Despite success, Robin Pingeton sees plenty to improve on for Missouri women’s hoops

Missouri women’s basketball coach Robin Pingeton is in a pretty good place right now.

After a season-opening loss to Western Kentucky, her team has rattled off nine straight wins and is currently ranked No. 16 in the country, the highest spot the program has held since she took the job in 2010.

And her team is healthy, which wasn’t the case last year, after multiple players went down with season-ending injuries.

But despite the good vibes the Tigers have right now, Pingeton said she has a few concerns on her mind as the team heads to Florida this weekend for the West Palm Invitational. Missouri plays Indiana on Sunday afternoon.

One of her main issues is the team’s play on offense, despite a 35-point performance by star junior Sophie Cunningham on Sunday in a blowout win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

“A lot of it is just a timing issue,” Pingeton said. “When we’re coming off screens, where is the ball at. Our discipline coming off shoulder-to-shoulder. I think it’s stuff that we can definitely shore up. It’s fixable.”

Cunningham echos her coach’s thoughts on offense despite the team’s success and depth.

Missouri brought back redshirt senior Jordan Frericks after she missed last season because of an ACL tear and added Kansas transfer Lauren Aldridge at point guard, so the Tigers are still getting acquainted on offense 10 games into the season.

“I just think we haven’t 100 percent jelled yet,” Cunningham said. “I think we need more ball movement more inside touches, just swinging the ball. I haven’t put my finger on it, what’s not clicking. We’re winning games, which is good, but hopefully when we get to the SEC, we’ll feel 100 percent about our offense.”

The return of Frericks has given Missouri a 1-2 punch inside with junior Cierra Porter. The duo is averaging 24 points and 17 rebounds per game and gives Cunningham other options when defenses are double-teaming her.

Pingeton is also hoping to see improvement on defense in Florida, where the Tigers will have their hands full with Hoosiers senior guard Tyra Buss.

Buss goes into the weekend averaging 20.9 points per game and was an all-Big 10 player last season.

“She’s got a wide range to her game,” Pingeton said. “Shoots the three ball, gets to the rim. Has a killer floater. It’s amazing to watch on film. And a tremendous passer. She’s pretty special.”

Missouri had to deal with players like Buss recently in games against New Orleans and St. Louis. Billikens star Jackie Kemph came into last Friday’s game against Missouri averaging 20 points a game and finished with 18 points in a 70-58 loss.

The Tigers held New Orleans star Randi Brown to just nine points on 3-of-22 shooting in a blowout win, but Pingeton thought Missouri gave her way too many opportunities to shoot.

The Hoosiers give Missouri a chance to do a better job defensively on an opponent’s leading scorer.

“The challenge with Buss is as soon as you give her too much attention she really does a great job of distributing the ball,” Pingeton said. “There’s other kids that can step up and knock down shots, too.”

Pingeton said she doesn’t really pay attention to the rankings and neither does the team. She said the team’s No. 16 ranking shows how far the program has come in her eight years on the job, but it isn’t a good measuring stick for the success of the season.

“It’s all about March,” she said.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Despite success, Robin Pingeton sees plenty to improve on for Missouri women’s hoops."