COLUMBIA, MO. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (11-6, 1-2) suffered its first home loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion as Alabama (14-2, 2-1) defeated the Tigers, 59-58, Sunday at Mizzou Arena. Mizzou surged in front by two with 2.5 seconds remaining but the Crimson Tide hit its fourth three-pointer in 25 attempts with less than a second left to snatch the win.
Sophomore guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) delivered another brilliant performance for Mizzou, pouring in a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) shooting. Cunningham scored all eight of Mizzou’s second quarter points. The sophomore also recorded six rebounds and three assists in the loss.
Sophomore forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) continued her steady strong play in the post. Porter secured her eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of tough work. She also tied her career-high with five blocked shots to help Mizzou set a new season high for blocked shots as a team with eight swats.
Mizzou was solid from the foul line, shooting a collective 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the charity stripe. It marks the seventh time this season that Mizzou has shot over 80 percent from the free throw line in a game.
Mizzou opened the game strong on both ends, building an 11-2 lead in the first 5:32 of play. The Tiger defense was key in the first quarter as Mizzou scored nine of its 13 first quarter points off of Alabama turnovers.
Cunningham was dominant in the first half, finishing the first 20 minutes with 15 points on 6-of-10 (60 percent) shooting. Despite Cunningham’s efforts, Alabama erased an early deficit and battled back to tie the game as the two squads entered halftime with the score knotted at 21-21.
The second half started out just like the first, with Mizzou jumping out to an early lead and Alabama responding to keep the game close. After Mizzou scored the first seven points of the half to go up 28-21, the Crimson Tide put together a 12-0 run seize a 33-28 lead. Both teams traded shots to end the quarter as Mizzou headed to the final frame trailing, 39-35.
The seesaw game continued as it remained tight over the last 10 minutes of action. With the score tied at 54-54, senior guard Sierra Michaelis (Mercer, Mo.) beat the shotclock with a three-pointer from long range to put the Tigers up by three with only 1:03 left in the game.
After Alabama scored, Porter was fouled and made 1-of-2 at the line to give Mizzou a 58-56 edge with three seconds remaining. In the final seconds, Alabama’s Quanetria Bolton hit her third three-pointer of the game to hand the Crimson Tide a 59-58 victory.
Mizzou continues its SEC slate with a road contest at LSU on Thursday, Jan. 12. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
— Mizzou Athletics —