3 reasons Sunday is high-stakes for Mizzou women's basketball after losing to Georgia

Missouri women's basketball still has time for a gut-check win to boost its NCAA Tournament resume. The next opportunity comes Sunday.

But Thursday night's loss to No. 21 Georgia has put the Tigers on thin ice.

The Bulldogs had their way with the Tigers, overpowering, outmatching and outplaying Missouri in Georgia's 74-49 victory in Athens.

It's not time for the Tigers (16-10, 5-8 Southeastern Conference) to panic, but the time to do so is potentially creeping closer and closer after losing by 25 to Georgia (18-7, 7-6).

"We've really put our backs against the wall," Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said. "It's not like we don't have what we need in that locker room. We've got the talent."

Thursday was another game where Missouri's offense was unproductive and its defense was ineffective.

The Tigers also played short-handed.

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Standout Aijha Blackwell didn't travel with the team, missing the game after she didn't meet program standards and expectations. She was pulled from the starting lineup as part of a similar discipline against Mississippi State last month.

Pingeton didn't say whether Blackwell would be back Sunday, just that she would revisit the situation after returning to Columbia.

"If I didn't love Aijha the way that I do, I wouldn't hold her to that standard," Pingeton said. "We left it pretty open-ended, so we'll visit again (Friday)."

Against Georgia, Missouri missed the mismatches Blackwell can create and exploit.

Eight Georgia players scored in the first half. The Bulldogs' star power shined bright, as Jenna Staiti scored 10, but she got support from three teammates who scored multiple baskets and four other teammates who scored at least one.

Contrast this to Missouri, which had Hayley Frank's 10 first-half points and just one other Tiger who hit multiple field goals.

A healthy scoring distribution had been missing for a while. Some of that can be attributed to the offensive issues, but the usual contributors haven't been the same.

Izzy Higginbottom hasn't found a way to impact the offense in a similar way she had in nonconference, though her defense has been more than commendable. Lauren Hansen's shot struggled Thursday, and Kiya Dorroh hasn't given MU the same type of minutes she had in games against Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

Jayla Kelly's 10 points were a bright spot in Blackwell's absence, but it wasn't enough for Missouri to stay competitive.

After Thursday's loss, here are three reasons why Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena is high-stakes for Missouri against Mississippi State (15-10, 6-7):

1. Losing streak now has Mizzou fading

The Tigers have lost four in a row now. Those have all been to tournament-bound teams, but Missouri has lost each game by double figures.

Each loss has Missouri dropping in ESPN's NCAA Tournament projections. A 10-seed in the latest projections, MU now might be on the bubble.

This is where Sunday comes in. Missouri needs to get back on track and still has a chance to do so. The adversity can still pay off.

"It's not fun and it hurts and it's exhausting," Pingeton said. "This season's not done yet."

There needs to be some kind of final spring to show Missouri belongs in March. Beating Georgia could have cemented that berth. Now, it will come down to righting the ship and proving the Tigers can beat teams deemed worthy enough to be in that bracket.

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2. Mississippi State is a tourney team

ESPN's projections have Mississippi State as an 11-seed in the tournament, making it one of those teams Missouri can beat to prove its chops.

Mississippi State throttled Missouri earlier this season, 77-62 in Starkville.

Missouri now has to beat this kind of team to ensure it stays in the conversation.

3. A loss could end Tigers' hopes

Beating Mississippi State isn't a guarantee the Tigers will secure an NCAA Tournament berth. It would be a huge help, but it wouldn't secure a spot.

That's why it has such important implications.

The win keeps Pingeton's squad in the conversation. A loss might vault them out.

"There's a cluster in the middle," Pingeton said. "We're all trying to survive, we're all trying to get into the dance."

The SEC Tournament also provides a chance for Missouri to cement a berth in the tournament. The top-tier teams in the SEC aren't invincible. Alabama upset Tennessee Thursday night, the same Vols team that beat up Missouri last week.

First, Missouri has three more regular-season chances to turn around its tailspin.

Pingeton has said after nearly every game that "it's a marathon, not a sprint." However, that marathon is now winding down. There may only be time left for a sprint to the finish with so many teams jockeying for a dancing partner.

"We've got to get out of our own way," Pingeton said. "The first five minutes. That's all I'm focused on, let's win the first five minutes on Sunday. Then we'll go to the second five minutes. We're just going to take it one possession at a time."

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.

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This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 3 reasons Sunday is high-stakes for Mizzou women's basketball