Kellie Harper has her first SEC hat trick with Missouri women’s basketball, and all of a sudden, after that strong run of results, the season has a little bit of postseason intrigue.
Mizzou won its third straight game by beating Arkansas 87-82 on Thursday, Feb. 5 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Shannon Dowell and Grace Slaughter continued fine runs of scoring form with 25 and 24 points apiece, and the Tigers backed up wins over Texas A&M at home and Mississippi State on the road with another victory away from the comforts of home.
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The Tigers (16-9, 4-6 SEC) have already eclipsed both their overall win total and SEC win total from both of the past two seasons. With one more conference victory this year, the Tigers will tie their SEC win total from the past two seasons combined.
With six games left until the conference tournament, Missouri will officially finish its first regular season under Harper with a winning record.
But there may very well, courtesy of its winning run, be more on the table.
Even, perhaps, beyond the SEC Tournament.
Missouri head coach Kellie Harper reacts during the first half of an NCAA Women’s basketball game against Florida at Exactech Areana in the Steven C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, January 18, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]
Mizzou is currently ranked No. 69 in the Women’s NET Rankings, which means a berth to the NCAA Tournament is still somewhat of a long shot.
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It’s not impossible, but it would require a near-perfect run to the finish. Last season, the lowest-ranked SEC team into the field was Mississippi State as a 9-seed, and the Bulldogs finished the year No. 33 in the NET.
Mississippi State was 21-11 with one conference tournament win and a 7-9 mark in SEC play to reach that spot. With just one Quad 1 and one Quad 2 win so far, Missouri’s 2025-26 résumé is lacking, and the Tigers would likely need an incredibly strong finish to the year to hear their name called on selection day.
As of Friday, Feb. 6, Missouri was not included in Charlie Creme’s bracketology at ESPN or in The Athletic’s projected March Madness field. It’s an uphill climb that would likely require the Tigers to close out the regular season at least 3-3 and then win a conference tournament game or two.
There’s also the WBIT or WNIT as postseason options, which would still be considered ahead-of-schedule for the team Harper inherited.
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Florida went to the WBIT last season with a 5-11 SEC record, getting to the postseason after going 16-17 in the regular season with a pair of SEC Tournament wins.
That is absolutely within reach for Missouri. Depending on how many teams accept or reject postseason berths outside of the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers likely only need one or two more wins to receive an invite.
If it’s going to happen, the likelihood is that the victories need to come almost immediately.
Missouri’s final three games of the season are No. 5 LSU and No. 3 South Carolina on the road back-to-back and then No. 11 Oklahoma at home. That’s as hard of a three-game stretch as you could possibly piece together.
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Before that, the Tigers will host Georgia (Sunday, Feb. 8) and Auburn (Thursday, Feb. 19) on either side of Harper’s return to Knoxville, Tennessee to face her former school, the No. 17-ranked Lady Vols on Thursday, Feb. 12.
More: ‘I wasn’t done.’ Inside Missouri coach Kellie Harper’s year away, happy return to sideline
More: Missouri women’s basketball’s full 2025-26 season schedule. Dates, times, TV channels
Nothing is certain yet, but the Tigers have given themselves a chance to play beyond the SEC Women’s Tournament. It has been three years since Mizzou’s season did not finish in Greenville, South Carolina.
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With one month left in Harper’s first campaign in Columbia, Mizzou has left options on the table.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou women’s basketball winning streak sparks postseason intrigue
