A last second shot by Missouri Western’s Lanicia Lawrence came up short as the Griffons fell for the first time this season. MWSU fell to fellow MIAA opponent Truman State University in non-conference action by a score of 67-65 in the Lincoln University Thanksgiving Classic. The Griffons fall to 4-1 with the loss.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle with neither team leading by more than six points. The Griffons were able to hold the Bulldogs without a field goal in the final 5:08 of the first half which allowed them to outscore the Bulldogs by two claiming a 34-33 lead at the half.
The Griffons took its largest lead of the half at the 18:26 mark when Heather Howard nailed a three giving MWSU the 5-2 lead. The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run midway through the first frame claiming their largest lead at 22-16 after a Courtney Srait long range shot with 9:01 to play. The rest of the frame belonged to the Griffons outscoring the Bulldogs 18-11 taking the one point halftime lead.
The Griffons shot 50-percent (15-30) from the field with Howard scoring nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. She also snared seven of the Griffons 15 rebounds. Eight different Griffons scored for the Griffons in the half.
The Bulldogs were led by Nicole Gloor with 11 points and seven rebounds. Eight different Bulldogs scored in the frame.
The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 13-4 run which gave them an eight point lead at 46-38 after a jumper by Jessica Redd with 13:55 to play in the game. The Griffons responded nicely going on a 8-0 run tying the score at 46 after a lay up by Kallie Schoonover with 10:46 to play.
The Bulldogs once again went on a mini run with the Griffons answering right back tying the score at 55 with 4:39 to play. The Bulldogs went up 62-57 after an Allie Norton three with 2:03 to play but an old fashioned 3-point play by Lawrence cut the lead to two with 1:55 to play.
MWSU cut the lead to one with 1:25 to play on another Lawrence three point play at 64-63 but a three pointer by Amy Briggs with 55 seconds put TSU back up 67-63. Howard cut it to two with 42 second left but Lawrence’s lay up at the buzzer bounced out as TSU improved to 3-0 with the victory.
The Griffons shot 49.1-percent (27-55) from the field but made just one three and 10-of-19 free throws. Lawrence finished with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting while Howard collected a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Bulldogs had 12 assists on its 21 field goals with Becka McHenry leading the way with six assists. Gloor finished with 17 points making all seven of her free throws. Amy Briggs and McHenry finished with 16 and 10 points respectively.
The Griffons return to action tomorrow when they face another MIAA opponent in non-conference action. This time they take on the Lincoln University Blue Tigers at 4:00 pm in Jefferson City, Mo.
— MWSU Sports Information —