Shannon Dowell did everything she could, but it just wasn’t enough. The junior’s career-high couldn’t overcome an Oklahoma team with Final Four aspirations, falling 84-78.
Dowell finished the game with a season-high 33 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double since November. She shot 14-22 from the field while consistently getting to the free throw line, drawing 13 fouls. This was a huge bounceback game for her after averaging under 10 points the last four games against some difficult opponents.
“A game like this means a lot to me,” Dowell said. “For our team, we were able to stay so close. We’ve had a tough stretch … I think it was a good confidence building for our team.”
But that didn’t directly translate to success as Dowell ended the game 4-10 from the stripe.
Oklahoma found just enough room to separate themselves through the rebounding game. The Sooners held a monstrous 55-34 advantage on the glass, specifically 20-6 in offensive rebounds. The visitors turned those extra opportunities into 19 second chance points compared to 7 for Mizzou.
Another step in the right direction was the fact that the Tigers finished the game with 11 turnovers, their lowest mark since Jan. 11 against Alabama.
“ I thought our team has responded,” head coach Kellie Harper said. “I think they understand the urgency of being able to take care of the basketball.”
By contrast Mizzou forced 12 turnovers, forcing Oklahoma into silly mistakes like travels or offensive fouls. Jayla Smith was the prime representative of that success, forcing two steals and finishing with no turnovers of her own.
Grace Slaughter was the second-leading scorer once again, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds. But she struggled with efficiency, finishing 5-16 from the field and 0-7 from three. While it wasn’t of a failure of a game for the star, you have to wonder what happens if just two of those threes go down.
Here’s how the game played out from Mizzou Arena:
Mizzou fell behind from the jump as Oklahoma led 25-16 at the end of the first quarter. The Tigers struggled to shut down the Sooner offense, with the visitors consistently making the extra pass for easy shots at the rim. Senior Saniah Tyler made the most of her third consecutive start early with six points thanks to a pair of triples. All three seniors were inserted into the starting lineup on Senior Day, including Jordana Reisma in her return from injury. The senior forward was the third highest scorer in the game with 13 points.
While Oklahoma threatened to pull away, the Tigers pushed back to cut the deficit to six at halftime. The Sooners were limited to 15 points in the quarter, shooting 1-8 from three. Dowell is starting to look more and more like her usual self, bring a higher level of aggressiveness against the Sooners. She scored 12 points in the first half as the only Tiger in double-digits through 20 minutes.
But that momentum dissipated in the third quarter as Oklahoma outscored Mizzou 28-16 in the third to take a 68-50 lead. The Sooners offense got rolling with 27 points in the frame, shooting 9-18 from the field and 3-6 from three. While the Tigers offense couldn’t quite match the firepower in the frame, Dowell scored another six to give Mizzou a chance in the fourth quarter.
Dowell led the team to a strong final 10 minutes, outscoring the Sooners 28-17 and cutting the final deficit to six. She scored 15 points in the final frame to finally eclipse her season high as a Tiger. But Oklahoma did just enough, as Raegen Beers shut the door with 7 fourth quarter points on 3-4 shooting.
With the loss, Mizzou finishes the regular season as the No. 14 team in the conference with a 4-12 conference record and 16-15 overall. This marks the overall/conference wins since the 2022-23 season for the Tigers.
“I don’t know how many people give us 16 wins [before the season],” Harper said. “I think maybe a few more we could have gotten. But every coach is going to see if you say that we will always want more.”
The Tigers will play No. 11 Alabama in the opening round of the SEC Tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Greenville. The two teams met in Columbia in January, with the Tide walking away with the 74-63 win.
