Off the rails: Tigers WBB blown out by Florida 93-67

Mizzou loses its 16th straight SEC game after terrible 4th quarter

With five seconds in the third quarter, Mizzou WBB trailed Florida by 12 points. In a desperation attempt, guard Nyah Wilson raced up the court, releasing a deep three from the Kansas City area of the Missouri logo right as the buzzer sounded. This miracle shot rainbowed in, as the Tigers seemed to cut the deficit to single digits. But after a quick review, the referees ruled that the shot was released milliseconds late and the shot would not count. Close, but no cigar.

That appeared to make all the difference, as Mizzou opened the fourth quarter flat, falling behind by 20-plus points, and stayed there the rest of the game. Another game, another loss as the Tigers (11-8, 0-4 SEC) fell to Florida (11-7, 2-2 SEC) 93-67 for the team’s 16th consecutive SEC loss.

Florida opened up ahead leading the first quarter 26-17 after some elite shooting. The catalyst for this performance was freshman and former five-star Liv McGill with 12 points and 3 assists. She finished the game with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists for a near triple-double.

“She’s just fearless as a freshman, just the athleticism and the speed,” Mizzou head coach Robin Pingeton said. “I’ve watched a lot of film on her. I’ve been really impressed. I think she’s gonna have a great career in the SEC.”

Ashton Judd did her best to match, leading the Tigers with 7 points in the quarter including a big made triple.

The Gators held that lead into the half, ahead 45-36 after 20 minutes of action. Florida managed to build this lead thanks to a proficiency from beyond-the-arc. The away team finished the half 7-11, while Mizzou finished 2-7. It wasn’t all negative, as the Tigers managed to get to the line 11 times, leading to six points. The second quarter belonged to Averi Kroenke, who finished with six points while playing all 10 minutes.

“You talk about my injury last year, I try to look for the positive in everything. And so of course, I would do anything to get to play, but while I was out, I really got to take time to work on my shooting,” Kroenke said. “I’ve really tried to put in a lot of reps, and it’s cool to see it pay off. But you know, I’ll do anything to just have a W in the win loss column, rather than points in my column. So anything I can do to help the team, that’s what I want.”

Judd started the second half with five clutch points, cutting the deficit to five. But this was the closest it got, as Florida kept the Tigers at an arms-length away before blowing it wide open in the fourth to secure the road win. Florida guard Jeriah Warren set a new career-high with 27 points, finishing the game 9-13 from the field and 6-9 from three.

The Florida offense was unstoppable all night. The Gators finished over 50% from the field and from three, making 12 triples compared to 5 for Mizzou. They dominated the game in transition, outscoring the Tigers 21-5 in transition points. This marked the first time Pingeton’s team allowed 90 points all season.

Mizzou finished with three players in double-digits: Ashton Judd (18), Grace Slaughter (17) and Averi Kroenke (11). The other real positive came as the Tigers finished with single-digit turnovers, a rarity.

This was the last projected win on Mizzou’s schedule, facing a slaughterhouse down the stretch in SEC play. That includes a trip to Norman on Thursday against No. 10 Oklahoma (13-3, 1-2 SEC) at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.

“You don’t get a chance to hang your head. You don’t get a chance to feel sorry,” Pingeton said. “I think it tells you a lot about your character and how you show up every day…we got to get back up, put our shoulders back…we want to soldier on, and so I’m sure we’re all excited to get back to work [at practice] on Tuesday.”