COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball extended its winning-streak to four games with a dominant 68-53 win over Auburn at Mizzou Arena on Thursday night.  That current winning streak matches Mizzou’s longest in conference play since it joined the SEC.

Sophomore forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) was superb for the Tigers, as she poured in a career high 27 points (10-of-14 FG, 7-of-9 FT), including a 13-point fourth quarter explosion that saw her convert four three-point plays down low. Porter also led Mizzou in rebounding, snaring nine rebounds in the contest, one shy of securing her 10th double-double of the season.

Freshman guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) was efficient and productive off the bench, shooting a career best 85.7 percent while posting 13 points, which was her highest scoring output in conference play and the second highest of her young career.

Redshirt senior Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) added 12 points and five rebounds in 29 effective minutes.

The Tigers came out firing in the opening frame, dissecting Auburn’s defense to the tune of 50 percent shooting.  Porter was strong in the period, posting six points and grabbing six rebounds. While Porter was grooving offensively, Mizzou’s defense proved stout, holding Auburn to just three field goals on its first eight attempts.  The quarter ended with Mizzou up 16-13.

To start the second quarter, Porter continued her effective play, and Smith added a spark off the bench.  As Porter drew attention offensively, Smith found creases in the defense, scoring nine points in the quarter while missing just one shot.  Mizzou extended its lead to seven at halftime behind Smith’s outburst and Porter’s continued dominance in the low post.

Points were at a premium in the third quarter as Mizzou held Auburn to just nine-percent shooting in the period.  The Cunningham sisters shined in the frame, scoring 10 of the Tigers’ 14 points in the quarter.  Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) had a strong frame, as she ripped down four rebounds and had three points, courtesy of a corner three.  Lindsey Cunningham consistently earned trips to the free throw line, where she made all five of her attempts.  The Tigers ended the quarter up just 10, leading 47-37 heading to the fourth period.

Porter put an exclamation point on the victory with a dominant fourth quarter, scoring 13 consecutive points for Mizzou.  Twelve of her 13 points in the frame came off of three-point plays as she muscled through contact and converted.  Porter’s strong sequence allowed Mizzou to build an 18-point lead and coast to a win.  With the win, Mizzou moves to 15-7 (5-3) on the season and 11-1 at home.

Mizzou continues its two-game homestand when it hosts Kentucky at Mizzou Arena on Monday. Tip off on SEC Network is set for 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Quinndary Weatherspoon had a career-high 29 points Wednesday night to lead Mississippi State to an 89-74 victory over Missouri.

Lamar Peters had 23 points with a 7-of-11 showing on 3-pointers for the Bulldogs (13-6, 4-3 SEC). Mario Kegler added 16 points.

“We needed this win desperately tonight since we’re about to go on the road for two straight,” said Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland. “I thought our second-half defense keyed the comeback. We really dug deep and it really fed our offense. Q (Weatherspoon) did a good job in the first half and really kept us in it.

“Then bottom line, Lamar had a good second half and really got it going there. We’ve already seen that before and seen how he can get it going.”

Weatherspoon was 11 of 17 from the field and also had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. He scored 18 of his 29 points in the first half.

“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” said Weatherspoon. “We know we lost our last two games so I wanted to do what I could to help us tonight. Me and Coach Howland had a meeting about that and he needed me to be more aggressive. So I felt like the old me tonight, just filling up the whole stat sheet.”

Jordan Barnett and Jordan Geist each had 18 points to lead Missouri (5-14, 0-7). The Tigers dropped their 11th straight game.

Mississippi State opened the second half on a 10-3 run to take the lead for good at 49-46. Then Peters went on a hot streak and made five straight 3-pointers to push the Bulldogs’ advantage to 72-59 with less than nine minutes remaining.

Peters’ streak resulted in 15 points in 2:34.

“Obviously it was a tale of two halves,” said Missouri head coach Kim Anderson. “In the first half we did a good job of mixing our defenses and keeping them off-balanced. Then Weatherspoon and Peters took over and we had no answer. We knew coming in that Peters was dangerous off the ball screens. And we knew Weatherspoon was dangerous from anywhere.”

Missouri used a red-hot shooting performance in the first half to lead the entire period. Mississippi State got within one point on several occasions and trailed by as many as nine. Missouri eventually settled in with a 43-39 advantage at the half.

The Tigers shot 61.5 percent in the first half, including 58.3 percent from the 3-point arc.

For the game, Mississippi State shot 57.1 percent and made 12 of 23 beyond the arc. That included an 8 of 12 showing on 3-pointers in the second half.

The Tigers shot 46.3 percent for the game and just 32.1 percent in the second half. Missouri also missed all nine 3-pointer attempts in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers have now lost 11 straight games and are off to their worst start in SEC action since going 0-9 in the 2013-14 season. The Tigers have lost 27 straight SEC road games.

Mississippi State: After two straight conference losses, the Bulldogs moved above .500 in the SEC again at 4-3.

UP NEXT

Missouri: The Tigers return home to host No. 23 South Carolina on Saturday.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs travel to Alabama on Saturday.

— Associated Press —