Tigers Women's Basketball Led by Combo of Veterans and Newcomers in Opening Victory
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The freshly painted black seats and updated video boards were not the only new additions on the court at the Mizzou Arena when the Tigers' women's basketball team opened their season against Belmont on Monday. In the Tigers' 72-61 victory, their starting-five included two new faces; true-freshman Grace Slaughter and UMass transfer Angelique Ngalakulondi. The many transfers and freshmen contributors even scored all 18 of the Tigers' first-quarter points.
"I've grown up being a Mizzou fan and I've seen it from the stands so just being in the moment and getting to take that deep breath and just absorb it was super exciting," Slaughter said.
Slaughter, ranked as the No. 53 recruit in the class of 2023, finished with double digits in both points (10) and rebounds (10) while playing just short of 39 minutes. The Missouri native led the team in scoring through the first quarter with six scores on four field-goal attempts.
"I think Grace has a really high-ceiling," Pingeton said. "Just her ability to stretch the court and also play off the bounce."
Though newcomers led the charge in the first half for the Tigers, returning starters Hayley Frank and Mama Dembele took over in the second half. The two combined for 11 points early in the third quarter, giving the Tigers' their biggest lead of the game, 14 points. Pingeton credited the second-half jump to the leadership on the team.
"Great leadership in the locker room," Pingeton said. "I think they had a great talk before the coaches even come in. I think just the maturity of that team, understanding the importance of winning."
Even with the win, the Tigers will have plenty to improve upon for the remainder of their season.
"It wasn't the prettiest game, there's a lot of things we need to work on and we will learn from this a lot," Frank said, "I felt like collectively we stuck together really well."
The Tigers will look to build off the momentum from their opening victory in their second game of the season against Indiana State on Thursday at 7 p.m.
