An Abbey Schreacke layup gave Mizzou a 5-3 lead against BYU less than two minutes into the second round matchup of the WBIT. But this was the last lead the Tigers held, as the BYU offense boat raced the visitors 93-75 and ending the first season under coach Kellie Harper. The Tigers trailed by 21 points at the end of the first quarter and never brought it within single digits.
The Cougar offense was unstoppable, shooting 51% from the field while draining 14 threes at a 41% percent clip. Delaney Gribb was the main culprit, scoring a game-high 29 points while making seven triples.
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After a slow start the Mizzou offense looked good with 58 points in the final three quarters. Four Tigers finished the game in double-digits, led by Grace Slaughter and Chloe Sotell who each scored 17. Sotell made five threes to score her highest total since late December.
Here’s how the whole game played out:
Mizzou fell behind early, trailing 28-7 at the end of the first quarter. BYU controlled the pace on both ends of the floor, closing the quarter on a 16-0 run. The Cougars controlled the offensive end, shooting 12-20 from the field and 4-9 from three. By comparison the Tigers shot a mere 3-20 on field goals and 1-7 from three.
The Tigers played much better to open the second quarter, using a 15-4 run to cut the lead down to 37-22 at the media timeout. But BYU responded with an 11-3 run of its own before a Shannon Dowell three cut the Mizzou deficit back down to 21 at the half. Slaughter (10) and Dowell (8) combined for 2/3rds of the Tigers’ points in the first half. Dowell ended the game with 11.
Both offenses were humming in the third quarter, combining for 49 points. But BYU continued to shoot the ball at an incredible clip, finishing the quarter 13-19 from the field and scoring 28 points to take a 76-48 lead. As a team Mizzou did a good job getting to the free throw line, shooting 7-7 in the frame. The Tigers scored 21 points of their own, with Jayla Smith scoring seven on three-made shots. Smith was the final Tiger in double-digits with 11 points.
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Mizzou won the fourth quarter 27-17, going on a 16-3 run to close the game (helped by BYU taking its starters out). This was where Sotell did most of her damage, making three triples to score nine points in the quarter.
This marked the final time that Jordana Reisma, Smith and Saniah Tyler would play for Mizzou as the season officially comes to a close. I’ll have a full breakdown on the season and what comes next on the site within the week, so stay tuned. But until then, a year of growth comes to an end with the team’s first postseason appearance/win in since the 2022-23 season.
