Sotell’s seven triples made the difference for the Tigers in the win
It took Mizzou women’s basketball 45 minutes to finally put away Kansas City 71-67 in overtime. The Tigers went on a 7-3 run to open the overtime period highlighted by Chloe Sotell’s seventh and final triple. They held this lead until the very end despite the Roos bringing it as close as one with 11 seconds remaining. Luckily for Mizzou they made their free throws, as Sotell gave the Tigers their four-point lead back on a perfect 2-2 from the line.
Sotell led the Tigers with 23 points thanks to the aforementioned seven triples; she also added six rebounds. Grace Slaughter added 11 rebounds to her dozen points for her fourth double-double in the last eight games. Abbey Schreacke also scored 12; all of which came on triples, finishing 4-7 from beyond the arc. Jordana Reisma was the final Tiger in double-digits with 11 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
“I think everyone did little things that helped us obviously get the result we wanted, but it wasn’t our best night and we’ll come back from that,” Sotell said after the game.
Threes were the difference for Mizzou in the win, making 12-37 compared to 5-23 for the Roos. The Tigers also won the FT battle, finishing 13-16 at the line compared to 8-12 for Kansas City.
“We are going to shoot a lot of threes, we know that,” head coach Kellie Harper said. “I think we’re better shooters, I think we’re more efficient offensively when we do have some interior action.”
The biggest struggle for the Tigers was turnovers. The team’s 18 miscues directly led to 15 points for the Roos, who despite their 3-9 record coming into the game, are known for generating turnovers. Ultimately, this kept Mizzou from separating itself in regulation and will be something to continually monitor in SEC play. Another challenge came from Shannon Dowell missing her second consecutive game with a lower body injury, taking away one of the Tigers’ biggest scoring threats. Dowell is considered day-to-day, and will likely (editor’s note: hopefully!) be back to kick off the SEC slate.
Here’s how the rest of the game played out:
Mizzou got off to a slow start, trailing Kansas City 14-13 at the end of the first quarter. An early 7-4 Tiger lead quickly dissipated as the Roos went on an 8-0 run in the middle of the quarter. A big part of this run was their defense, forcing six Mizzou turnovers. Schreacke was the Tigers’ leading scorer in the quarter with six points on a pair of triples.
Mizzou trailed at the half 36-34 after being unable to separate themselves from Kansas City. Both teams picked up the offense in the second quarter, combining for 43 points. The Roos started strong on a 17-11 run in the first six minutes thanks to a pair of threes, but the Tigers fought back with a 10-2 run of their own to take their only lead of the quarter, 34-33. However, that didn’t last long thanks to three made free throws from the Roos to retake the lead heading into the half. Schreacke made two additional threes and was the only Tigers with double-digit points at halftime.
The Tigers started the third quarter on a massive 12-3 run thanks to a plethora of free throws and two threes from Sotell, but shortly after Mizzou was ice cold from the field, not scoring for the next four minutes as Kansas City retook a four-point lead, 50-46, through 30 minutes. Sotell made the only two field goals in the quarter for the Tigers as Mizzou shot 2-12 in the frame.
Mizzou started the fourth quarter strong and were in complete control early with a 15-5 run thanks in large part to two more triples from Chloe Sotell, giving her a career-high tying 18 points through four quarters.
But the Roos refused to go away, holding the Tigers scoreless for the final three minutes of regulation with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 61. Both teams got one final chance to win the game in regulation but could not convert. The Tigers survived in overtime thanks to a fast start and converting on their FTs down the stretch.
Mizzou is now 12-3 on the season, finishing with their best record at the end of the non-conference slate since the 2022-23 season. While the Tigers escaped with the win, they will have to play a much stronger game if they hope to upset No. 1 Texas in the SEC opener at 6:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day from Mizzou Arena.
Category: General Sports
