Mizzou women thump Central Missouri by 30 in exhibition opener

Missouri women’s basketball, which will open the season ranked No. 24 in the country, dispatched Central Missouri 65-35 in its exhibition opener Tuesday at Mizzou Arena.

Behind 40 points from the Cunningham sisters and a dominant defense, the Tigers cruised despite 18 turnovers.

Sophomore Sophie Cunningham scored a game-high 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting with six assists, while senior Lindsey Cunningham added 19 points and a game-best seven rebounds.

Senior Sierra Michaelis chipped in 11 points before fouling out as the Tigers limited the Jennies to 17 percent shooting from the field.

No Central Missouri player scored more than nine points.

Mizzou shot 42 percent from the field, but only broke even 39-39 on the glass without senior forward Jordan Frericks, who tore her ACL last month and will miss the season.

Frericks led the Tigers in rebounding each of the last three seasons.

Sophomore Cierra Porter, who is returning from Lisfranc surgery last spring, scored four points with five rebounds in 18 minutes.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Mizzou women thump Central Missouri by 30 in exhibition opener."