Story by Derek Klein
Photos by Lauren Delaney

The Missouri Tigers are coming into form late in the season.

The Tigers defeated the Kansas State Wildcats in overtime on Saturday afternoon, 61-56. The win was the first at home in conference play for Missouri.

Junior guard Liene Priede hits a 3-pointer with three seconds left to tie the score at 53. Priede’s shot gave Mizzou their second straight overtime game.

Mizzou has won two of their last three Big 12 conference games after losing their first 13. The only loss came in overtime at Iowa State.

“I truly believe we are a better team than we were a month ago,” Mizzou coach Robin Pingeton said.

Christine Flores led the way for Mizzou with 20 points, but Liene Priede was the hero for the Tigers.

Priede did not score her first points until the eight minute mark of the second half, but her 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left kept the Tigers alive.

“I kind of saw it was not going straight, but I had a feeling that it’s going to hit the backboard. It’s going to go in,” Priede said.

After a slow start, Priede dominated the final seconds of regulation and overtime. She scored four points in the last 16 seconds of regulation, and five of the Tigers had eight points in overtime.

Pingeton credited the late game heroics to Priede’s recent hard work.

“She’s been getting in a ton of extra shooting, and it really paid off for us tonight,” Pingeton said. “She rolls up her sleeves, and she goes to work.”

Pingeton praised her whole team after the victory. She believes the team is playing their best basketball at the right point in the season. She thinks the momentum the Tigers now have will continue into the final two games of the season and the Big 12 tournament.

“We are going to finish this a certain way, and we are going to finish going out fighting,” Pingeton said.

The Tigers will face the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday night at Mizzou Arena. Mizzou will look for their third conference win of the season, and their third win in their last four games.