Mizzou WBB cites “sisterhood” as key to a special locker room
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou women's basketball team opened up the regular season with a win against in-state foe Missouri State on Monday night. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak against the Bears, but also revealed MU's team chemistry.
Head coach Robin Pingeton returned five major contributors from last season in guards Lauren Hansen, Sara-Rose Smith, Mama Dembele, and Haley Troup, as well as sharp shooting forward Hayley Frank. In the off season, the program added on two freshmen and one transfer.
"When you've been coaching for 30 plus years, you know when you got something special in that locker room and I really feel like we do," Pingeton said. "We've got a long ways to go. We've got a lot of things to work on, but it is such a blessing to go to battle with these young ladies every day."
In the season opener, Smith finished the game with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds. Pingeton said that the Australia-native has a chance to be the team's leading rebounder this season.
Pingeton added that she gets emotional thinking about Smith's journey and how she stayed the course.
"In a day and age where everybody wants instant gratification in the here and now, to find players that are really willing to stick it out and pay their dues and embrace one of our really, really important core values," she said. "Falling in love with the process sounds good, but to go through it is hard. What she did on the court against Missouri State was, I thought, really high-level for us."
Smith said being able to stay in the United State the entire summer and bond with her team, helped her grow in the off season.
"It was great to be with the team and just have that connectivity with the team," she said. "I just feel like it translates straight to back on the court."
Pingeton said that having a locker room filled with players who have all gone through trials and unique journeys is part of what makes it so special. She added when you go through something together and come out on the other side, it results in a much deeper relationship.
Former Notre Dame guard Katlyn Gilbert joined the Tiger squad in the off season. The graduate transfer had her son, Elijah, in March 2022 and put in the work to get back on the court.
"I thought beforehand that it would be like coming back from an injury, but pregnancy kind of like, almost, breaks your body down. I was coming back from square one basically," Gilbert said.
She said she chose Mizzou not for the basketball, but for the family environment she felt when she came on a visit. Gilbert added that her new team has been one of her biggest support systems in her return to the court.
The Tigers will open up Mizzou Arena on Thursday, as the Bradley Braves make the trip to Columbia. Pingeton said her goal is to keep the team from getting too high or too low, as the schedule progresses.
"Everyday just trying to win the day," she said. "You can't always control how the game is going to be officiated, if shots are falling for you, but our effort, our energy, our communication, our resiliency, it's really trying to win those things."
The Tigers and the Braves tip off at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night.
