COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball downed Western Illinois, 71-68, in a tight battle on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena. Mizzou (5-2) used clutch free throws and defensive stops in the final minute to prevail over the Leathernecks, who made 11 three-pointers in the contest.
Sophomore Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) tallied 13 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots. She has three double-doubles this season and has reached double figures in all seven of Mizzou’s games so far in 2016-17. Do-it-all sophomore Sophie Cunningham recorded a double-double of her own with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Cunningham scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half to lead Mizzou to a victory.
Freshman Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) recorded 11 points for her third double-digit performance in the last four games. She also matched her career-high with four rebounds. Chavis accounted for 11 of Mizzou’s 21 bench points and hit three 3-pointers. The freshman has made 12 treys this season.
Porter and Chavis sparked the Mizzou offense in the second quarter, engineering a 10-0 run that gave the Tigers a 29-24 advantage. After back-to-back buckets down low by Porter, Chavis gave Mizzou its first lead of the frame after sinking her second three-pointer. Western Illinois responded to the momentum swing and clawed back to tie it at 31-31, but Chavis drilled another long ball with eight seconds remaining to give Mizzou a 34-31 edge at halftime.
It was a back-and-forth contest throughout the second half as the lead changed 12 times in the final 20 minutes of play. A last-second layup by Cunningham handed Mizzou a 53-52 lead at the end of the third quarter. The sophomore guard went for 5-for-10 from the floor in the second half.
The fourth quarter remained tight as the score was even at 68-68 with 1:17 remaining. Cunningham drew a foul on the Tigers’ ensuing possession to garner two free throws. She drained them both to put Mizzou ahead, 70-68. Redshirt senior guard Lianna Doty (St. Louis, Mo.) came up with the big defensive play on the other end, forcing a Western Illinois turnover. Doty finished with seven assists, five rebounds and five steals in 26 solid minutes.
Cunningham added another free throw to give Mizzou a three-point lead and the Tigers sealed its fifth win of the season with one more defensive stop.
Mizzou finishes a two-game home stand when it hosts Missouri State on Friday at Mizzou Arena. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
— MU Athletics —