It’s a full week for Mizzou women’s basketball, as they look to bounce back from its first loss of the season against kU with a pair of home games before traveling to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex
for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Showcase.
While the Tigers lost the matchup, they learned a lot from the showdown with the hated Jayhawks.
“I didn’t think we executed the scouting report as well as we’ve done. So I’d like to see us be able to do that a little bit better,” head coach Kellie Harper said at Monday’s media availability. “Offensively, although we scored a lot, we left a few opportunities out there with it, whether it was a missed execution or turnovers…I thought it was an intense game entire 40 minutes. I thought we competed, and I thought we were we had a pretty good mindset. I love to see the competitiveness. So I think we can find some growth there.”
The Tigers have been given a prime chance to bounce back, however, with three games against mid-major opponents, two of them at home. Here’s what you need to know as the Tigers prepare for showdowns with Southern Illinois, Troy and Washington State.
Saluki Showdown
The first game of the week comes against the Southern Illinois Salukis on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers are 9-5 against the Salukis, winning the last matchup by 32 in Columbia in 2020.
Southern Illinois is coming off a horrendous year where they finished 4-26 and 2-18 in the Missouri Valley Conference. They aren’t off to a better start this time around, picking up a win against D2 Lewis before losing by 25 to Purdue-Fort Wayne on the road.
The difference between the win and the loss came in the production off the bench. Southern Illinois led in bench points 23-2 but trailed Purdue Fort Wayne 28-12 in that same category. For a Mizzou team that has a short bench where depth contributions have been an issue early, this is a category to keep an eye on.
One player who has stuck out for the Salukis through two games is guard Alayna Kraus. She has averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds on splits of 48/25/89. She led the team in scoring in the Purdue-Fort Wayne loss with 20 points on 7-16 shooting. If Mizzou plans to keep Southern Illinois in check, they can’t afford to have Kraus go off for a big night.
Tango with Troy
The second home game of the week is Thursday morning for Education Day (i.e. Columbia Public Schools field trip day) against Troy. Mizzou is 2-0 against the Trojans all time, winning the last matchup in Columbia back in 2021.
Troy is coming off a season where they finished 24-14, 13-5 in the Sun Belt. They qualified for the WNIT, where they reached the next round before ultimately falling to Buffalo. That momentum has continued into the new season, where they have started 3-0 with wins over Toledo, Mississippi Valley State and Chattanooga. The big advantage for this team in the turnover margin, forcing 78 turnovers while only giving up 58 through three games. The Trojans turned those 78 takeaways into 85 points.
Senior forward Fortuna Ngnawo has been an unstoppable force, averaging 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. Her best game came against MVSU, where she scored 22 points with four blocks and two steals. For a Mizzou team that is lacking in size, Ngnawo is a matchup nightmare. As a result she will be the responsibility of likely either Jordana Reisma or Jayla Smith.
Florida Feasting
The Tigers prep for another neutral game against Washington State on Sunday from the ESPN complex in Orland. This is the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Washington State, also referred to as Wazzu, is coming off a strong season where they finished 21-14 and made the second round of the WNIT. Things have been less smooth this time around, as the Cougars have started this season 0-4 with losses to Idaho, UNLV, Southern Utah and Stanford. Perhaps the biggest struggle for this team has been rebounding, as they have only collected 127 boards compared to 170 for their opponents. If Mizzou hopes to win this game, they must crash the offensive glass.
One player to watch for is guard Eleonora Villa, the only Wazzu player averaging double-digits at 18.5 points per game on shooting splits of 53/31/75. Her best game came in the season opener against Idaho, where she scored 24 points on 10-19 shooting and 2-6 from deep. For Mizzou to secure the win, they have to focus on locking up Villa.
Player to watch: Saniah Tyler
Saniah Tyler returned against kU, looking quite sharp with six points on a pair of triples plus two big steals. For a team that has faced major injury issues, the return of Tyler has made a big impact.
“She’s been chomping at the bit. She was she’s been so excited about getting out there and playing,” Harper said. “I’m really proud of her coming out and playing under control and playing with great energy. That’s what she’s going to give us…she gives us another opportunity, another ball handler out on the court.”
While Tyler did come in off the bench, Harper did confirm that she is likely to see more minutes as she continues to work her way back to 100%. But even in a limited role, her enthusiastic nature and quick pace gave Mizzou a large spark of energy that was sorely needed in Saturday’s game.
We’ll see if Tyler gets the start against Southern Illinois at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday from Mizzou Arena. If you can’t attend, the game will be available to watch on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app.
