |
| 50 | Kaylon Smith | * | 29 | 4-8 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 4-5 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| 23 | Iyana Moore | * | 22 | 2-5 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 21 | Bella LaChance | * | 33 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Demi Washington | * | 28 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 35 | Sacha Washington | 19 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 13 | De’Mauri Flournoy | 15 | 1-6 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 05 | Yaubryon Chambers | 16 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | – | 200 | 21-53 | 4-14 | 6-13 | 10-25 | 35 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 52 |
| Mizzou Tigers Women’s Basketball Upcoming Schedule |
| Sun., January 23 — vs. #25 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. |