Missouri Women's Basketball Swamped by Florida
Missouri women's basketball was swimming against a roaring current all game against Florida. The Tigers were directed right into the chomping teeth of the Gators, losing 86-70 in Gainesville.
Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton stated the obvious after the loss: "In the SEC, it's not 30 minutes, it's not 35 minutes, it's a 40 minute game. ... We've gotta be better out of the gates."
A disastrous first quarter from the Tigers that put the Gators up 36-13 was too high of a mountain for Missouri to climb back up.
Though Florida was red out to start, going 12-for-12 on shots to open, most of Missouri's struggles were self-inflicted. The Tigers just seemed overwhelmed from an aggressive Gators' defense that caused eight turnovers that lead to 20 Florida points in the first quarter. Pingeton also highlighted the shot decisions from Missouri, who only scored three baskets in the first six minutes.
"We understood that everything we were doing wrong, it was actually in our hands. It wasn't anything that we didn't have control over," senior guard Mama Dembele said. "That's the most frustrating thing about it. It's not really the other team just being better than us, it's us doing it to ourselves."
The version of the Tigers that came out for the second half wasn't perfect but was still a night and day difference from the first half. Dembele was able to organize Missouri's half-court offense and led the team with five steals.
Despite trailing by 28 shortly before halftime, the Tigers positioned themselves to make a comeback multiple times in the second half, bringing the deficit to only 10 with two minutes remaining. Missouri was able to claw back often with success with three-point shots, with freshman Abbey Schreacke making three in the second half. Schreacke led the team with 16 points, tying her career high.
But the Missouri were just too streaky and unable to completely shut down the Florida offense in order to have any realistic chance at a comeback. Although the Gators' shooting percentage went from 55.8 in the first half to 40 in the second, players made big shots in key moments for Florida. Four different scoring runs for Missouri in the fourth quarter were disrupted by points from senior guard Aliyah Matharu.
Missouri's losing streak was extended to eight after Thursday night. The Tigers continue to sink near the bottom of the SEC, only above Georgia.
Missouri has three more games in the 2023-'24 season, beginning with Ole Miss on Monday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in Columbia.