Mizzou Women's Basketball Defeats Indiana State by 41 in Second Game of Season
Missouri women's basketball moved on to 2-0 on the 2023 season in a 98-57 win over the Indiana State Sycamore's on Thursday night.
The Sycamore' defense quickly became familiar with the site of the ball falling through the net after leaving the hands of Ashton Judd. The sophomore guard scored a career-high of 31 points, nearly doubling her previous career-high of 17. Judd opened up the game scoring on six out of seven of the Tigers' opening possessions.
"I let the game come to me and I think my teammates did a great job of finding me," Judd said. "We have some high-caliber freshmen coming in and just some high-caliber returners, so they do attract a lot of attention. So as long as I can win that one-on-one matchup, I don't have much else to worry about."
"I thought Ashton had an incredible game for us," head coach Robin Pingeton said. "Somebody said right after the game, 'what's gotten into Judd?', and I said 'the only thing that's gotten into Judd is her work ethic' and she's been so consistent."
Judd's 13-point first quarter allowed the Tigers to hold a 48-29 lead at halftime that they would follow with a dominant second-half. Despite the 41-point margin of victory, Missouri struggled with turnovers, losing the ball 25 times.
"I wish there was a common theme, but I think it's all just a little rushed and sloppy," Pingeton said of the turnovers. "We talked a lot about trying to be a really disciplined team ... We all to win at a high level that that's something that absolutely has to get cleaned up."
Many of Missouri's freshman saw their first action on Thursday night as well. Guard Grace Slaughter, who scored 10 points and brought down 10 rebounds in the season opener, added 17 points to the score sheet in her second performance. Guard Abbey Schreacke also scored 17 points in 24 minutes of playing time.
"Our freshman class came in in June, laced them up and started to compete from day one," Pingeton said. "They just love the game. They're just constantly doing more than what's required. They're wanting to get in extra, they're wanting to watch film. They're mature beyond their years, way mature beyond their years in their approach to the game."
The Tigers will continue their 2023 campaign this Sunday when they travel west to take on St. Louis University for a 3 p.m. tip-off.
