University of Missouri
Central Arkansas
Women's Basketball Begins new era, Opens Season Against Central Arkansas Monday
11/1/2025 9:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Mizzou women's basketball will begin its 52nd season at 6:30 p.m. on Monday against Central Arkansas at Mizzou Arena. The contest will be broadcast on SECN+.
This game ushers in a new era for the Tigers, with head coach Kellie Harper at the helm. In March, Harper became the fifth coach in Mizzou program history. In 20 seasons as a Division I head coach, Harper has led her teams to a 393-260 record with nine NCAA Tournament berths. She has piloted her squads to 15 top-three league finishes and four conference tournament championships. Including her playing career at Tennessee, Harper has 11 seasons of SEC experience. In 2022-23, Harper led the Lady Volunteers to the NCAA Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season.
She is one of two coaches in women's college basketball history to guide four different programs to the NCAA Tournament (Jim Foster) and one of only three coaches all-time to produce four straight first-round picks in the WNBA Draft. She joined UConn's Geno Auriemma (2008-11, 2013-16) and Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw (2012-15) in that company.
The Tigers are headlined by 2024-25 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, Grace Slaughter. Last year, Slaughter averaged 15.0 points and reached double figures in 26 contests. Slaughter currently ranks second in program history in career free-throw percentage at 84.6 percent.
Slaughter was recently named to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Watchlist.
Junior guard Abbey Schreacke returns to the roster after leading the team in 3-pointers a year ago. During the 2024-25 season, she ranked 14th in SEC 3-point field goal attempts (168).
Pairing with Slaughter and Schreacke, Mizzou will feature a reloaded roster with eight new additions added eight transfers in the off-season in Shannon Dowell (Illinois State), Saniah Tyler (Kentucky), Lisa Thompson (Rutgers), Jordana Reisma (Cleveland State), Jayla Smith (Purdue), Chloe Sotell (Pepperdine), Sydney Mains (Florida Atlantic) and freshman Reka Toman).
Spending three seasons at Cleveland State, Reisma led the nation in field-goal percentage (67.7%) among all NCAA returners.
Dowell, an All-Missouri Valley Conference Second-Team honoree, averaged a team-high 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season while at Illinois State. Dowell begins the year with 969 career points, needing just 31 to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
Entering the contest, Mizzou has an all-time record of 866-664 including a 41-10 record in season openers and 43-8 mark in home openers.
The matchup will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs.
Central Arkansas finished last season 23-10, including a 15-3 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The Sugar Bears are coached by Tony Kemper who is in his third season at the helm. Kemper led the team to the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Central Arkansas is headlined by graduate student Bree Stephens who averaged 5.0 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds last season.
TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2025-26 campaign are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting ticketmaster.com/Mizzou. For more information, call the Mizzou Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-CAT-PAWS. Current season-ticket holders can renew their tickets by using their Mizzou Tigers account.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou Women's Basketball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on Instagram, Facebook and X.
