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Category: College

Western women defeat Adams State for third straight win

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ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western Women’s Basketball (6-5) won its final non-conference game of the season over Adams State (1-8) by 19 points on Sunday. The Griffons led wire to wire to earn their third-straight victory.

NOTABLES

  • The Griffons were up by just two points at the end of the first period. The Grizzlies shot 67 percent from the field in the quarter, but the Griffons forced 10 turnovers to keep the 17-15 lead.
  • Turnovers continued to be the story of the first half, as the Griffons won the turnover battle 13-2 going into halftime
  • Melia Richardson played for the first time since Nov. 20, leading four Griffons in double figures with 16 points
  • Missouri Western outscored Adams State 35-25 in the second half
  • The Grizzlies managed to out-rebound the Griffons 32-23 in the loss
  • Five of the Griffons’ six wins have been by double digits

LEADERS

  • Richardson led all players in scoring in her return from injury. Richardson finished with 16 points, shooting 5-7 from the field and 6-7 from the free-throw line.
  • Roenfeldt was the Griffons’ second-leading scorer with 13 points
  • Davies finished with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds
  • Atkins added 10 points on 50 percent shooting

UP NEXT

  • The Griffons will travel to Central Oklahoma (10-1, 1-1 MIAA) on Jan. 3
  • The Bronchos defeated Southern Nazarene 74-65 in their last game.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou women roll past Arkansas State

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball closed nonconference action with a 70-50 victory over Arkansas State on Sunday at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers were paced by senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.), who reached 20 points for the fifth time this season and the 38th time in her career with 20 points while sinking a career-high 16-of-18 shots from the free throw line.

After stepping away from the game over the summer, senior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) returned to the court for the first time this season and contributed four points, two rebounds and two steals in 11 minutes off the bench. Porter’s four points gave her 1,000 on her career as she became the 36th member of Mizzou’s 1,000-point club.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou outscored the Red Wolves, 18-8, in the third quarter to extend its lead from three points and halftime to 13 points heading into the final quarter. The Tigers ended the third period on an 11-2 run, led by two three-pointers in the run from redshirt senior guard Lauren Aldridge (Marshfield, Mo.).

TOP TIGERS

  • Cunningham scored 20 points to lead Mizzou in scoring for the 10th time this season and the fourth time in Mizzou’s last five contests. Cunningham set career highs in free throws made and attempted, as she was 16-for-18 from the charity stripe. Cunningham also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in the game.
  • Junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) scored nine points, grabbed 10 rebounds and set a career-high in blocks with five. Smith’s 10 rebounds marked the seventh time she has reached 10 boards.
  • Making her third consecutive start, junior guard Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) had nine points and six rebounds.

NOTES

  • Cunningham’s 16 made free throws are the most made by a Tiger since Kerensa Barr made 17 vs. Colorado on Jan. 24, 1987.
  • As a team, Mizzou shot a season-high 88.5 percent from the free throw as the Tigers made 23-for-26 from the charity stripe.
  • With four points, Porter became the 36th member of Mizzou’s 1,000-point club and the first since Cunningham reached the plateau last season.

UP NEXT

Mizzou will now transition to the conference play as the Tigers host Ole Miss on Thursday, Jan. 3 at Mizzou Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Missouri State sets records in blowout over William Woods

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Szymon Wojcik led seven players in double-digit scoring with 16 points and Missouri State set a school scoring record routing NAIA-member William Woods 110-56 on Sunday.

The Bears also set a school record with 17 3-pointers in 38 attempts (44.7 percent). By comparison, the Bears were 17 of 21 from the foul line.

Missouri State is undefeated at JQH Arena to start this season.

Josh Webster’s 3-pointer tied it at 8-all and that sparked a 19-0 run to put Missouri State (6-7) firmly in control. Ross Owens scored 15 points with six rebounds, Tulio Da Silva, Ryan Kreklow and Kabir Mohammed each scored 13, Jarred Dixon 11 and Jared Ridder 10. The Bears outrebounded the Owls 56-34.

David Johnson Jr. scored 19 and Aaron Brookins added 17 for the Owls.

— Associated Press —

Missouri ends losing streak to Illinois, wins 79-63

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri basketball coach Cuonzo Martin is from Illinois, and he has stocked his roster with five scholarship players from his home state. They will enjoy their trips home for Christmas a little more after the Tigers beat Illinois 79-63 Saturday night.

Sophomore forward Jeremiah Tilmon and freshman guard Javon Pickett, who both signed letters of intent with Illinois out of high school before switching their allegiance to Missouri, had big nights. Tilmon scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Pickett added 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. Jordan Geist led the Tigers with 20 points and seven assists.

Missouri (8-3) ended a five-game losing streak to Illinois (4-8) in the annual Braggin’ Rights rivalry. Martin had spent the previous week downplaying the importance of the game, but he said afterward he considers Illinois to be Missouri’s biggest basketball rival. He said last year’s loss to the Illini caused him to have a “miserable Christmas.”

“I’ve always watched this game from afar, and now to be a part of it, it’s a tremendous atmosphere,” said Martin, who is in his second year coaching Missouri. “It’s bigger than just another game.”

Trent Frazier led the Illini with 28 points, and Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Aaron Jordan added 10 points each.

Boos rained on Tilmon and Pickett from the Illinois side of the arena, but the loudest boos were directed at Missouri’s Mark Smith, who played for the Illini last year before transferring. Smith scored just five points on 2-of-8 shooting.

“I heard them, for sure,” Tilmon said of the boos.

Geist and Frazier carried their teams in the first half. Frazier made 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range and had 17 points at halftime. Geist hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions and drew two charges to help the Tigers grab a 39-35 halftime lead.

Frazier put Illinois in front for the first time since the first half when he drove to the left block and kissed a shot off the glass with 7:43 left in the game. But Tilmon put Missouri right back in the lead at 58-56 with a dunk and free throw on the next possession and the Tigers pulled away.

“Give Missouri credit, they made just about every play in those last seven minutes,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.

FEISTY GEIST

Since arriving at Missouri two years ago as a lightly regarded junior college transfer, Geist earned a reputation as a feisty player who gets under the skin of opponents. That side was evident early, when he and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu were both hit with technical fouls after they got into a dispute.

The difference between his sophomore and senior years is that Geist is now far more than an agitator. He is Missouri’s leading scorer at 13.4 points per game.

“Geist was the difference for them,” Underwood said. “That’s a young man who played seven minutes and had four turnovers last year.”

Geist, a point guard, committed only two turnovers against the Illini’s pressure defense.

TALE OF TWO HALVES

After missing just one 3-point attempt in the first half, Frazier cooled off in the second half, making just 1 of 7 from 3-point range. He also missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity while Missouri went on its late-game run. The Illini made just 7 of 14 free throws as a team.

“I was getting a little fatigued,” Frazier said. “In the second half, they made an adjustment trying to keep the ball out of my hands. I’ve got to be better than that. Tired is no excuse for me.”

BIG PICTURE

Illinois: The Illini are off to their worst start since the 1974-75 season, when they also started 4-8 on their way to an 8-18 mark in Gene Bartow’s only season as coach. With eight scholarship newcomers on the roster and a nonconference schedule loaded with high-major opponents, the rough start hasn’t been totally unexpected.

Missouri: Hopes shrank for the Tigers when do-it-all sophomore forward Jontay Porter suffered a season-ending knee injury in an October scrimmage. After starting the season 3-3, they have won five straight — including victories over UCF, Xavier and now Illinois — raising the possibility that this won’t be the rebuilding season many expected.

UP NEXT

Illinois: The Illini return to action Saturday with a home game against Florida Atlantic.

Missouri: The Tigers will complete their nonconference schedule with Saturday’s home game against Morehead State.

— Associated Press —

No. 1 Kansas upset at 18th-ranked Arizona State

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TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Zylan Cheatham bounded down the hallway inside Wells Fargo Arena, half skipping, half jumping as he high-fived family, friends, anyone he could reach.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s gooooo!” the Arizona State forward shouted.

Let it be heard: the Sun Devils have arrived.

Poised down the stretch after trailing most of the night, No. 18 Arizona State pulled off one of the biggest victories in school history by knocking off No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Saturday.

“This was a huge moment for our basketball program,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said.

It wasn’t easy.

Arizona State (9-2) had a hard time stopping Kansas preseason All-American Dedric Lawson inside, blew numerous shots at the rim and had a rough night at the free throw line.

Trialing by up to nine points, the Sun Devils rallied by double-teaming Lawson, digging in on defense and making the biggest plays down the stretch to beat a No. 1 team for the second time as a program.

As it did in beating Kansas a year ago in Lawrence, Arizona State rallied late, using a 10-0 run to go up 76-74 with 90 seconds left.

Kansas (10-1) turned it over twice in its final three possessions and Rob Edwards, who scored 15 points, and hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to start the celebration. Students poured out of the stands to join the players a center court, leaving security no chance of stopping the party.

“Those are the moments we live for,” said Arizona State’s Remy Martin, who had 10 points and a big pull-up jumper with 58 seconds left.

Kansas led nearly the entire game and had plenty of chances down the stretch to win its first true road game of the season, even with big man Udoka Azubuike missing his fourth straight game due to an ankle injury.

The Jayhawks were unable to come up with the defensive stops during Arizona State’s run and couldn’t get off a tying shot down two in the closing seconds, finding themselves at the center of a Sun Devil celebration — and likely out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25.

“It’s very tough one because we had the game and we let it slip right through our hands,” said Lawson, who led Kansas with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Arizona State pulled off the upset on the road last season, knocking off the No. 2 Jayhawks 95-85 on its way to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.

Even with Azubuike out in the rematch, the Jayhawks dominated Arizona State inside early, opening up the perimeter.

Lawson was the focal point, repeatedly getting good position down low and throwing in a layup on a nifty spin move. The Memphis transfer had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting by halftime.

Arizona State struggled offensively, but held Kansas scoreless over the final 3:42 to stay within 39-31 at halftime.

The Sun Devils tried to make runs in the second half, but kept missing shots at the rim and the Jayhawks kept answering with baskets.

Arizona State started double teaming Lawson in the second half and pulled to 67-65 on Edwards’ second straight 3-pointer to start its comeback.

“They were feeling it, hitting their shots,” said Kansas guard Devon Dotson, who had 14 points. “It just came down to mental mishaps we got caught up in.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas will likely drop a few spots in the AP Top 25 after losing its first true road game.

Arizona State picked up one of the biggest wins in program history with a gutty performance down the stretch.

FREE-THROW STRUGGLES

Arizona State doubled Kansas’ free-throw attempts, but had trouble getting those free shots to fall. The Sun Devils finished 20 for 32 from the line, but were able to overcome it by hitting 17 of 32 shots from the floor in the second half.

LOUD CROWD

Wells Fargo Arena had one of the best crowds in school history on hand for one of the program’s biggest wins.

The second No. 1 team to play in Tempe drew a star-studded crowd, with Michael Phelps, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Eddie House and Arizona governor Doug Ducey in the stands, along with more than two dozen NBA scouts.

Kansas had its share of vocal supporters, but they were washed away during the closing stretch and the court rushing.

“The fans gave us an extra boost,” Martin said. “I just want to say thank you to everyone. I’ve never had a feeling like that.”

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts Eastern Michigan next Saturday before kicking off its Big 12 schedule.

Arizona State hosts Princeton next Saturday in its final nonconference game.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State leans on defense in 69-58 victory over Vanderbilt

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It was only fitting that Barry Brown would surpass Jacob Pullen for the most steals in Kansas State history on the same night the Wildcats used their stingy defense to shut down Vanderbilt.

Brown finished with three steals to give him 211 for his career, and the senior guard added 12 points to join three other Wildcats in double-figures scoring, leading Kansas State to a wire-to-wire 69-58 victory over the high-scoring Commodores on Saturday night.

“I wanted to come here and leave a legacy somehow, some way, definitely with wins but then with individual accomplishments,” said Brown, who eclipsed by one the steals total Pullen piled up during his standout career from 2007-11. “This means a lot.”

Makol Mawien added 15 points, Kamau Stokes had 12 and Cartier Diarra 10 for the Wildcats (9-2), who forced 15 turnovers while holding the Commodores (7-3) to a lackluster 32-percent shooting from the field and 7 of 25 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“At shoot-around we were really, really good,” Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew said. “You know, when the game started, we just did not play with the same intensity, the same energy, the same vigor.”

Kansas State struggled to adjust to life without injured star Dean Wade earlier in the week against Southern Miss. But the Wildcats looked much more comfortable without their top scorer against a tougher opponent from the SEC, improving to 8-1 in Wildcat Classic games in Kansas City.

“We talked about a special defensive effort, and frustrating them, and we did that,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “It was great lock-in defense by our guys.”

Matt Ryan hit four 3s and scored 14 points to lead the Commodores. Joe Toye had 11 points and Simisola Shittu added 10, though he was just 3 of 9 from the field.

“That was the best half-court defense we’ve faced this year,” Ryan said. “It was definitely a challenge for us. We’re used to getting into transition. We just played a more mature team. They knew what they were doing defensively.”

Vanderbilt rolled into the Sprint Center, where the Wildcats are accustomed to playing the Big 12 Tournament, averaging more than 83 points and fresh off an upset of No. 18 Arizona State.

Kansas State’s brutal defense and some inept offense put the Commodores in an early hole.

They came up empty on 11 of their first 13 possessions, and had as many turnovers as points (four) midway through the half. It wasn’t until Shittu’s basket with 6:01 left that Vanderbilt reached double-digits in scoring, and the Commodores still faced a 30-20 halftime deficit.

Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew didn’t come up with any solutions in the locker room, either. His team didn’t hit its first field goal of the second half until there was 9:41 to play.

By that point, Kansas State had extended its lead to 49-30.

Vanderbilt finally went on a run, scoring 11 straight to nip into its deficit. And after Mike McGuirl’s basket for Kansas State, the Commodores scored five more to get within 51-43 with 6:14 left.

It was at that point Diarra checked back into the game for the Wildcats, and the sophomore guard got them back on track. He sliced through the lane to pick up a foul and made both free throws, then he drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to restore a 58-45 cushion with four minutes left.

Kansas State buckled back down defensively to put the game away.

“We knew this was a hungry team, a very good defensive team, an NCAA Tournament team,” Drew said, “and they were very good tonight.”

STATS AND STREAKS

Kansas State improved to 7-4 against Vanderbilt. … The Commodores only managed three points off seven Wildcat turnovers. … Yanni Wetzell had eight points and nine boards for Vanderbilt. … Xavier Sneed had seven points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Wildcats. …

BIG PICTURE

Vanderbilt had no problems scoring in its 81-65 victory over the Sun Devils earlier in the week. In fact, the only time the Commodores had failed to reach 75 points in a game this season was against North Carolina State, when their offense never got going in an 80-65 defeat.

Kansas State needed a 24-2 second-half run to beat Southern Miss, but the Wildcats showed they can still cause big trouble for the Big 12 even with Wade on the sideline. Remember, their top scorer also was sidelined by an injury when the Wildcats made their Elite Eight run last season.

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt returns home against Tennessee State next Saturday.

Kansas State plays George Mason next Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.

— Associated Press —

No. 25 Nebraska, behind Palmer, tops Fullerton 86-62

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Tim Miles knows that playing games during winter break can be a struggle, learning that lesson a couple of years ago when the Cornhuskers lost to Samford on Dec. 20.

No. 25 Nebraska avoided another holiday slip-up on Saturday, defeating Cal State Fullerton 86-62 behind 23 points from James Palmer Jr. and 10 points and 10 assists from Glynn Watson Jr.

“Every team that played today has got the same thing going on, usually, except for those dudes in Hawaii, they’ve got a good thing going on,” Miles said of the winter-break games. “I want to see us go out, play well, build a lead, win the game and nobody gets hurt. I think that happened.”

The Huskers knew they’d have to bring some extra energy. Both the players and their coach said the crowd of 15,000 that filled Pinnacle Bank Arena contributed to the victory.

“The Husker fans are unreal,” Miles said. “I told our guys at halftime: `There’s not a team in the country getting 15,000 fans tonight unless it’s Kentucky-Duke or something like that. This is ridiculous. Let’s perform well for them.’ We knew it was going to be a good crowd. It was awesome to be a part of.”

Nebraska (10-2) won its 18th straight home game, a streak dating to last season.

Isaiah Roby had a career-high 20 points for the Cornhuskers while Isaac Copeland added 12.

Kyle Allman Jr. had 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead Cal State Fullerton. Khalil Ahmad had 12 points and Austen Awosika had 10 points.

The Cornhuskers used a 10-2 run to go up 27-16 on Palmer’s turnaround in the lane with 5:57 left in the first half. Cal State Fullerton (3-9) never got closer than seven in the final 25 minutes.

Nebraska went up 51-31 on Thomas Allen’s jumper with 15:27 remaining. The Titans cut the lead to 12 on Allman’s free throws with 8:53 left.

But Palmer’s fourth 3-pointer and two free throws by Watson started an 11-2 Nebraska run that put the game out of reach — and sent the Huskers home for Christmas.

“We started off slow, but we picked it up and came out with the win, then we can go home,” Watson said “We ain’t played in a week or so. Everything went good.”

The Titans struggled from the outside against Nebraska’s man-to-man and zone defenses, making just 4 of its 19 3-point attempts. Nebraska capitalized on the foul line, converting 24 of 38 to Cal State Fullerton’s 8 of 16.

Titans coach Dedrique Taylor said his team did some good things, but Nebraska and the crowd were too much to overcome.

“We battled on the glass,” he said. “I thought we did what we needed to do rebounding. That shows that we can rebound. I thought we executed some actions down the stretch there, but again being in this type of atmosphere, it’s a heck of a learning experience and we played a really good ballclub and they showed us why they’re good.”

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: Miles became third winningest coach in Nebraska history. He now has 107, passing Moe Iba, who won 106 games from 1981-86. Danny Nee (1987-2000) tops the list with 254, one more than Joe Cipriano (1964-80)

Cal State Fullerton: Nebraska was the first ranked team the Titans have played this season. But Cal State Fullerton’s strength of schedule is ranked No. 17 by KenPom, largely because the Titans have played nine of their 11 games on the road or at neutral sites.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Hosts Southwest Minnesota St., the Division II school where Miles coached from 1998-2001 on Saturday in its final nonconference game of the season.

Cal State Fullerton: Hosts Portland on Saturday in what will be just its fourth home game of the season. The Titans will play 11 of their first 15 games away from Fullerton.

— Associated Press —

K-State’s Klieman adds four to new coaching staff

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – The 2019 Kansas State football coaching staff grew by four on Saturday as head coach Chris Klieman announced the names of assistant coaches who will be coming to Manhattan from North Dakota State following the Bison’s bid for a seventh national championship in the last eight seasons.

The additions to the K-State staff include offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Courtney Messingham, offensive line coach Conor Riley, wide receivers coach Jason Ray and safeties coach Joe Klanderman.

“I am thrilled that Courtney, Conor, Jason and Joe will be joining our staff at K-State,” Klieman said. “Our offensive philosophy at NDSU is similar in schematics to what K-State has been so successful at doing under Coach Snyder, which is a balanced attack built around a power run game and getting our playmakers the ball. Courtney and Jason bring Big 12 experience to the staff, while Conor is one of the top offensive line coaches in the country.

“On defense, I have worked alongside Joe for a long time and have so much respect for him as a coach – he is one of the best secondary coaches in our profession. These guys are all winners and I am excited for them to be Wildcats.”

Messingham is a 29-year coaching veteran who has served as a coordinator at multiple stops in addition to coaching virtually every offensive position. Leading the charge of NDSU’s offense the last two seasons, Messingham’s offenses have ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense both years, helping the Bison go 28-1 with a national championship and a chance for another on January 5.

Messingham, a native of Waterloo, Iowa, and teammate of Klieman’s at Northern Iowa, has spent a majority of his coaching career in the Midwest, working at Truman State (1995-98), Missouri State (1999-2002, 2008) and Iowa State (2009-13). He was the Cyclones’ offensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013, leading ISU to a school record in touchdown passes the first year, a season that also saw the Cyclones set top-five single-season marks in school history in five different categories.

A majority of North Dakota State’s offensive yards the past two seasons under Messingham have come on the ground thanks to the superior coaching of Riley, who is finishing his sixth season with the Bison in 2018. The Bison have averaged at least 235 yards per game in each of Riley’s six years, including a current highwater mark of 285.9 yards per game in 2018. Riley’s lines have also finished highly in fewest sacks allowed, ranking 10th nationally in 2016 and eighth thus far in 2018.

A product of Omaha, Nebraska, Riley began his full-time coaching career at Concordia University (Minnesota) in 2006 before moving back to his alma mater, Nebraska Omaha, for the 2007 through 2010 seasons. He also coached the offensive line at Sacramento State in 2011 and 2012 prior to his stint at NDSU.

Ray is no stranger to the Big 12 as he played wide receiver at Missouri (2003-07) and coached receivers and kick returners at Oklahoma State in 2013 and 2014. The 2018 season was his lone campaign at North Dakota State, helping the Bison rank sixth in the nation in scoring offense (41.7 points per game), 10th in passing yards per completion (15.48) and second in passing efficiency (169.72).

Ray began his coaching career at Wyoming, tutoring the Cowboys’ running backs from 2009 and 2012. Following his stint in Stillwater and prior to joining the NDSU staff, Ray spent three seasons tutoring wide receivers at Missouri Valley Football Conference foes Northern Iowa (2015) and Missouri State (2016-17).

A five-year member of Klieman’s staff at North Dakota State, Klanderman’s defensive backs have helped the Bison rank in the top five in interceptions four times, including a No. 3 ranking last season and a No. 2 mark in this season. He has coached a trio of All-America safeties in addition to multiple all-conference performers.

Klanderman went to NDSU after spending 12 years on staff at his alma mater, Minnesota State. He began coaching in 2002 by working with the defensive line and coached the defensive backs beginning in 2005. Klanderman took over as defensive coordinator and worked with the linebackers from 2007 to 2013 prior to heading to Fargo. He helped tutor 26 first team all-conference honorees and 10 All-Americans during his time at MSU.

The rest of Klieman’s coaching staff will be announced as it becomes official.

2019 K-State Football Coaching Staff (Through Dec. 22)
Chris Klieman (Head Coach)
Courtney Messingham (Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends)
Joe Klanderman (Safeties)
Collin Klein (Quarterbacks)
Jason Ray (Wide Receivers)
Conor Riley (Offensive Line)
Blake Seiler (Defensive Line)

— K-State Athletics —

Missouri women use big third quarter to pull away from Illinois

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball utilized a 24-5 third quarter outburst to lift itself to victory, 67-45, over Illinois on Friday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. Mizzou led by one at halftime, but came out of the locker room firing in the second half, shooting 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the field and 55.3 percent from deep (5-for-9) to pull away from the Fighting Illini and claim victory. The win was Mizzou’s second consecutive win in the series between the two schools, and the first in Champaign since Jan. 3, 1993.

Junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) led all scorers with 16 points and pulled in a game-high nine rebounds in the victory. Freshman guard Akira Levy (Baxter, Tenn.) joined Smith in double figures for the Tigers, scoring a career-high 14 points to go along with three assists and two steals.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou led 27-26 at the intermission before opening the third period on a 20-2 run to extend its lead to 19 at 47-28 with 2:00 remaining in the quarter. Senior guard Sophie Cunningham(Columbia, Mo.) and redshirt senior guard Lauren Aldridge (Marshfield, Mo.) sparked the run for Mizzou, as the pair combined for 15 points with Cunningham draining three triples and Aldridge two threes. Mizzou would end the quarter with a 20-point lead at 51-31, as the Tigers shot 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the field and 55.3 percent from deep (5-for-9) in the period. Illinois would never get closer than 18 after the Tigers’ run.

TOP TIGERS

  • Smith led the team in scoring for the third time this season with 16 points while also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. The Tiger junior is now averaging 14.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season.
  • Levy turned in a career-high with her 14 points, as she scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half. The Tiger freshman also had three assists and two steals in the game.
  • Cunningham had nine points and four rebounds in the game, while also recording two assists and two steals.

NOTES

  • Mizzou shot better than 45 percent from the field for the fifth time this season and for the second consecutive game as the Tigers shot 27-for-60 (45.0 percent) from the field.
  • Levy scored a career-high 14 points in the game, besting her previous high of 11 which she reached twice this season (Nov. 13 vs. Missouri State, Dec. 9 at Saint Louis).
  • Smith reached double figures for the sixth consecutive game and the 10th time this season with 16 points. Mizzou is now 23-4 all-time when Smith scores in double figures.
  • With 10 three-pointers made, Mizzou has now made 10 or more threes in five games this season. The Tigers have sank seven or more three-pointers in nine of their last 10 contests.
  • Mizzou held the Fighting Illini to 45 points in the game, the second-lowest point-total the Tigers have allowed this season, trailing only the 36 points Mizzou allowed to SIU Edwardsville on Nov. 19. Mizzou has now held its opponents to 65 points or less in 11 or 13 games this season

UP NEXT

Mizzou will now have an eight-day break before returning to the court on Sunday, Dec. 30 where the Tigers will host Arkansas State. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Klieman announces Klein, Seiler to remain on K-State coaching staff

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman announced Friday that current Wildcat assistant coaches Collin Klein and Blake Seiler will return for the 2019 football season. Klein will serve as the quarterbacks coach, while Seiler will tutor the Wildcat defensive line.

“I am pleased that Blake and Collin will remain a part of our staff here at Kansas State,” Klieman said. “They both are tremendous young football coaches who I have had the chance to get to know over the last several weeks while recruiting, and they provide our program with some continuity and familiarity. As former Wildcat players, they bleed purple, and I am excited for what they will bring to our staff.”

The 2018 season marked the second for Klein as a full-time assistant coach tutoring the quarterbacks at K-State, and for the second-straight year he was forced to play multiple quarterbacks due to injury. A majority of the starts this past season went to sophomore Skylar Thompson, who threw for 1,391 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 starts. Thompson enters his junior campaign ranked fifth in career completion percentage (59.45) and ninth in career passing efficiency (130.56).

A Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012, Klein began his coaching career in 2014 when he was an assistant director of recruiting at K-State, while he was an offensive graduate assistant in 2015. Klein then went to Northern Iowa to be the quarterbacks coach in 2016 and returned to Manhattan for the same position in 2017.

Seiler, who served as the defensive coordinator for the first time in 2018, was also in his second year coaching the Wildcat linebackers last season. He will now return to the to the front line of defense after serving as the K-State defensive ends coach from 2013-16. In his inaugural season as coordinator, Seiler’s defensive unit ranked third in the Big 12 in scoring defense (25.4 points per game) and fourth in total defense (403.4 yards per game) at the end of the regular season.

A native of Goddard, Kansas, Seiler was a defensive lineman for the Wildcats from 2003 to 2006. After working as an engineer for two years, Seiler returned to football as a quality control coach at K-State in 2009 and 2010, and a defensive graduate assistant in 2011 and 2012 before becoming a full-time coach.

The rest of Klieman’s coaching staff will be announced as it becomes official.

— KSU Athletics —

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