Mizzou women’s basketball struggles to hang with No. 7 Vandy, loses 68-99

The SEC gauntlet continues to be unkind to Kellie Harper in year one, as Mizzou women’s basketball was outgunned against No. 7 Vanderbilt 68-99. The Commodores held an 11-point lead at half but really took control, outscoring the Tigers 51-31 in the second half.

Mizzou now falls to 0-3 in conference play with an average margin of defeat of 23.7 points. All three teams have ranked as top 7 teams in the nation by the Associated Press.

Turnovers continue to be the primary issue for the Tigers, finishing the game with 24. Vanderbilt took full advantage of the mistakes, scoring 37 points off them in the win. As a whole, those extra opportunities were capitalized on by the Commodores, shooting 50.6% from the field compared to 40.7% for the visitors. Five different players for Vanderbilt finished the game with 15-plus points in the win.

Abbey Schreacke was the top offensive weapon for Mizzou, leading the team with a season-high 19 points. The junior guard let it fly all night, shooting 7-17 from the field and 5-14 from three. She accounted for half of the Tigers’ made triples. Grace Slaughter was the other Tiger in double-digits with 12 points on 3-7 shooting and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. She also added 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.

Shannon Dowell returned to the lineup after a four-game absence, scoring eight points on 3-8 shooting while playing only 21 minutes. While it’s not clear if she is on a minutes restriction, it appears that Harper lightened her load in her return.

Here’s a play-by-play analysis of each quarter in the road loss for Mizzou:

Both teams came out of the gates on fire, combining for 50 points. Vanderbilt held the slight edge after the first 27-23 thanks to five triples. The Tigers stayed within striking distance thanks to shooting 50% or higher both from the field and from three. The real difference for Mizzou came in their ability to get to the free throw line, finishing the quarter 7-9. Seven different players scored in the quarter for Harper’s squad, led by Grace Slaughter with six points including a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. Commodore superstar Mikayla Blakes saw limited action early thanks to a pair of early fouls in the first four minutes.

Mizzou started the second quarter strong with a 9-2 run in the first four minutes and 30 seconds to take a 3-point lead and force a Vanderbilt timeout. The Tigers’ zone defense forced tough shots for the Commodores as they started 0-9 from the field and 0-6 in the quarter. Schreacke scored five of those points, leading the team in the first half with 10 points on 4-6 shooting including 2-4 from three.

But this was the last time the Tigers were in control, as Vandy closed the half on a 19-5 run. The Tiger offense could not get clean looks in the last five minutes and struggled to get to the free throw line in the entire second quarter, trailing 48-37 at the half.

Vanderbilt pushed the lead as high as 19 thanks to an 11-3 run to open the third quarter. Mizzou worked to slowly cut down the deficit in the quarter but still trailed 68-53 through three. The Tigers scored only 16 points after shooting 6-18 from the field and 3-11 in the frame. Schreacke made another two triples as the top offensive option, bringing her up to 16 points in the game.

The Commodores took full control in the fourth, winning the frame 31-15. Vandy couldn’t miss, finishing the quarter shooting 13-18 from the field. Turnovers continued to plague the Tigers, with another seven in the final quarter. The last five or so minutes looked like playground basketball, with Mizzou failing to find Vanderbilt in rotation, which led to easy buckets.

While Mizzou (12-6, 0-3 SEC) will not have to face a top-ten team next, they will still have their hands full against an Alabama (16-1, 2-1) team coming off a win against No. 6 Kentucky. The Tigers will host the Tide at 6 p.m. on Monday from Mizzou Arena as a part of the annual “We Back Pat” game honoring Pat Summitt. The game will be available to watch on SEC Network.