Live updates of Missouri women's basketball vs. Florida in SEC Tournament first round

Is this the end?

No. 14-seeded Mizzou women’s basketball will face off against 11th-seeded Florida at approximately 12:30 p.m CDT in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

The game is due to tip 25 minutes after the opening game of the day, Georgia vs. Kentucky, which begins at 10 a.m., so there may be a delay in the Tigers-Gators matchup.

Robin Pingeton’s Missouri team has lost 11 straight games leading into the tournament. Florida also is on a slump, albeit much shorter, after losing three straight games to close the regular season.

Pingeton may be coaching her final game for the Tigers. At the end of last season, then-athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois set defined expectations for the team to return to the NCAA Tournament after four straight seasons without an appearance.

Reed-Francois has since left to become the athletic director at Arizona, leaving a choice for Missouri’s interim AD Marcy Girton or whoever the university hires as Reed-Francois’ replacement. The details of Pingeton’s potential buyout can be found here.

Until any of that happens or does not happen, there’s a game in Greenville to play.

The Columbia Daily Tribune will provide live updates as MU tries to prolong its season.

Final: Florida 66, Missouri 60

Missouri's 2023-24 campaign is over after the first round of the SEC Tournament.

A spirited comeback attempt from the Tigers in the second half falls short.

60 seconds to go: Florida 64, Missouri 57

Barring something special, the comeback attempt looks like it will fall short.

Five-point game, 5 to go

Ashton Judd is up to 17 points to lead all scorers, and Missouri has cut the deficit to five points with a little less than five minutes to play after a 6-0 run.

Judd is responsible for four of the points in the run, and seven in the quarter.

This one is heading to the wire.

Gators clamping down

Florida is on a 6-0 run, and appears to have weathered the Missouri storm.

It's now 58-46 with seven-and-a-half minutes to play.

End of 3Q: Florida 50, Mizzou 43

A 16-2 run in the final six minutes of the third quarter has made for an interesting finish.

Grace Slaughter has 14 points to lead all scorers; Ashton Judd has added 10.

Missouri storming back

The Tigers are fighting for their life.

Missouri is on a 14-0 run over the past five minutes of game time, and has cut the deficit to just six points with a minute remaining in the quarter.

It looked over for a while, but suddenly there is a ball game in Greenville.

Signs of life

Missouri has held Florida without a point for three minutes, and has gone on a 7-0 run to cut the Florida lead to 48-35 with 3:22 to go in the third quarter.

Hayley Frank scored her first points of the game with a 3, and Ashton Judd and Grace Slaughter have both scored to at least keep MU in the contest.

Second half underway

The second half is underway, and it's been more of the same for MU.

Florida has taken a timeout at the 7:05 mark with a 45-28 lead.

Missouri's Hannah Linthacum scored early in the period. Two minutes, 25 seconds of game time later, those remain the only Tiger points.

Half: Florida 42, Missouri 26

Ouch.

Florida scores 29 points in the second quarter to Missouri's 10.

It took the Tigers more than half of the period to even find basket.

Robin Pingeton has burned three of her four timeouts.

It's a 16-point game with 20 minutes to play. Missouri's season is barreling toward an early end.

Missouri wheels coming off

It's been all Florida in the second quarter.

The Gators, with 2:45 remaining in the quarter, are outscoring the Tigers 25-6 in the period, and have opened up a 16-point lead.

Robin Pingeton has burned her third timeout of the quarter, leaving her just one more for the remainder of the game.

Florida is shooting 11-of-14 (78.9%) in the quarter, and Missouri needs to find some answers to save its season.

Florida on a run

The Gators have opened the second quarter on an 13-0 run. After four minutes, 30 seconds in the second quarter, Missouri is yet to score, making it 26-16 Florida.

One oddity: Missouri's 2,000-point career scorer Hayley Frank is yet to take a shot.

Robin Pingeton has used two timeouts in the second quarter.

End of 1st quarter: Mizzou 16, Florida 13

A fast start in Greenville subbed out for an ice-cold patch for both teams.

Florida has made just 1 of its past 10 attempts from the field. Missouri has made just 1 of its past 8.

The Tigers hung onto their early lead by feeding Hannah Linthacum in the paint for a pair of layups. Ashton Judd scored her fifth point of the game to give MU the three-point lead after the opening period.

Q1, 7:31: Mizzou 10, Florida 4

Missouri is off to a fast start, forcing the Gators into an early timeout.

Grace Slaughter has seven points in the early going. Mama Dembele has shown why she was named to the All-SEC Defensive Team, nabbing two steals.

Underway in Greenville

The action has started in Greenville, South Carolina. Florida and Missouri have traded points in the early going, with MU freshman Grace Slaughter opening MU's SEC Tournament account and Ashton Judd dropped a corner 3 to give MU an early, 5-4 lead.

Starting lineups

Mizzou is running with guards Grace Slaughter, Mama Dembele and Ashton Judd alongside forwards Hannah Linthacum and Hayley Frank to begin the game.

Standout Gators guard Aliyah Matharu is joined by Zipporah Broughton, Laila Reynolds, Jeriah Warren and Faith Dut.

Dembele and Frank are potentially playing their final games for Missouri.

One hour away

With the Bulldogs-Wildcats matchup heading into the fourth quarter, and UK holding a double-digit lead, it looks like Missouri’s matchup with Florida will air on schedule.

Tip is now approximately one hour away.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Live updates of Missouri women's basketball vs. Florida in SEC Tournament first round