Brittany Griswold’s fifth three snapped a 65-65 tie with 24 seconds to play helping the Griffons to a 71-67 victory in the first round of the MIAA Tournament over the Pittsburg State Gorillas. The Griffons advance to play the 2nd seed University of Central Missouri Jennies on Friday, March 8 in Kansas City, Mo. at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Griswold finished the game with 19 points as the Griffons improve to 16-11 on the season. The Griffons improve to 6-0 (5-0) against the Gorillas in the MIAA tournament with one win being vacated in the 2006-2007 season.
The Griffons could not have gotten off to a better start opening up a 15-4 lead just four minutes into the game. The Griffons made seven of its first nine field goals which included a fast break layup by KC Clouser giving MWSU the 11 point lead.
The Griffons went scoreless the next five minutes getting into foul trouble and taking poor shots. The Gorillas went on a 13-4 run cutting the Griffon lead to 19-17 after a Y’Cedria Devers free throw.
The Griffons remained calm going on a 15-1 run capped by Alex Saxen’s three with 6:57 to play giving MWSU the 34-18 lead. During the run Alicia Bell and Griswold had three’s.
Free throws kept the Gorillas in the game as the Griffons had 17 personal fouls allowing the Gorillas to shoot 26 free throws. The Gorillas made just 13 but were able to close the half on an 14-8 run.
MWSU took a 42-32 halftime lead with its leading scorer Heather Howard scoring just three points in just eight minutes of action due to foul trouble.
The Griffons shot 48.3-percent (14-29) from the field and 6-of-12 from long range. They also made 8-of-10 free throws and out rebounded the Gorillas 16-15. Griswold led the way with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting form the field. She also had led the way with three rebounds.
The Gorillas shot 52.9-percent (9-17) from the field and made just 1-of-6 long range shots. Lauren Brown and Lizzy Jeronimus led the way for PSU with seven points apiece. Brown also had five rebounds and three blocks.
The second half was a back and forth battle between the two teams as the Gorillas came out cutting the Griffon lead to 46-40 after Jeronimus hit a layup with 15:05 to play. The Griffons came right back with a 5-0 run capped by a JaQuitta Dever tip in with 13:38 to play giving the Griffons the 51-40 lead.
The next 12 minutes belonged to the Gorillas as they went on a 22-9 run taking its first lead of the game with 1:33 to play when Jeronimus hit a layup.
The Griffons hung in there as Howard tied the score at 62 with 1:11 to play. Griswold hit two three’s in the final minute while Lanicia Lawrence and Dever hit three of four free throws sealing the victory.
The Griffons shot 41.1-percent (23-56) from the field and 36-percent (9-25) from long range. They also made 66.7-percent (16-24) of their free throws. Howard and Alicia Bell both had 11 points while Dever and Lawrence pitched in nine. Dever had five assits while Griswold led the way with six rebounds. MWSU also scored 25 points off 18 PSU turnovers.
The Gorillas season ends with a record of 17-10. They were led by Jeronimus with 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting. Brown and Devers pitched in 11 points apiece. PSU shot 59.5-percent (22-37) from the field but made just two threes and 21-of-38 free throws.
— MWSU Sports Information —