The Missouri women's basketball team played all 12 healthy members of its roster at least five minutes and every player scored in an 87-56 thrashing of the Florida Gators on Thursday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Greenville, S.C.
The Tigers (22-9) notched their second-ever SEC tournament win thanks to 18 points from Amber Smith, 16 from Hannah Schuchts, 13 from Sophie Cunningham and 10 from Haley Troup.
"I think when we put it all together we're a very good team, and I think everybody just plays their role really well," Smith told SEC Network's Steffi Sorensen after the game.
Next up is a rematch against No. 13 Kentucky (24-6, 11-5 SEC) in the tournament quarterfinals at approximately 1:30 p.m. today on SEC Network. The Wildcats won the only matchup between the two teams this season, 52-41 in Lexington, Ky.
Smith scored seven of her points in the first quarter, before Missouri's offense really started clicking, and was one major reason the Tigers and Gators were tied at 20 after the first 10 minutes. Missouri shot 13-of-34 from 3-point range but missed its first five shots from range.
"They kept finding a rhythm of where they were going to get their shots and they kept shooting them," Florida head coach Cameron Neubauer said. "We didn't mix up our defense early enough and I think they got really comfortable. We wanted to mix things up and disrupt them, and we didn't do that early enough. We thought that being knotted up at 20 was a good thing, and then in the second quarter we just didn't adjust quickly enough."
Missouri responded to a late collapse in Gainesville, Fla., earlier this season, in which the Tigers missed 12 layups, by shooting 15-of-17 on layups Thursday.
Smith was 6-of-10 from the field, 2-for-4 on 3s, 4-for-4 at the foul line, had four assists, and six of her nine rebounds were offensive rebounds.
"It's huge, but I don't expect anything less. I think Amber can do that any game she wants," Cunningham said. "But for her to come out there, especially in the first half when it's going back and forth, it was huge for us just to stay in it."
According to Missouri sports historian Tom Orf, Thursday's game was the second time the team scored 20 or more points in all four quarters since the NCAA implemented quarters for women's basketball in 2015: the other was against Mississippi in Feb. 2017. The Tigers scored 20 in the first, 22 in the second and third quarters and 23 in the fourth.
Missouri outrebounded Florida 38-27 and outshot them overall 52.5 percent to 37 percent and 38 percent to 26 percent from 3-point range. Missouri shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half and 77 percent in the fourth quarter.
Schuchts, Troup, Jordan Chavis and Emmanuelle Tahane were big factors in the Tigers scoring 40 bench points. Missouri didn't play any starters more than 27 minutes.
"I think our team is honestly in the best spot it's been in all year long, just mentally and physical-wise," Cunningham said during an appearance on SEC Now. "It took everyone, and I think everyone got an opportunity to play, and that's big. That's big for our legs, considering what we have in front of us, but I really am just so proud of the effort."
Schuchts shot 4-for-6 from deep against the Gators, and has shot 8-of-10 from 3-point range in her last two games.
"Shooting the ball pretty well," Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said of Schuchts. "To me, I think frustrating for Hannah throughout the course of the season, because she hasn't been able to do that consistently. That's what we see out of her in practice and we just talk about, a lot, her being more assertive offensively, and coming up wanting the shot versus, 'I'm open, and I'll take the shot.'
"There's a big difference in that mindset. But the last couple games she's really shot it well for us and I think that opens up so much more for us. And certainly both her and Cierra (Porter) bring so much value to our team in two different types of ways and so I think it's a completely different look when Hannah's out on the court versus CP, and both have great value."
Missouri finished with 11 turnovers, matching its second-lowest total this season.
Cunningham's 13 points gives her 2,095 for her career. She needs to score 25 points to pass Renee Kelly's second-place mark of 2,119 and 32 points to pass Joni Davis' program record of 2,126. Cunningham will have at least two games - today against Kentucky and one NCAA tournament game - to attempt to reach the mark.
III
The Tigers are finding their offensive stride at the right moment.
In its last three games, Missouri is averaging just shy of 81 points per game, well above its season average of 64.6 before its win at Arkansas. The team's next opponent, Kentucky, was responsible for holding the Tigers to 41 points in late January, a season-low for the otherwise high-powered offense.
Missouri committed 20 turnovers and shot just 33 percent against the Wildcats while giving up 16 offensive rebounds, 21 points off turnovers and 17 second-chance points. The Tigers scored seven points and were out-scored by 11 in the third quarter, and scored nine in the second quarter of that game.
"Matthew Mitchell is a great coach, and he's got a great team," Pingeton said. "You've got the freshman of the year (Rhyne Howard), you've got Maci Morris, you've got (Taylor) Murray, who was just a nightmare for us, so we've got a lot of respect for that program and what Matthew's been able to do. I'm really anxious to get back to the hotel and dive into film and come up with a game plan.
"Like any game in the tournament, it's going to be tough, but I feel really good about where our team's at right now, I think we've been playing really well as of late. We're looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow."
Kentucky averages 71.8 points per game this season, sixth in the SEC, and holds opponents to 57.8 points per game, fourth in the conference. The Wildcats and Tigers are two of three teams in the conference that shoot better than 35 percent from 3-point range, and both defenses hold opponents to under 31 percent on deep looks.
Part of Missouri's scoring success to close the season has been because it has taken care of the ball.
The Tigers will need to continue to do so to beat Kentucky, which is second in the SEC in steals per game, where both Howard and Murray are threats, and first in average turnover margin.
With the increased scoring has come an increased pace for Missouri, but it needs to play under control against the Wildcats.
Where the Tigers have a clear advantage is in rebounding. Kentucky had a good game plan and beat out Missouri on the boards last time they played, but the Wildcats are in the bottom half of the conference in offensive rebounds, offensive rebounding percentage, defensive rebounds and defensive rebounding percentage and are minus-1.9 on the boards per game on average. Pingeton's team is last in offensive rebounds, with fewer than 10 per game, but is sixth in the conference in rebounding margin at plus-3.1 per game.
Missouri's offense, riding this hot streak, could carry the Tigers to a semis rematch against Mississippi State. But if, and likely when, today's game slows down, a focus on rebounding and keeping possession will help Missouri stay in control as it looks for a second-straight redemptive win in the conference tournament and second-ever second-round win.