Two Missouri women’s basketball seniors, after missing all or most of last season, will be back for a final year of eligibility next season.
Six-foot-2 forward Angelique Ngalakulondi and point guard De’Myla Brown each will return for the Tigers as sixth-year graduate students after heavily, or completely, impacted 2023-24 campaigns.
A team spokesperson confirmed to the Columbia Daily Tribune that Ngalakulondi was approved for a medical waiver, while Brown is now eligible to play after sitting out a season for an NCAA transfer guidelines violation — a rule that is likely to no longer exist.
Ngalakulondi started eight straight games in MU’s nonconference schedule in 2023 after transferring to Mizzou from UMass. She suffered a season-ending injury in the 2023-24 season after averaging 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game.
Brown never suited up for Missouri after transferring in from Houston — her fifth move in five seasons — as MU’s appeal for a transfer waiver was never approved. That type of suspension is unlikely to occur at any point in the near future due to an antitrust civil lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against the NCAA in January and settled in late May.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that the lawsuit, if approved by the court, means the NCAA cannot enforce transfer eligibility rules or impose “any similar rule in the future.”
Mizzou is the fifth team Brown has played for in her college career, which began at Western Kentucky and has included one-season stops at Chipola College, Illinois and, most recently, Houston.
Both additions plug significant needs for Missouri, which enters the season with coach Robin Pingeton in the final year of her current contract.
Ngalakulondi, at 6-2, provides some much-needed size for a Tigers team that ranked last in offensive rebounding and second-last in total rebounding. Mizzou has also secured a commitment from Texas transfer Tionna Herron, who is a 6-4 sophomore center, to bolster its frontcourt.
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Brown’s availability coincides with an opening at the point guard, as last season’s starter Mama Dembele opted to move to USF as a graduate transfer.
Mizzou returns three of its five minutes leaders from last season in guards Ashton Judd, Abbey Schreacke and Grace Slaughter. Junior guard Averi Kroenke is expected to return from an injury that ruled her out for all of the 2023-24 season.
The Tigers have been active in the transfer portal, landing commitments from Herron, Southern Illinois forward Laniah Randle, Presbyterian guard Tilda Sjökvist and New Mexico guard Nyah Wilson. Two freshmen are signed on to the 2024-25 team, as Texas products Londyn Oliphant, a point guard, and Ma’Riya Vincent, a 6-0 forward, head to Columbia.