Mizzou Drops Second Straight in Road Matchup with No. 11 Kentucky

The Tigers went ice cold from long range and are yet to earn their first win in the SEC.

Sam Simon/MissouriOnSI

Missouri women's basketball faced a quick turnaround to open Southeastern Conference play. On Thursday night, the Tigers fell to No. 2 Texas at home before travelling to Lexington to take on No. 11/12 Kentucky on Sunday morning. The Wildcats wore down the shorthanded and weakened Tigers, handing them a 74-52 defeat.

After a streaky non-conference schedule, Missouri has yet to record its first conference win of the Kellie Harper era with the Tigers. Last time out, Missouri proved to be a handful for the Longhorns. Five Tigers shot above 50% from the floor while the team set new season-bests in field goal and three-point percentage. The latter being the program's best rate since 2021, shooting the deep ball at a 63% clip.

Three-point shooting was an expected point of emphasis for both teams entering the second game of SEC action. Missouri and Kentucky ranked among the nation's top shooting teams from long range entering the day. The Wildcats average the 19th-most three-point attempts per game, while Missouri hangs its hat on efficiency, ranking 11th in three-point shooting rate this season.

One team played to its standard while the other did not. Kentucky drilled 11 3-pointers while Missouri couldn’t take the lid off the basket, shooting a season-low 17.9% on triples while also shooting below 30% from the field for the first time in February 2024.

Missouri sharpshooter Chloe Sotell entered the contest shooting 47% from deep, good for the 11th-best mark in the country and 2nd in the SEC. Sotell, who averages two and a half makes per game, was held scoreless by the Wildcats while going 0-5 on 3-pointers. Despite the off night, she managed to lead Missouri in rebounding, grabbing 12 boards to lead all players in the game. Her presence in the rebound battle was crucial with the continued absence of starting guard Shannon Dowell.

For the fourth straight game, the Tigers were without Dowell, who is out with a lower-body injury and is expected back soon. Harper mentioned that, after the loss to Texas, the team is facing difficulties due to limited depth. Dowell is one of four injured Tigers, leaving the roster at nine active players. The most notable, Dowell, is the Tigers' leading rebounder and second leading scorer.

In the early non-conference schedule, Dowell formed a formidable scoring duo with Grace Slaughter, both averaging close to 20 points per game at one point. However, Dowell's absence has left Slaughter with a heavier load to shoulder and has shifted a stronger defensive focus on her by other teams.

Against the Wildcats, Slaughter led Missouri with 15 points, accounting for nearly half of her team's field goals and adding two assists, which led the team. Ball movement has been a recurring issue throughout the season, as the team has lacked a true point guard. Still, the problem was exemplified when matched up against the Wildcats and Tonie Morgan, who leads the nation in total assists and averages 9.1 per game. Morgan recorded 14 assists, while the entire Missouri team totaled only 8.

Missouri has shown the ability to start strong, keeping the Wildcats close in the first quarter, trailing by just 7 points after leading for most of the opening frame. Kentucky continued to chip away at the Tigers, growing the lead with each passing quarter, taking advantage of Missouri's weaknesses.

The schedule won't be letting up as they stay on the road, heading to Nashville, Tenn., to take on No. 12 Vanderbilt. Aside from Texas, the Commodores are the last remaining undefeated team in the SEC. Missouri and Vanderbilt will match up at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.