Mizzou’s winning streak comes to screeching halt with loss to Georgia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
It had been 17 days since the Mizzou women's basketball team had last experienced a loss, but that feeling returned, on Sunday evening, with a 85-66 loss to Georgia. With the defeat, the Bulldogs snapped the Tigers' three-game winning streak.
With the loss, head coach Kellie Harper and her team fell to 16-10 overall and 4-7 in league play.
Mizzou was within striking distance of Georgia for a good portion of the first half, as the group had a possession game on their hands with a little more than seven minutes until halftime. However, the momentum shifted, quickly, when UGA out-scored Mizzou 18-7 in those final minutes before the break.
Coming out of the locker room with a 13-point deficit, MU got to work in the third quarter. The Bulldogs did manage to keep the home team at an arm's length, but Harper's group finally managed to get back within 10 at the end of the third. However, that was closest that Mizzou would get to UGA for the rest of the matchup.
Guard Rylie Theuerkauf proved to much for the Tiger defense to contain, on Sunday, ending up with a game-high 22 points. She also had two teams get into double-digit scoring, as well.
On the Mizzou side, guard Shannon Dowell paved the way with a team-best 16 points, along with four rebounds and one steal. The other half of MU's one-two punch, guard Grace Slaughter, did it all for her team, on Sunday, ending the day with 10 points and eight rebounds. The only other Tiger to get into double-figures was guard Lisa Thompson, who recorded 14 points.
Overall, it was an off shooting night for Harper's team. The Tigers shot just 40 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3-point range.
In addition to struggles in the shooting department, Mizzou really felt the loss of 6-foot-3 forward Jordana Reisma, who missed her second-straight game with an undisclosed lower leg injury. As a result, MU go out-rebounded 44-31.
Up next - first-year head coach Kellie Harper has an emotional homecoming on the books. She will return to her alma mater and the place she coached at for five seasons, when the Tigers make the trip to Thompson-Boling Arena to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Thursday. Tip off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
