BOULDER, Colo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (10-0) became the first team in program history to start a season 10-0 with a hard-fought 79-75 victory over Colorado (4-5) on Saturday afternoon at the Coors Events Center. Sierra Michaelis and Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) both scored a season-high 21 points as the Tigers shot 46 percent (26-for-57) from the field, 53 percent (8-for-15) from 3-point range and 76 percent (19-for-25) from the foul line for the game.

“This was a big win for us on the road, and I’m really proud of our team,” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “Colorado has a really nice team and they played a great game.

“We’ve got bigger goals and a bigger picture in mind. We’ve got to continue to get better and continue to work hard, although we are very pleased with where we are at.”

The Tigers opened the game shooting the ball well and held a 5-point lead at 23-18 at the end of the first quarter. Colorado then caught fire and outscored Mizzou 29-17 in the second quarter to take a 47-40 lead at half. The Buffs were 7-for-9 (78 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half.

Mizzou answered in the third quarter, outscoring CU 22-16 to trail 63-62 heading into the final 10 minutes. Kayla McDowell (Cincinnati, Ohio) gave Mizzou the lead 15 seconds into the final period before the Buffs battled back. With 7:38 remaining, Michaelis drained a jumper to tie the score at 67-67 and then Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) drained a 3-pointer with 5:00 left to put the Tigers ahead 70-67, a lead that would not be relinquished for the remainder of the game.

CU pulled within one at 72-71 with 3:30 left on a layup by Zoe Beard-Fails but Porter answered with a jumper a minute later. McDowell and Lindsey Cunningham both added two free throws to seal the victory. Mizzou outscored CU 17-12 during the final quarter.

Jordan Frericks (Quincy, Ill.) finished with nine points and seven rebounds while Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) added seven points, eight boards and three assists. The Tigers forced 15 turnovers and held a 21-11 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.

Jamee Swan led CU with 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Kennedy Leonard added 14 points and five assists.

The Tigers will take a break from game action this week as the student-athletes complete the academic semester with final exams. Mizzou returns to action with home games on back-to-back days vs. Lamar at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Dec. 20 and vs. Texas State on Monday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. CT.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri System Board of Curators today approved the initial contract terms for newly-minted Head Football Coach Barry Odom.  The Board approved a memorandum of understanding, which outlines a majority of the contractual points, with additional details yet to be determined related to potential incentive compensation.  The memorandum stands in place of the fully-executed contract, until that is finalized.

Terms of the agreement call for Odom to be paid $2,350,000 guaranteed annually, which includes a base salary of $450,000, plus a guaranteed non-salary compensation amount of $1,900,000.  The last figure covers guarantees of $475,000 each in four different categories related to operating the football program: radio appearances, television appearances, apparel rights, and public relations and stewardship appearances.  Odom will also receive an annuity payment in the amount of $100,000 per year ($500,000 total) contingent upon his being in good standing on the final date of his contract period.

“I’m very grateful to Mack Rhoades, Chancellor Hank Foley, President Mike Middleton, the Board of Curators and the entire university administration for this opportunity,” Odom said. “Through this process they have shown an unwavering commitment to provide us with the resources we need to attract and retain an elite staff and support our student-athletes in order to compete at the highest level.”

Odom’s final contract will also include a highly-competitive incentive structure worth up to $1.5 million in additional compensation per year.  The mutually agreed upon performance incentives will be related to academic performance, social responsibility, athletic performance and coaching recognition.  Those are still to be determined, and will be released with the fully-executed contract when available.

The contract went into effect on Dec. 3, 2015 and runs through Feb. 28, 2021, with a mutual option for a two-year extension.

Odom would receive a $250,000 non-salary compensation increase should his Tigers win a conference championship, as well as a similar $250,000 increase should Mizzou participate in a “New Year’s Six” bowl game (i.e., Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose, Sugar).  Those increases would be added to the non-salary figure a maximum of one time each for the remainder of the contract term.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football senior LB Kentrell Brothers (Guthrie, Okla.) earned a trio of All-America honors over the course of Wednesday and Thursday (Dec. 9-10). Brothers was named First Team All-America by both Sports Illustrated and CBSSports.com and landed second team honors from the Walter Camp Foundation.

Brothers is the first Mizzou LB ever to be honored as a first-team All-American by any publication and just the second Mizzou LB ever to earn any All-America distinction, joining Sean Weatherspoon who was a third team honoree by the Associated Press in 2008.

Walter Camp is the first of the five major organizations recognized by the NCAA for consensus All-American distinction to announce their All-America honorees. The other four (Associated Press, Football Writers Association of American and the American Football Coaches Association) will be announced in the coming days.

Brothers put together one of the most prolific seasons in MU history in 2015, and was named a first-team All-SEC performer for his efforts.  The tackling machine ended the season with 152 total tackles, which leads the nation (next-most is 140), while his 12.7 tackles per game mark is also tops in the country.  He is also second in the nation in 2015 with three blocked kicks on the year.  The 152 tackles ranks as the 4th-most in Mizzou season history, and gave him 358 for his career, which puts him 8th all-time on the MU career chart. He became the first Tiger in the Gary Pinkel era with seven consecutive games of 10+ tackles to close the season. He broke the 15 tackle mark four times in 2015 and added 12.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions and was second in the nation with three blocked kicks.

— Mizzou Athletics —