money Kwiecinski: If you're not paying attention to Mizzou women's basketball, you should be now
There's no way Missouri should have won.
It's a game that was undoubtedly an all-time classic, unlikely to be replicated in any shape or similar fashion, either.
After all, there should be no way a team with eight available players could take down the No. 1 overall team in the nation that already has wins over six ranked opponents.
When Missouri took down the No. 1 overall Gamecocks on a Lauren Hansen layup with one-tenth of a second remaining, it put the sports world on pause, let alone the greater Columbia area.
More: What we learned from Mizzou women's basketball's 70-69 upset over No. 1 South Carolina
If you're not paying attention, now you should be to what is one of the best women's basketball teams in the SEC.
This advisory goes beyond Columbia, Missouri. It also goes out to the Associated Press Top 25 ranking committee, the women's basketball community and beyond: Rank Missouri women's basketball, period.
After all, how many times does a sports moment present itself which contains enough drama and subtext to evoke comparisons to the Miracle on Ice.
"Great moments were created by great opportunities," MU coach Robin Pingeton said, evoking a line from the movie Miracle. "What a storyline this could be with only eight players that could suit up — what an incredible storyline. So what are we gonna do with it?"
Pingeton, eying a flashback to the Sophie Cunningham days which compounded 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament berths, did much more Thursday. Her win over South Carolina was a masterclass of coaching that should be considered for enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
That coaching job was executed to near perfection on the court, as MU, knowing it faced a mismatch against South Carolina's height, still came out and played aggressively on the offensive end.
Hayley Frank and Hansen finished with 21 apiece, while LaDazhia Williams and Mama Dembele scored 12 points and 11 points, respectively, in performances that exemplified grit and strength.
Frank, Hansen and Dembele all played over 42 minutes in the 45-minute contest.
Hansen, whose game-tying shot attempt at Baylor missed by inches, found her game-winning basket on a drive where everything seemingly faded as she took step by step toward the basket and watched her layup hang on the front iron for an agonizing half-second before falling in.
"Honestly, I'm still in shock," Hansen said of her game-winner.
The win was a statement of epic proportions as it is. The No. 1 overall team losing to unranked opponents is always a big story, but when the unranked team is extremely limited thanks to a global pandemic, then it becomes one of the best women's college basketball upsets of all time.
However, Thursday's win also held personal meaning to Missouri.
The Tigers were looking for any way to distance themselves from the sting of having to endure consecutive losing seasons. In the six months since the team joined up with each other for summer workouts, lessons from those two seasons helped the team forge ahead into a complete team.
Those lessons were something MU isn't going to forget, even as it made history against the Gamecocks Thursday.
"It sharpened our leadership in the locker room," Pingeton said. "It sharpened our players, sharpened us as coaches."
As far as the players, there might not have been a player as sharp as Frank was against South Carolina. She hit seven of her eight shots, all of her free throws and demanded respect from the Gamecocks defense.
Frank said games like Thursday were the reason she chose to play at Missouri. That opportunity presented itself and Frank never backed down for a second of the 42:39 she played.
"It's just so special to have been through the fire and get to feel what it feels like to come out and win one of these kinds of games," Frank said.
It was one of those games where things did go Missouri's way, such as Aliya Boston, Brea Beal and Victaria Saxton getting into foul trouble and sitting for key moments of the second and third quarters.
But, as much as some calls went MU's way, others didn't. Still, that didn't matter as the Tigers were the more aggressive team.
Missouri dove for loose balls, took risks swiping for steals and challenged a team with All-American candidates head-on. The Tigers didn't have a choice, any slip-up meant the Gamecocks could run past them or get MU in foul trouble.
The aggression, determination and mental fortitude were all present with the last two seasons in mind. That took center stage in overtime as Missouri fought back from down five and held South Carolina scoreless for the final three minutes of the game.
"The key is, are you willing to look yourself in the mirror and be accountable to what you see, and what do you like and what do you not like, and to take ownership of that," Pingeton said. "That's a hard thing to do."
As Tigers players and coaches sifted out of the locker room, they yelled and woo'ed into the night. The yells carried into the emptying Mizzou Arena, echoing seemingly louder and louder into the night.
Those yells should reach the AP Top 25 voters. They should reach the women's basketball community. They should reach the rest of Columbia.
If you're not paying attention, you should be to a team that's going to make waves in the SEC.
"Our mission this year, it was never about beating South Carolina," Pingeton said. "It's about being in that NCAA tournament in March."
Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com, or 435 414-3261.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: If you're not watching Missouri women's basketball, you should be
