Women’s Basketball Falls to Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite four Tigers in double figures, University of Missouri Women’s Basketball fell to Tennessee, 80-69, on Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Senior guard Mama Dembele led the Tigers with 18 points and seven rebounds. With three assists, Dembele became the fourth Tiger to record 400 career assists in program history.

Freshman guard Grace Slaughter recorded 14 points on a 5-of-9 clip (55.6 percent). Slaughter now stands 39 points shy of reaching the program’s top ten for points scored in a freshman season.

Sophomore guard Ashton Judd recorded 12 points and five rebounds. Judd tallied her third straight game of at least 10 points and five rebounds.

Freshman forward Hilke Feldrappe matched a career-high with 11 points on a 4-of-7 mark from the field. Nine of Feldrappe’s scoring total came in the final frame.

Both squads found a rhythm early as each team knocked down above 60 percent of their attempts in the first quarter. A late offensive spurt saw Tennessee take a 28-17 lead at the end of the opening period. Dembele headlined the Tigers with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 clip in the frame.

Trailing to begin the second quarter, the Tigers used back-to-back 3-pointers from Judd to cut the Lady Vols’ advantage to 34-28. Mizzou also found momentum on the defensive end as they limited Tennessee to a 0-of-7 clip from beyond the arc in the period. Despite the effort from the Tigers, the Lady Vols’ extended their lead to 46-34 entering the break.

Facing a 15-point deficit midway through the third, a tough layup from Slaughter sparked a 12-0 scoring run. During the charge, Slaughter scored nine of Missouri’s points as the Tigers closed the Tennessee advantage to 52-49. In the closing moments of the period, the Lady Vols’ would respond with a run of their own as they took a 63-49 lead entering the final quarter.

The late surge from the Lady Vols was enough to secure the victory as Tennessee maintained its advantage until the final buzzer despite Feldrappe’s nine points.

UP NEXT

The Tigers stay on the road as they head to South Carolina on Thursday to take on the No. 1 ranked Gamecocks. Tipoff is slated for 6 pm and will be broadcast on SEC Network.