The Kellie Harper era at Missouri didn’t start the way anyone expected. In her debut on the Mizzou sideline, the Tigers fell 90-84 to Division II Maryville on Tuesday night at Mizzou Arena — the program’s first exhibition loss since 2001.
A year ago, Mizzou cruised past Truman State by 36 points in its exhibition opener. This time, turnovers and missed shots proved costly, dooming the Tigers in an uncharacteristically flat performance.
“We had a lot of mistakes,” Harper said after the game. “Just lack of communication… when you’re sitting over there and don’t know which defense is going to be your best defense, that’s a bad position to be in.”
Fast start, slow fade
The Tigers opened strong, jumping ahead 13–1 behind an aggressive start from guard Shannon Dowell, one of seven newcomers. The transfer guard attacked early, drawing multiple fouls and finishing through contact for a three-point play.
But the early rhythm didn’t last. After taking a double-digit lead into the second quarter, Mizzou’s offense unraveled. Ten first-half turnovers led directly to transition buckets for Maryville, which slowly chipped away at the deficit.
By halftime, the Tigers were shooting just 10-of-40 from the field and 2-of-19 from three-point range — a 25% team clip. Their lone returning starter, Grace Slaughter, helped pace the team with eight points at the break.
Saints seize control
The Saints, meanwhile, found their touch. Maryville shot 50% from three in the third quarter, hitting timely shots to take their first lead of the night. The difference from beyond the arc told the story: Maryville finished 12-of-34 on threes, while Missouri went just 3-of-30.
Mizzou’s struggles to finish inside didn’t help either. The Tigers went 13-of-23 on layups, often creating good looks but failing to convert.
“A lot of that is focus,” Harper said. “We talked about getting to two feet, being tougher there in the paint. Honestly, we just missed a lot of shots — several elbow jumpers that we didn’t make.”
Reisma shines, then goes down
Sophomore Jordana Reisma provided one of the few bright spots, posting a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. She helped fuel a third-quarter push that momentarily put Missouri back in front before exiting briefly with an injury late in the fourth.
Reisma returned minutes later and hit a clutch three-pointer — her first at Mizzou — to tie the game at 74 with 1:32 left, forcing overtime. But the Tigers couldn’t sustain the momentum, missing multiple late looks as the Saints held on for the upset.
According to Dylan Heinrich from Rock M Nation, Mizzou played without Saniah Tyler, Hannah Linthacum, and Sydney Mains, leaving Harper with limited depth. Still, the lack of production from role players was striking.
“Our minutes were a little bit lower with some of those other players,” Harper said. “We’ve got to get more production out of more players, for sure.”
The turnovers were another lingering concern. Missouri committed 18 of them, leading directly to 10 Maryville points — an issue that carried over from the Robin Pingeton era.
“Eighteen for us is extremely high,” Harper said. “It needs to be several, several lower than that.”
Despite the surprising result, Harper reminded reporters that she’s been here before.
“My last year at Missouri State, we lost an exhibition to a Division II team and ended up in the Sweet 16,” she said. “It’s never fun, but it’ll grab their attention better than anything else.”
Missouri opens its regular season next Monday at home against Central Arkansas at 6:30 p.m. inside Mizzou Arena.