Feb 22, 2004

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Despite a career day from senior All-America candidate Evan Unrau (Fort Collins, Colo. / Rocky Mountain High School), the Missouri women's basketball team dropped a double-overtime thriller to the No. 8/8 Kansas State Wildcats, 93-90, Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center.

Unrau set a new career-high with 40 points, while also grabbing a game-high 15 boards and dishing off four assists before fouling out with 1.9 seconds left - the only part of the 50-minute game that she didn't play - and departing to a standing ovation. The scoring total is just one off Renee Kelly's 1986 school record, and ties the third-highest total in the eight-year history of the Big 12 Conference. Unrau's double-double is also her league-leading 12th of the season. Perkins and senior forward Stretch James (Columbus, Ohio / Tyler [Texas] JC) both contributed 14 points, and Bond chipped in 11. Kendra Wecker led Kansas State with 26 points, and Nicole Ohlde dropped in 23. Megan Mahoney led the Wildcats with nine rebounds after scoring 20.

"I've never been more proud of a team after a loss than I am today," Head Coach Cindy Stein said. "We're really disappointed, obviously, but I feel like our team gave their heart and soul tonight. As a coach, you can't ask for anything more. A few breaks here and there and we might have been able to pull it out."

The Tigers (13-11, 4-9 Big 12) got out to a quick 5-0 lead on a pair of long field goals - an 18-footer from senior guard MyEsha Perkins (Detroit, Mich. / Oak Park HS / Trinity Valley [Texas] JC), and a 24-foot bomb from Unrau.

Kansas State (21-3, 12-1), which now holds a one-game lead in the conference following Texas' loss at Texas Tech, came roaring back with a 9-2, taking a 9-7 lead with just over 15 minutes left in the first half. The Tigers answered with a 13-6 run of their own over the next 3:43, capped off by an Unrau 3-pointer, to open up a 20-13 lead.

Unrau had 10 points within the first 8:04 of the contest. With 4:34 left in the first half, she sank a 15-foot jumper from the right baseline to become the eighth player in Missouri history to score 1,500 points in a career. She finished the first half with 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

The second half began much as the first one ended, with the teams exchanging buckets in the opening minutes. The Tigers held a 50-40 lead at the first media timeout, powered by free throws from Roney and sophomore center Christelle N'Garsanet (Abidjan, Ivory Coast / Illinois Central College).

Mizzou built its largest lead at 15 (56-41) with 11:49 to go before Kansas State reeled off a 17-0 run over the next 7:00, capped off by a Laurie Koehn 3-pointer with 4:49 left. The lead changed hands five times over the final 4:49 of regulation, and ended with Unrau hitting a layup to tie the score at 67-67 with three seconds left.

Ohlde opened the scoring in the first overtime by hitting a layup to give the Wildcats a two-point advantage, but Bond quickly answered with a jumper to tie the score. After Megan Mahoney scored in the paint to give the Wildcats the lead, Missouri went on an 8-4 run over the next 2:09, capped by a Perkins 3-pointer, to grab a two-point advantage. Mahoney knocked down a jumper to tie the score at 79 apiece before Bond and Wecker traded jumpers to send the contest into a second overtime.

Kansas State went on a 10-2 run for the Wildcats in the second overtime before Unrau went on a personal 5-0 run to bring her team to within three, 89-86. Wecker sank four free throws down the stretch for the Wildcats, however, and the Tigers' upset bid fell short. Bond's desperation 3-pointer from halfcourt bounced wide off the glass.

The women hit the road Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Nebraska, and return Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. for the home-finale against Iowa State that will be regionally televised by FOX Sports Net. For ticket information, call 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in Mid-Missouri). As a reminder, holders of the student All-Sports Pass or the KMIZ-ZOU Spirit Pass gain free admission to all women's basketball games.