Sophie Cunningham got her wish.
She said Tuesday that MU preferred Florida in its second-round Southeastern Conference Tournament matchup after blowing a double-digit lead to the Gators in the final minutes of a January loss. The Tigers got their chance on Thursday and delivered as they blew out Florida 87-56 to reach the quarterfinals. Junior Amber Smith led MU with 18 points.
The Tigers (22-9) and Gators (8-23) were tied at 20 after the first quarter as Mizzou suffered from turnovers and sloppy ball movement. But Smith scored 14 of her points in the first half as the Tigers went into halftime on a 10-2 run and took a 42-32 lead.