Women’s Basketball set for Clash With Texas A&M

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Women’s Basketball returns to Mizzou Arena to take on Texas A&M at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday. The contest will be broadcast on SEC Network.

Missouri enters the game after a defeat at Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

Senior forward Hayley Frank led the Tigers in scoring for second consecutive contest with 24 points while also tallying five assists. Frank currently ranks fifth on Missouri’s all-time scoring leaderboard and stands 23 points behind Julie Helm (1996-00) for fourth.

Grace Slaughter scored 13 points against Kentucky and ranks fourth among SEC freshmen in scoring at 11.5 points per game.

Slaughter (41.7%) and freshman Abbey Schreacke (39.5%) rank 5th and 7th respectively in the SEC in 3-point percentage.

Senior point guard Mama Dembele dished 10 assists against the Wildcats and ranks first in the SEC with 7.2 assists per game (3rd nationally) and second in the conference with 3.3 steals (7th nationally). Dembele is three assists shy of passing Sophie Cunningham (15-19) for fourth on Mizzou’s all-time leaderboard.

Missouri generates much of its offense from beyond the arc, ranking second in the SEC in 3-point percentage (36.1%), and 23rd in the country (2nd in SEC) with 8.6 makes per contest.

With two freshmen, a sophomore and two seniors, Mizzou has the youngest starting lineup in the conference this season.

Texas A&M enters the contest following a 99-64 defeat on Sunday to No. 1 South Carolina.

The Aggies are coached by Joni Taylor who is in her second season on the sideline with a 163-99 overall record. Taylor led Texas A&M to a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA tournament a season ago. The Aggies became the first No. 13 seed to reach the quarters in tournament history.

The Aggies roster is headlined by Endyia Rogers, Aicha Coulibaly, and Janiah Barker who each average 12 or more points per game. All three rank respectively in the top 30 for points per game in the SEC.

Rogers ranks seventh in the SEC with 4.1 assists per game, while Barker ranks 10th in the SEC with 8.4 rebounds per game.

Texas A&M leads the all-time series between the programs 20-13, while the Tigers hold an 8-7 record in matchups in Columbia.