Mizzou Women's Basketball Opens SEC Play With Loss to No. 2 Texas

Missouri shot out of a cannon off the opening tip-off against No. 2 Texas. To take down one of the nation's best, the Tigers needed to string together their best performance of the year and then some. Missouri required to blazing start to pose a challenge to the undefeated Longhorns.

HOT START 🔥#MIZ x #OurZou pic.twitter.com/jGteNoEBOT
— Mizzou Women’s Basketball (@MizzouWBB) January 2, 2026

Missouri followed suit, igniting the crowd with a barrage of first-quarter 3-pointers. The Tigers seemed poised to do what no other team had yet done this season and beat Texas; however, the blistering start was halted with fierce full-court pressure from the visiting powerhouse. Missouri was overwhelmed by the Longhorns' inside-the-arc dominance on both ends of the court. The Tigers eventually surrendered the lead, falling to Texas 89-71.

"We can go against these tough SEC teams, the second best team in the nation, and play them close," Grace Slaughter said. "We have a lot to lear from this game."

Head Coach Kellie Harper and Missouri stamped the beginning of Southeastern Conference play with a valiant effort against the conference frontrunner, one of the early NCAA Tournament favorites. Unfortunately, college basketball doesn't hand out any consolation prizes.

"For the first time all season, I complimented their toughness. We did some good things, outmatched at times. We just wore down there in the second half," Harper said about her team after the game. "When you're playing a team like Texas, your margin for error is so slim. You've got to play near perfecct. We didn't do that, but we will find a lot of positives from this."

The good news is, Missouri got its toughest regular-season matchup out of the way early. The loss highlighted the positives and negatives, which can ultimately serve as a roadmap as the Tigers navigate the ruthless SEC schedule.

The Tigers' ability to play at breakneck pace while maintaining elite efficiency from long range will likely be their strongest asset moving forward. That was on full display on Thursday night. Missouri managed to drill five of six triples in the first quarter. A back-to-back-to-back stretch of 3-pointers from Chloe Sotell, Grace Slaughter and Abbey Schreacke grew Missouri's lead in the opening frame to as much as 12, before the Longhorns began to rope the Tigers in.

EVERYTHING FALLING ☔️#MIZ x #OurZou pic.twitter.com/vK5jCtHXwU
— Mizzou Women’s Basketball (@MizzouWBB) January 2, 2026

A full-court press stifled the Tigers' blistering pace, flustering their long-range-centric offensive attack and forcing them into the paint. Missouri was outmatched inside the arc, fielding an undersized lineup in opposition to the Longhorns' bigs.

No shots came easy at the rim. Missouri felt the absence of its 2nd leading scorer and top rebounder, Shannon Dowell, who sat out for her third consecutive game due to a lower-body injury. Dowell remains on a day-to-day timeline. Her ability to attack the basket was gravely missed on the offensive end, though the lack of her presence on the defensive end hurt the most.

"I'm not sure people understand what they [Missouri] just did," Harper said. "They are under that kind of duress agaisnt that kind of talent and we don't have a lot of options. We don't have the bench to rest or keep people fresh."

Texas outpowered Missouri in the paint, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds to Missouri's 7. Second-chance points allowed the Texas offense to start making up ground, powering back toward the end of the first quarter, trailing by just four points entering the second.

The hounding defense from the Longhorns flipped the script entirely, forcing a mass of Missouri turnovers. Missouri racked up 15 total turnovers by halftime and trailed by three points entering the break.

The trend continued in the second half with the Longhorns, with Texas guard Rori Harmon being the driving force of the Longhorns' defense. She totaled eight steals in the game while forcing several more turnovers. Missouri gave up 30 turnovers, including 11 from Lisa Thompson and 8 from Saniah Tyler.

On the offensive end, the Texas duo of Madison Booker and Jordan Lee erupted for 28 and 23 points, respectively. Former Tiger Ashton Judd was the third Longhorn to reach double figures, totaling 12 points on her return to Missouri.

Three Tigers reached double figures with Slaughter leading the team with 20, followed by Schreacke with 15 and Sotell adding 11. The trio shared the hot hand, each sinking three triples. Despite the loss, the Tigers boasted their best three-point shooting clip of the season. Missouri shot 63% from beyond the arc and 53% from the field, both better than Texas.

Schreacke showin' the range 🔥#MIZ x #OurZou pic.twitter.com/fABVdbjUAT
— Mizzou Women’s Basketball (@MizzouWBB) January 2, 2026

After the game, Slaguhter and Schreacke menitoned the preperation for the game. They were aware of Texas' tendency to help on drives to the basket, leaving shooters open. Missouri took advantage of the openings. Both players looked back on the turnover numbers, mentioning a potential for a different outcome if more possesions ended in shots rather than turnovers.

""We were shooting at a high clip and if it weren't for so many turnovers, we could've turned some of those into more shots too," Schreacke said. "It would have been a different game."

Harper mentioned the need to keep a level head and not get too high or low for either wins or losses amongst the keys to success while moving forward in the league. The unforgiving nature of the SEC is not one that Harper has forgotten in her year away from coaching.

"I didn't have to be reminded of the physicality of the leage," Harper said. "You get in the SEC and it is going to be a battle. A lot of our players have been at this level, but some have not. You have got to adjust and adapt very quickly."

Missouri takes the road for the first time of conference play, matching up with Kentucky at 11 a.m. on Sunday in Lexington, Ky.

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