KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 7, 2012) -- Christine Flores had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead Missouri to a 72-68 victory against Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on Wednesday night.
Morgan Eye scored 16 points and BreAnna Brock added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the 10th-seeded Tigers (13-17), who advanced to face No. 2 seed Oklahoma on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Tiffany Bias scored 24 points and Toni Young had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Cowgirls (16-12), whose hopes of an NCAA tournament berth to climax a season marred by tragedy took a blow.
Oklahoma State was devastated by the deaths of head coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna in a Nov. 17 plane crash, but regrouped and won its last three regular-season games to get on the NCAA bubble.
The Cowgirls fought back from a 25-point second-half deficit to get within 71-68 on Lindsey Keller's 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining. But Eye made an insurance free throw for the Tigers, and Bias' missed 3-pointer was Oklahoma State's last shot.
