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PrintCOLUMBIA — The ball barely left the Memphis player’s fingertips before senior BreAnna Brock had swatted it out of the air and slammed it to the ground.
With just two minutes left in the first half, the crowd sent up a roar in response to Brock’s powerful block.
With four lead changes throughout the game, the Missouri women’s basketball team's six blocks added excitement to push the Tigers to a 58-48 victory over Memphis.
“Blocking just happens, to be honest,” said Brock, a 6-foot-2-inch forward, who chalked up four blocks for Missouri (9-1). “It’s in the flow of the game for me, so I’m just ready to keep going with it.”
Brock said she’s been watching teammate Christine Flores as she blocks.
“She’s been blocking really good, so I kind of go off of her,” Brock said.
With 14 seconds left on the clock, Flores stood near the basket with her arm straight up in the air. As a Memphis player tried to send off a shot, Flores, who stood rooted to the floor, blocked the shot with ease.
Missouri leads the NCAA in blocked shots, averaging 9 per game. Flores is second in the nation, with 4.9 blocked shots per game, and Brock is 10th with 3.1.
However, Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton said she thought that Missouri was soft with its post defense early in the game.
“They’re such good shot blockers, Christine and Bre, and I felt like we were just kind of reliant on being able to block shots,” Pingeton said. “I really challenged them at halftime to get more disciplined with the defense.”
For Flores, a 6-foot-3-inch senior forward, the game was a noteworthy one. She reached 1,000 career points.
“I wanted to have a game to remember my thousand points by, and I can’t think of a better game to do it with. This is an awesome feeling,” Flores said.
At the end of the game, head coach Robin Pingeton presented Flores with the game ball for her accomplishments.
Missouri will face Sam Houston State on Dec. 30 at Mizzou Arena before heading into conference play at No. 1 Baylor on Jan. 4.
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