COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball head coach Robin Pingeton announced a trio of signings for the program’s 2017 recruiting class. Future Tigers Elle Brown (Columbia, Mo.), Nadia Green (Homewood, Ill.) and Kelsey Winfrey (Lebanon, Mo.) all inked National Letters of Intent to play for Mizzou on Wednesday.

“We are really excited to have Elle, Nadia, and Kelsey join our basketball family,” Pingeton said. “They are athletic and talented perimeter players that all bring their own unique skill set.  Not only have they had great success on the court but they are also high character young ladies that will excel in the classroom and be great representatives of our women’s basketball program.”

Brown will continue the program’s tradition of featuring homegrown talent. The 5-foot-11 guard is the daughter of former Mizzou Track & Field All-American and U.S. Olympian, Natasha Brown, and Assistant Athletic Director for the Mizzou Made program, Brian Brown. Elle transferred to Rock Bridge High School for her senior season after three years as a standout at Johnston High School in Iowa.

At Johnston, Brown captained the Dragons to 52 wins over three seasons. As a junior, she averaged 11.9 points per game and steered her squad to a school-record 22 wins. Johnston spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and eventually earned a state runner-up finish. Brown was also a three-time Iowa state championships qualifier in track and field and holds school records in the 400-meter sprint and sprint medley relay.

Brown chose Mizzou over Wisconsin, Iowa and Iowa State, among others. She plans to pursue a degree in textile and apparel management at Mizzou.

Green is a versatile guard from the Chicago area with the ability to play multiple positions. A 5-foot-9 guard, Green averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds during her junior campaign. She earned 2016 IBCA Class 3A/4A Second-Team All-State honors and All-Conference recognition.

Green guided Homewood-Flossmoor High School to a 22-3 record and a sectional title last season. She is a shifty guard with the ability to score from the outside and attack the rim with physicality built for the Southeastern Conference.

Green elected to sign with Pingeton and the Tigers over offers from Cincinnati, Marquette, Purdue and Indiana. She will major in sport management at Mizzou.

Winfrey is the most decorated girls basketball player in Lebanon High School history. She already holds 21 school records after just three seasons, including career points (1,425), career rebounds (579), career assists (212) and career steals (320). The 5-foot-9 guard received 2016 First-Team All-State honors after averaging a school-record 21.2 points per game as a junior.

Winfrey is a three-time First-Team All-Ozark Conference selection, three-time First-Team All-District honoree and was a 2016 Gatorade Player of the Year finalist. Following a 12-14 freshman campaign, Winfrey has spearheaded a turnaround at Lebanon that has seen the Tigers post back-to-back winning seasons, including an 18-8 mark last year.

Winfrey was highly recruited, but she chose to stay home and attend Mizzou over interest from North Carolina and Oklahoma State, among others.

Mizzou Women’s Basketball opens the 2016-17 season at Mizzou Arena on Friday, Nov. 11, vs. Abilene Christian as part of the Preseason WNIT. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, MO. – Led by a 22-point, nine-rebound performance from sophomore guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.), Mizzou Women’s Basketball defeated Truman State, 87-53, in exhibition action Monday night at Mizzou Arena.

Cunningham’s stellar night led four Tigers in double figures. Senior guard Lianna Doty [St. Louis, Mo.] stuffed the stat sheet with a team-high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points, six steals and five assists. Senior guard Sierra Michaelis [Mercer, Mo.] poured in 18 points behind four threes and a 50 percent shooting night from the field (7-for-14) and freshmen Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) and Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) chipped in 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

As a team, Mizzou was relentless on the glass, outrebounding Truman State, 49-24. Seven different Tigers corralled at least three rebounds in a team effort. Defensively, Mizzou collected 14 steals and forced 18 Bulldog turnovers. Head coach Robin Pingeton’s squad limited Truman State to an 25-percent shooting clip from the floor in the opening half to jump ahead quickly and build a comfortable lead.

After Truman State opened the contest with a three-pointer, Mizzou ripped off a 13-0 run to open a double-digit advantage early. The Tigers continually earned trips to the free throw line and capitalized on the opportunity, converting 18-of-23 free throw attempts in the first half. Cunningham went 10-for-10 at the charity stripe in the opening frame and had 15 points and seven rebounds by the break. After Michaelis beat the buzzer with a trey from well beyond the arc, Mizzou went into halftime with a 46-21 lead.

The Tigers continued to build their lead in the third quarter, capping it off with back-to-back transition threes from Chavis and Michaelis. Chavis added another three on Mizzou’s first possession of the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up 71-40 with 9:46 left and Mizzou coasted down the stretch.

After finishing the exhibition slate with a pair of wins by a combined 64 points, Mizzou now turns to the regular season, which officially opens Friday, Nov. 11 against Abilene Christian. The contest tips off at 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena and serves as the opening round of the Preseason WNIT.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Will Muschamp isn’t surprised by the early success of freshman quarterback Jake Bentley.

“I don’t think the moment is too big for him,” Muschamp said.

It hasn’t been so far, anyway.

Bentley improved to 3-0 as a starter, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns as South Carolina handed Missouri its 11th straight SEC loss 31-21 on Saturday. Bentley showed poise, strength and accuracy in the pocket, completing 22 of 28 passes to lead the Gamecocks (5-4, 3-4 SEC) to their third straight victory and keep them in contention in the SEC East.

The Gamecocks are in the midst of a rebuilding project with 78 percent of their roster consisting of underclassmen, but they appear to be on the right track. Freshman running back Rico Dowdle ran for 149 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries and also hauled in a 17-yard TD strike from Bentley.

“Jake is bringing a lot of energy to the offense and when we have a man-to-man matchup we like we’re going to take it,” said wide receiver Deebo Samuel, another young star for the Gamecocks.

Samuel, a sophomore, had 125 yards receiving on nine catches and also ran for a score.

“He muscled us around a little bit,” said Missouri coach Barry Odom.

Bentley was off limits after the game because of a team rule instituted by Muschump preventing freshman from talking to the media.

“He’s very level headed and a very humble young man,” Muschamp said. “He handles the moment very well.”

Drew Lock threw for 302 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for Missouri (2-7, 0-5).

South Carolina didn’t let down after pulling a 24-21 upset of 18th-ranked Tennessee last week. One of South Carolina’s assistant coaches set mousetraps around the locker room earlier in the week to remind players it was a trap game.

“Everyone is patting you on the back, but I told our players `Don’t take the cheese,” Muschamp said.

With the game tied at 21 late in the third quarter, Rashad Fenton intercepted Lock near the goal line on a deep ball along the right sideline. Bentley led a 98-yard drive, culminating in a go-ahead 20-yard TD run by Dowdle .

Bentley showed poise beyond his years in his third start.

Late in the first half, he took a sack on a second-and-goal at the 1 rather than throw the ball away. Rather than dwelling on the loss, Bentley tossed a 6-yard TD pass to tight end K.C. Crosby on the next play to give the Gamecocks a 21-14 lead at half.

“When Jake is in there we feel like we can score from anywhere on the field,” said Gamecocks tight end Hayden Hurst.

THE TAKEAWAY

MISSOURI: Odom said “it hurts on a lot of different levels” that he wasn’t able to get this group of seniors into a bowl game. “They entrusted me in putting them in position to have a great senior (season) and that one is going to bother me,” Odom said. “… I’m frustrated in myself that we haven’t played a complete game yet.”

SOUTH CAROLINA: Bentley looks like the real deal for the Gamecocks, which makes you wonder why they waited so long to play the true freshman. The defense, which hasn’t allowed an opponent to score 30 points all season, can hang with anyone.

TARGETING THE QB: Missouri linebacker Cale Garrett was ejected less than five minutes into the game for targeting Bentley. Garrett became the fourth Missouri player ejected for targeting this season, joining Ronnell Perkins, Marcell Frazier and Brandon Lee.

South Carolina’s Chris Lammons was ejected from the game in the second quarter for a similar hit on Lock.

JUST FOR KICKS: Senior kicker Elliott Fry became South Carolina’s all-time leading scorer when he converted an extra point in the second quarter to give him 331 for his career. Fry called it a “special honor” to be at the top, even if someone knocks him off that pinnacle soon.

STREAK CONTINUES: The Tigers haven’t won an SEC game since Oct. 3, 2015 when they won at home against South Carolina.

SCORING OUTBURST: South Carolina isn’t used to playing high-scoring games, at least in conference play. The Gamecocks’ 31 points were their most in an SEC game since a 45-42 overtime loss to Vanderbilt in 2014.

MISSED CHANCES: Missouri’s Tucker McCann missed a pair of fourth quarter field goals, including one with 4:49 left in the game that would have cut the South Carolina lead to seven.

UP NEXT

MISSOURI: The Tigers return home to host Vanderbilt next Saturday.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks travel to Florida on Saturday to face the Gators, who have they have beaten in four of the last six meetings.

— Associated Press —