COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball has been selected to compete in the 2019 Women’s Cancun Challenge, as announced Thursday by the tournament officials. Mizzou will face New Mexico and North Carolina as the tournament will take place over Thanksgiving week (Nov. 28-29) at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera.

It will be the second time Mizzou has competed in the Cancun Challenge, after the Tigers went 1-2 at the 2012 Tournament.

This year’s Cancun Challenge field features 10 teams in two formats. The Mayan Tournament includes Florida Gulf Coast, Notre Dame, South Dakota State and South Florida, while the Riviera Tournament features Creighton, Mizzou, New Mexico, North Carolina, Temple and West Virginia. Games take place in the modified ballroom of the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, in a setting where teams and fans can walk from their rooms to the restaurants to the games.

Mizzou will play two games in the tournament, first facing off against New Mexico on Thursday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. CT, followed by a matchup with North Carolina on Friday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. CT. Mizzou is 2-1 all-time against New Mexico, and 0-1 against North Carolina. The Lobos are coming off a 24-7 and WNIT appearance in 2018-19, while the Tar Heels are coming off an 18-15 campaign and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018-19.

In 2019-20, Mizzou will return three players who started a majority of Mizzou’s games in 2018-19, including second-leading scorer senior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) who averaged 12.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in her junior campaign. Also returning for the Tigers will be senior guard Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) and redshirt senior forward Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.), who started 24 and 19 games, respectively, in 2018-19. Roundtree averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while Schuchts scored 3.7 points per game and the team in blocks with 41.

Cancun Challenge schedule (all times ET, local time Cancun; home team listed second):

Thursday, Nov. 28
Mayan Tournament
South Dakota State vs. South Florida, 11 a.m. ET
Florida Gulf Coast vs. Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m. ET

Riviera Tournament
Mizzou vs. New Mexico, 4 p.m. ET
West Virginia vs. Creighton, 6 :30 p.m. ET
Temple vs. North Carolina, 9 p.m. ET

Friday, Nov. 29
Mayan Tournament
Notre Dame vs. South Dakota State, 11 a.m. ET
South Florida vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 1:30 p.m. ET

Riviera Tournament
New Mexico vs. West Virginia, 4 p.m. ET
North Carolina vs. Mizzou, 6:30 p.m. ET
Creighton vs. Temple, 9 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 30
Mayan Tournament
South Florida vs. Notre Dame, 11 a.m. ET
South Dakota State vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 1:30 p.m. ET

— Mizzou Athletics —

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mizzou Football senior QB Drew Lock was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft on Friday evening. Lock was taken with the draft’s 42nd overall selection, the 10th pick of the second round. Lock is the sixth Tiger selected in the NFL Draft under head coach Barry Odom and is the highest pick since 2017 when Charles Harris was selected 21st overall by the Miami Dolphins.

Lock is the 13th Mizzou player selected in the draft’s first two rounds since 2009, and is the highest drafted Mizzou QB since Blaine Gabbert was taken 10th overall in 2011, a year that Mizzou had a pair of first-round picks.

Lock finished his storied career as a four-year starter with 12,193 career passing yards, becoming just the 35th FBS quarterback to throw for more than 12,000 career yards. His 12,193 career yards are second in SEC history while his 99 career TD passes are the third-most in SEC history. Both his career TD passes and career yard mark are second in Mizzou history, trailing only 2007 Heisman finalist Chase Daniel.

Lock closed his career with 34 games of 200+ passing yards, accomplishing that feat in 29 of his final 32 games. He closed his Mizzou career holding 10 of the top 25 single-game passing yardage marks in school history, the most of any QB in school history. A Missouri native from Lee’s Summit, Mo., Lock also holds eight of the program’s top 25 single game passing efficiency marks, the most in program history.

His final season in black & gold may have been his best as he finished his senior season with career-best marks in completion percentage (62.9%), fewest interceptions (eight), completions (275), rushing yards (175), rushing TDs (six) and accounted for 34 total touchdowns. He went 275-for-437 for 3,498 total yards (second-best single season mark in his career and sixth in school history) and threw for 28 touchdowns and just eight interceptions during his senior season. His combined QB rating during his senior season was 147.65, the second-best of his career and fifth-best in school history.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou forward Jontay Porter announced on Friday that he will officially enter his name in the 2019 NBA Draft pool.

“I’ll be declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft,” Porter said. “I’d like to sincerely thank everyone who has helped me get to this point in my journey, especially my family, coaches and teammates. I’m excited for this next step.”

Porter could become Mizzou’s 46th player selected in the NBA Draft in program history and the second in as many years, joining his brother Michael Porter, Jr., who was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 14th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft. Heading in to the 2019 NBA Draft, Martin has had eight players selected in the last five seasons, including three at Tennessee, four at California-Berkeley and Porter Jr. at Mizzou.

During his freshman campaign with the Tigers, Jontay Porter earned 2017-18 Co-SEC Sixth Man of the Year honors while also being named to the 2017-18 SEC All-Freshman Team. Porter became just the third Tiger in program history receive a conference Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Porter averaged 9.9 points per game while leading the Tigers in both rebounding (6.8 boards per game) and blocked shots (55). The freshman big man steered Mizzou’s attack on the inside, collecting three double-doubles and propelling the team to a 15-2 record on the 17 occasions when he scored in double-digits.

Porter’s best stretch of the season was highlighted by a career-high 24 points at Vanderbilt (Feb. 27) and a 19-point performance against Arkansas (March 3). The impressive two-game stretch earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors. His career night at Vanderbilt was aided by a 9-for-10 performance from the field while he also snagged seven rebounds and dished out six assists. He became the first Tiger to register a 20-5-5 game since the 1998-99 season.

The 2019 NBA Draft is set for June 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou rising junior forward Jeremiah Tilmon announced Monday that he will he enter his name in the 2019 NBA Draft pool in order to test the process, but will take steps to retain his collegiate eligibility to allow a return for his third season in Columbia.

“It’s always been a dream of mine since I started playing basketball to make it to the NBA,” Tilmon said. “I want to get everything I can out of this process. I’m excited to learn from it and get the feedback I need.”

“Jeremiah has a chance to take advantage of a valuable opportunity and gather information through the process to help him moving forward,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “We fully support him using the resources available and we’ll assist him in any way we can.”

Tilmon led Mizzou on the inside during his sophomore campaign, posting 10.1 points per game and grabbing a team-best 183 rebounds. During his Mizzou career, Tilmon has been extremely efficient in the paint, posting field goal percentages above 50 percent in each of his two seasons.

Tilmon is the first Mizzou player to shoot over 50 percent from the field in back-to-back seasons when attempting 200 or more shots since Laurence Bowers did so in both the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. The last Mizzou player to accomplish the feat in his freshman and sophomore seasons was Arthur Johnson in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

The East St. Louis native also saw improvement in SEC action from year one to year two, posting a better clip from the field (54.4 percent) and 2.6 more points per game while committing 10 fewer turnovers. Tilmon’s player efficiency rating during conference play soared from to 9.9 to 17.8 from his freshman to sophomore year.

During his two seasons at Mizzou, Tilmon has collected six double-doubles, scored in double digits 27 times and has reached the 20-point barrier on a pair of occasions.

The NCAA deadline for withdrawal from the NBA Draft is May 29.

— Mizzou Athletics —

NEW YORK – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was selected by the Phoenix Mercury with the first pick in the second round of Wednesday’s WNBA Draft. Cunningham’s 13th overall selection is the highest a Mizzou player has ever been drafted in the WNBA Draft.

Cunningham surpasses Amanda Lassiter, who was selected by the Houston Comets with the 15th pick of the first round in 2001. Cunningham is the first Mizzou player to be drafted since Bri Kulas in 2014, and the third selection during head coach Robin Pingeton’s tenure, following Kulas and Christine Flores in 2012.

Cunningham received AP and USWBA All-America Third Team and WBCA All-America Honorable Mention honors after helping guide Mizzou to its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018-19. She earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors after outstanding sophomore and junior campaigns.

Cunningham was named to her third straight All-SEC First Team by the league’s coaches, becoming the first player in program history to earn All-Conference First Team honors in three consecutive seasons. In addition, she was named to the All-SEC First Team by the Associated Press for the second straight season.

Cunningham closed her Mizzou career as Mizzou’s all-time scoring leader, finishing her historic career with 2,187 points. Among program records, Cunningham also ranks first in free throws made (537), second in three-pointers made (238), third in three-point percentage (40.3), third in free throw percentage (83.9), fourth in points per game (17.0) and fourth in assists (390).

In her senior campaign, Cunningham was the only player to average 17.0 ppg, make 80 three-pointers, make 150 free throws and record 200 rebounds. In conference play, Cunningham led the SEC in three-point shooting (46.5 percent) and threes per game (2.9). She reached 20 points in 16 games this season, including 10 times against SEC opponents, and 30 points four times.

Cunningham earned SEC All-Tournament honors after averaging 25.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg at the SEC Tournament, as she became the first Mizzou player to earn All-Tournament honors since 1994.

— Mizzou Athletics —

TAMPA, Fla. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) has named Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America Honorable Mention, as announced on Thursday. It is the third consecutive season Cunningham has received honorable mention honors from the WBCA.

The nod is Cunningham’s third All-America honor for her senior campaign, after she was announced to the All-America Third Team by the Associated Press on Monday and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday.

Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors after outstanding sophomore and junior campaigns. Cunningham was recently named to her third straight All-SEC First Team by the league’s coaches, becoming the first player in program history to earn All-Conference First Team honors in three consecutive seasons. In addition, she was named to the All-SEC First Team by the Associated Press for the second straight season.

Cunningham closed her Mizzou career as Mizzou’s all-time scoring leader, finishing her historic career with 2,187 points. Among program records, Cunningham also ranks first in free throws made (537), second in three-pointers made (238), third in three-point percentage (40.3), third in free throw percentage (83.9), fourth in points per game (17.0) and fourth in assists (390).

In her senior campaign, Cunningham was the only player to average 17.0 ppg, make 80 three-pointers, make 150 free throws and record 200 rebounds. ). In conference play, Cunningham led the SEC in three-point shooting (46.5 percent) and threes per game (2.9). She reached 20 points in 16 games this season, including 10 times against SEC opponents, and 30 points four times.

Cunningham earned SEC All-Tournament honors after averaging 25.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg at the SEC Tournament, as she became the first Mizzou player to earn All-Tournament honors since 1994.

— Mizzou Athletics —

ST. LOUIS – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Third Team, as announced Tuesday. Cunningham is the first player in program history to earn USBWA All-America recognition.

It is the second All-America honor in as many days for Cunningham, who was named to the Associated Press All-America Third Team on Monday.

Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors after outstanding sophomore and junior campaigns. Cunningham was recently named to her third straight All-SEC First Team by the league’s coaches, becoming the first player in program history to earn All-Conference First Team honors in three consecutive seasons. In addition, she was named to the All-SEC First Team by the AP for the second straight season.

Cunningham closed her Mizzou career as Mizzou’s all-time scoring leader, finishing her historic career with 2,187 points. Among program records, Cunningham also ranks first in free throws made (537), second in three-pointers made (238), third in three-point percentage (40.3), third in free throw percentage (83.9), fourth in points per game (17.0) and fourth in assists (390).

In her senior campaign, Cunningham was the only player to average 17.0 ppg, make 80 three-pointers, make 150 free throws and record 200 rebounds. ). In conference play, Cunningham led the SEC in three-point shooting (46.5 percent) and threes per game (2.9). She reached 20 points in 16 games this season, including 10 times against SEC opponents, and 30 points four times.

Cunningham earned SEC All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 25.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg at the SEC Tournament, as she became the first Mizzou player to earn All-Tournament honors since 1994.

— Mizzou Athletics —

NEW YORK – Mizzou Women’s Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was named to the Associated Press All-America Third Team, announced Monday. Cunningham is the program’s first AP All-American.

Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors after outstanding sophomore and junior campaigns. Cunningham was recently named to her third straight All-SEC First Team by the league’s coaches, the first player in program history to earn All-Conference First Team honors in three consecutive seasons. In addition, she was named to the All-SEC First Team by the AP for the second straight season.

Cunningham closed her Mizzou career as Mizzou’s all-time scoring leader, finishing her historic career with 2,187 points. Among program records, Cunningham also ranks first in free throws made (537), second in three-pointers made (238), third in three-point percentage (40.3), third in free throw percentage (83.9), fourth in points per game (17.0) and fourth in assists (390).

In her senior campaign, Cunningham was the nation’s only player to average 17.0 ppg, make 80 three-pointers, make 150 free throws and record 200 rebounds. In conference play, Cunningham led the SEC in three-point shooting (46.5 percent) and threes per game (2.9). She reached 20 points in 16 games this season, including 10 times against SEC opponents, and 30 points four times.

Cunningham earned SEC All-Tournament honors after averaging 25.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg at the SEC Tournament, as she became the first Mizzou player to earn All-Tournament honors since 1994.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri took the next step in the process of appealing overly-harsh sanctions imposed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Committee on Infractions by filing its 64-page appeals brief with the organization’s Appeals Committee Monday afternoon.

“We believe that the penalties our programs received were a clear abuse of the Committee’s discretion based upon existing NCAA bylaws. Our staff and legal team have worked tirelessly to research and develop a well-written appeal that accurately reflects our position,” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. “We look forward to having the opportunity to meet face to face with the NCAA Appeals Committee later this year, and it is our sincere hope that at the end of this process, the penalties assessed are consistent with the nature of the violations and take into account our swift response.”

In its appeals brief, the University argues the following:

–  The penalties handed down were contrary to NCAA case precedent;

–  They were not supported, or appropriate, given the nature of the violations;

–  They could have a chilling effect on future NCAA enforcement processes.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions now has 30 days to respond to Mizzou’s appeal, and following that, an in-person hearing date will be established for Mizzou to appear before the NCAA Appeals Committee.

“A message is sent to the membership every time the NCAA Committee on Infractions adjudicates cases. In this instance, the message is loud and clear that neither proactive self-reporting nor exemplary cooperation is of any value to the committee. I am shocked this is the message the NCAA wants to send to its membership in today’s climate,” Sterk added.

On Jan. 31, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions imposed severe penalties on Mizzou’s football, baseball and softball programs in the form of postseason bans, as well as scholarship and recruiting restrictions. The sweeping sanctions were completely unexpected because the violations resulted from the actions made by a single, rogue, part-time employee who acted on her own. The university self-reported the incident as soon as officials became aware.

“As the university prepared its vigorous response to these unfair penalties, the spirits of our student-athletes have been buoyed by the widespread support of our students, alumni, university supporters and our elected officials in Jefferson City and in Washington D.C. That unified support has been most gratifying for all of us associated with this great institution,” Sterk said. “We will continue to work diligently to make this situation right for our student-athletes, coaches and fans who are impacted by these penalties as they now stand.”

— Mizzou Athletics —

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Megan Gustafson and the surging Hawkeyes are off to the Sweet 16.

Iowa might evolve into a true Final Four contender if Gustafson can get the kind of help that she got from her teammates on Sunday.

Gustafson scored 24 points with 19 rebounds, Makenzie Meyer added 18 points and second-seeded Iowa pounded Missouri 68-52 to advance to its second Sweet 16 in five years.

Kathleen Doyle scored 15 points for the Hawkeyes (28-6), who held the Tigers to 36 percent shooting and blew them away with a blistering 23-4 run in the second half. They’ll face either Kentucky or North Carolina State, who play each other on Monday, in the semifinals of the Greensboro Regional next week.

“We are just wanting to keep playing basketball,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “We want to make it to the Sweet Sixteen because it’s a huge accomplishment. But it’s not about a legacy. It’s more about a sentiment; it’s more about being together.”

Gustafson was brilliant in the first two rounds, combining for 54 points and 35 rebounds. But the Hawkeyes showed how truly dangerous they can be when Gustafson’s teammates turn up the pressure on defense and take advantage of the attention their star center demands on the other end.

“We made them work really hard to get shots. And Megan was there to clean up the boards,” Bluder said. “They were just not getting any really good looks. When we were able to keep getting defensive stops, it gave us a mental edge.

Tania Davis hit her first 3 of the game to open the fourth quarter, putting Iowa up 50-41, and Meyer’s corner 3 pushed the lead to 13. Gustafson’s jumper over two defenders made it 60-43 with 4:21 to go, capping a spurt that helped Iowa clinch its highest win total in 31 years.

“We really can’t control a lot of things, but we’re able to control our effort on defense,” Gustafson said.

Amber Smith scored 21 points for Missouri (24-11). The Tigers bowed out in the second round for the third time in four years after scoring just 23 points in the second half.

Iowa held Mizzou star Sophie Cunningham to just eight points — 10 below her average — on 3 of 11 shooting.

“We didn’t feel like we could take away everything. Megan demands so much attention. The last thing we wanted to do was give up 3s and easy touches inside,” Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said. “It makes it hard when you’re having a hard time scoring.”

Iowa struggled mightily in beating 15th-seeded Mercer on Friday, and it got off to another sluggish start that was punctuated when Missouri’s Jordan Roundtree hit a half-court bank shot to beat the first-quarter buzzer.

Iowa finally woke up in the second quarter.

The Hawkeyes shored up their defense and started feeding Gustafson in the post, fueling a 15-2 run that put the Hawkeyes ahead 33-29 at the break. Missouri responded, tying the game at 39 on an Smith jumper, but Gustafson buried two more inside jumpers to push Iowa ahead 47-41 heading into the fourth.

THE BIG PICTURE

Iowa: Gustafson received a standing ovation when she was finally pulled from her final home game with 22.4 seconds to go. “It was a bittersweet moment (leaving the court the final time), but mostly sweet because we’re moving onto the Sweet 16,” Gustafson said.

Missouri: The Tigers’ senior class elevated the program to new heights even though they never led the team past the second round. Missouri will likely go through a rebuild next season with starters Cunningham, Cierra Porter and Lauren Aldridge set to graduate.

OOPS

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder grabbed a microphone and screamed “How `bout them Hawks!” before launching into a speech thanking the crowd for their support shortly after the game. But before Bluder could blurt out her first sentence, the Missouri band started playing its final song of the season. Bluder said “I’ll wait” and stopped talking, but the crowd drowned out Mizzou’s pep band with their trademark “Let’s Go Hawks!” chant.

— Associated Press —