Women’s Basketball Falls to No. 1 South Carolina

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri women’s basketball team fell to No. 1 South Carolina, 81-57, Thursday night at Mizzou Arena.

Sophomore guard Ashton Judd led the Tigers with 16 points and seven rebounds. Judd has recorded at least 12 points and seven rebounds in three of the last four contests.

Senior forward Hayley Frank tallied 16 points and six rebounds. Frank scored 11 of her total in the third quarter on a 4-of-5 clip.

Freshman guard Grace Slaughter notched 12 points to record double-digits in back-to-back games.

It was a heavily contested opening minutes to start the game as the two teams traded baskets early. Slaughter scored the Tigers’ first six points following the tip and had eight in the frame overall, but neither squad gained an advantage of more than six points as South Carolina held a three-point lead at the conclusion.

Frank hit back-to-back buckets including a 3-pointer and ignited a 10-3 Mizzou run early in the second frame. Freshman forward Hilke Feldrappe capped the spurt with a corner triple. The offensive charge gave the Tigers a two-point lead, their first of the contest. South Carolina quickly responded with two separate scoring runs as the Gamecocks hit 7-of-9 field goals down the stretch to take a 41-28 advantage into the break.

To begin the third, Frank would find a rhythm early as she knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to start the quarter and spark a 9-2 offensive spurt. Judd converted a tough three-point play to cut the Tigers’ deficit to just six points. The Gamecocks generated an 8-0 response run and extended their advantage to 59-46.

The Tigers fought to cut into the South Carolina lead as Judd and Slaughter each tallied four points in the fourth quarter. But, the Gamecocks would maintain the double-digit advantage until the final buzzer.

Missouri converted on 10 of their 3-point attempts while South Carolina made eight from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT

Missouri will travel to face Vanderbilt at noon CT on Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee. The contest will air on SEC Network.