Mizzou women’s basketball dealing with travel issues after holiday break

Columbia, Missouri (KMIZ)

The Mizzou women’s basketball team has added an extra challenge to their preparation for SEC play as several players struggle to return to Colombia.

“When you have international players, it’s important to have space for them to go home,” Pingetong said. “There weren’t three of us at practice last night. Two came in late last night, and we were still waiting for one.”

Watch the full interview with Coach Pingeton in the player below.

Pingeton has not identified any players with travel issues. His two players on the roster living abroad are Sarah Rose Smith and Mama Dembele.

Meanwhile, the Tigers are quickly approaching their first SEC game as the Kentucky Wildcats come to town on Thursday. Pingeton said he needs to improve his defense and ball security.

“The SEC will have nights where it’s really hard to steal the ball. It’s an athletic league, it’s a defensive league, but we have to rely on our ability to get stops,” Pingeton said.

Pingeton also says her experienced roster will give her an advantage in conference play.

“You just know what you do every night, you know how your team plays in the SEC, and you just understand the physics of it,” Pingetong said. “When you have a handful of players on fire. It’s great that you can always rely on that gaming experience.”

Mizzou will host Kentucky Thursday at 8pm