Missouri women win season opener with victory over Abilene Christian

It was not the easiest of victories, but the Missouri women’s basketball team opened up their season on a winning note.

The Tigers, ranked No. 24 in The Associated Press poll, was able to grind out a 52-46 win over Abilene Christian at Mizzou Arena on Friday night in Columbia as part of the preseason WNIT.

Missouri trailed Abilene Christian 33-31 at the end of three quarters, but the Tigers got it together and won the battle in the fourth quarter, outscoring Abilene Christian 21-13.

The Wildcats had their last lead at 36-33 with 8:41 left in the fourth quarter on Dominique Golightly’s three-pointer. But Missouri answered with 11 straight points to gain control.

Four players scored in double figures for Missouri, led by Sophie Cunningham’s 13 points. Lianna Doty had 12 points, Sierra Michaelis chipped in 11 and Cierra Porter finished with 10 points to go along with her 12 rebounds.

The Tigers couldn’t quite find their shooting touch, particularly from long range. Missouri threw up 23 three-point shots and only connected on 3. Overall, the Tigers were 17-50 from the field for 34 percent.

But Mizzou was able to keep things tough and ugly for Abilene Christian, which shot 28.8 percent for the game (15-52, including 6 of 22 on threes).

It was Missouri’s eighth straight victory in season openers. The Tigers are 35-8 in season openers all-time.

Abilene Christian was without last season’s Southland Conference Player of the Year, Alexis Mason, who was injured on Monday night in the exhibition against McMurry. Suzzy Dimba led the Wildcats with 11 points.

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Missouri women win season opener with victory over Abilene Christian."