Mizzou women’s basketball secures first win of the Kellie Harper era

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Mizzou women's basketball team survived a close game against Central Arkansas, on Monday night, to open up head coach Kellie Harper's first season with a victory. A couple of clutch buckets down the stretch from transfers Chloe Sotell and Jayla Smith led to a 78-71 win at the Arena.

The Tigers had a balanced scoring attack against the Sugar Bears, as nine players got into the scoring column. Junior guard Shannon Dowell led her team in scoring with 20 points, along with 12 rebounds. She is the first player to lead the team in scoring in their Mizzou debut since Tiger legend Sophie Cunningham did it in 2015.

Junior guard Grace Slaughter and senior forward Jordana Reisma were the only other MU players to get into double-digits, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Reisma ended up with a double-double, adding 13 rebounds onto the box score, as well.

Although it was the season opener, it was a much-needed win for Coach Harper's crew, as the team looked to bounce back from a loss to Division II Maryville in exhibition action. After that preseason loss, Harper challenged her team's competitiveness and they responded, on Monday night.

That being said, there's still plenty to work on, as Mizzou marches forward into non-conference play. For example, MU struggled from 3-point range for the second-straight game, going just 5-for-18 from beyond the arc against Central Arkansas.

Up next - the Tigers will hit the road to face Tulane on Thursday. Tip off is slated for 6:30 p.m.