Lassiter’s ‘D’ sparks Tigers 2nd-half rally

“She made her presence known and that’s what I like about Amanda,” Missouri coach Cindy Stein said. “She knew she wasn’t shooting too well, so she picks up her defensive game when she’s not shooting well. It’s nice to see, because she did cause a lot of havoc and she pressured the passer. They kept going inside. The key for us was to pressure the passer so they couldn’t see the inside kid because our interior defense wasn’t what we wanted it to be. She just took it to a whole new level.”

Wildcat 3-point bomber Kim Woodlee started the game on fire, going 4-for-9 from behind the arc. The senior guard tied a career-high with six 3-pointers. She is now 11 away from tying the Big 12 career record of 274 3-point field goals (Stacy Frese, Iowa State) and has now moved into the top 30 in NCAA women’s basketball history in the category.

Stein gave Lassiter the assignment of guarding Woodlee at the half and Lassiter limited her to two second-half 3-pointers. More importantly, Lassiter gave Woodlee fewer open looks, forced her to call a timeout after picking up her dribble and forced her to pass the ball more often.

“I think that was my focus coming out of the first half,” Lassiter said. “My offense wasn’t really good tonight so I had to focus on something else. Coaches were always talking about pressuring the guards, pressuring the guards. So I took it upon myself to pressure ‘em and get something started so we can make this run.”

While Lassiter sparked MU’s defense, center Marlena Williams continued to struggle. The foul-prone center fouled out for the fourth time in six Big 12 Conference games this season. She picked up two quick fouls in the first five minutes, including one for elbowing a Wildcat player after grabbing one of her six rebounds. Williams played just five minutes in the first half and 21 overall.

Williams did make the most of her limited action scoring eight second half points before fouling out with 44 seconds left to play.

“Pep is a player who, when she’s in foul trouble, needs to get in a flow,” Lassiter said. “Giving her the ball and letting her make plays, that’s getting her into the flow. And that’s what we have to do because we really do need Pep. She’s a tremendous player in the post and she can hit some outside shots. And when she gets in the flow of the game she’s very dangerous. We need a player like that, so we just get her and keep her in the flow some kind of way whether it’s offense or defense, help her stay positive with herself at all times.”

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