Jordan and Pippen. Shaq and Kobe. Sabrina and Stewie. Basketball is a game that thrives on great duos, usually that bring varying skill sets to the table. It’s been quite some time since Mizzou women’s
basketball has had an elite duo. The last time the Tigers had two players average 15-plus points was the 2021-22 season with Aijha Blackwell and Hayley Frank. But for the first time in over a decade, Mizzou has two players averaging 18-plus points with Grace Slaughter and Shannon Dowell. Even during the Sophie Cunningham years it was a one-woman show with some supplemental pieces.
Mizzou fans knew what they were getting from Grace Slaughter, a two-year SEC starter where everything about her has screamed WNBA potential. That growth has been linear, with Slaughter averaging just a hair under 20 points while averaging a career-high 7.5 rebounds on incredible splits.
Shannon Dowell was more of an unknown commodity, transferring in from Illinois State. Dowell was immediately identified as an impact transfer, thanks to averaging 17.6 points as a sophomore for the Redbirds. Her experience spoke for herself, starting 56 of a possible 71 games in her first two years. I viewed her as a day one starter, a sentiment that head coach Kellie Harper clearly shared.
She has immediately emerged as a top two player on the team, averaging 18.2 points and leading the team with 8.3 rebounds. While her and Slaughter’s stats are quite similar, the way they achieve that is quite different. Slaughter is a much larger threat from deep, with 22 made threes while shooting 43.1% . Dowell is much stronger when it comes to attacking the paint and drawing contact. Thus far, she leads the team with 55 free throw makes, converting at a rate of 78.6%.
“Shannon’s looking to go downhill on every possession,” head coach Kellie Harper said after Thursday’s buzzer beating heroics. “She’ll go in and take some contact, and that’s what’s getting her to the free throw line. She’s got a great burst, and she’s got a really good change of speed, which allows her to get by defenders, and she’s going to score.”
Each player got to show off those skills in the most recent 68-67 win against California, where Mizzou needed every point. Dowell led the team with 25 points and seven rebounds, making 7-8 free throws plus the game-winning layup with two seconds remaining. Slaughter was the other Tiger in double-digits, scoring 21 points while collecting 10 rebounds on 3-5 from three. These two have created a level of unpredictability to the Mizzou offense, where it can be run through either of these two engines.
“Having a couple players that we can run a lot of plays to because they’re that aggressive, that’s important for our offense,” Harper said. “It opens up some opportunities for other people, because those two are really hard to guard 1-on-1…anytime you can beat your man, it opens up the floor for other people to make plays as well.”
But perhaps the most dangerous thing about this duo is that they still have a long way to grow. They are both juniors who are on track to have career seasons; with one more year of eligibility to get even better. Plus, with Dowell transferring in, she and Slaughter have had a limited time to build chemistry. But in that short time, they have become one of the more formidable duos in the sport.
“It’s a lot of fun to play with Shannon,” Slaughter said. “I think we’re still getting used to each other as we continue to play and grow together.”
Dowell and Slaughter have been integral parts to the Tigers’ 8-2 start; the best franchise start during my time at Mizzou. The team has picked up back-to-back wins against power conference teams, taking care of business in the non-con. There are five more games before conference play starts, including a key rivalry showdown with Illinois next week. The duo has made this all possible, as they hope to build a strong enough resume to lead Mizzou to its first NCAA tournament since 2019 in Harper’s first year.
