ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team has moved up three spots to No. 13 in the latest WBCA/USA Today Division II top 25 poll.  It’s the highest ranking for the Griffons since 2007 as they’re off to a 14-0 start, the best official start in school history.

Missouri Western entered this week ranked 16th in the poll and is one of three MIAA teams inside the top-13. The Griffons are one of just two remaining undefeated teams not ranked in the top-10 of the poll. Four undefeated teams are ranked ahead of Missouri Western including No. 1 West Texas A&M (12-0). MIAA foe Fort Hays State dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 after its first loss of the season, 82-71, on Dec. 19 at Southwest Baptist. Another MIAA team, Emporia State is the only two-loss team in the top-10 at 11-2 on the season. The Lady Hornets have losses to Fort Hays and Missouri Southern.

Missouri Western sits atop the MIAA standings and entered the week second in all of Division II in field goal percentage, scoring margin, scoring offense and steals. Overall the team ranked in the top-10 nationally in eight statistical categories. MIAA leading scorer LaQuinta Jefferson was named the MIAA Athlete of the Week for the third consecutive week and fourth time in the last five weeks on Monday. Jefferson entered the week third in the nation in scoring and her 23.5 points per game are most in the MIAA by more than three points per game.

The Griffons will be tested in the coming weeks. After ending a four-game homestand this coming Saturday with Northwest Missouri State, the Griffons travel to Washburn and Emporia State next week. Washburn currently sits fourth in the MIAA, tied with No. 8 Emporia State. Missouri Western then returns home for games against No. 3 Fort Hays, which sits second in the MIAA, and Nebraska-Kearney before travelling to fifth place Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern the last week of January.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – For the first time in program history, the Missouri Western Women’s Basketball team is 14-0 after a thrilling 77-69 victory over Central Oklahoma Monday night inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

No. 16 Missouri Western trailed at the break but opened the second half with an 8-0 run to take back the lead. Two second half three pointers from Sarafina Handy helped seal the deal for the Griffons. Trailing by two with 2:47 left in the third, Handy sunk a three from Chelsea Dewey to give Missouri Western the lead back. Handy nailed another triple with 2:15 remaining in the game to stretch a four-point Griffon lead to seven. Handy was fouled on the attempt and made the penalty shot to give the Griffons an eight-point lead. Central Oklahoma closed the gap to four with 31 seconds remaining but two Handy free throws iced the Griffons’ eighth MIAA victory of the season.

Handy finished with 21 points to lead Missouri Western. LaQuinta Jefferson had her six-game streak of 24 points or more broken but still scored 19 with three rebounds and four assists. Mhykeah Baez dropped 17, led the Griffons with 10 rebounds and had four steals. Dewey scored 11 with five assists.

The win for Missouri Western set up a rivalry matchup Saturday between an undefeated Griffon squad and a Northwest Missouri State team in search of its first MIAA victory of the season.

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ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western Men’s Basketball team won its second straight game and gave Griffon Basketball its second straight MIAA Doubleheader sweep with a 77-60 victory over Central Oklahoma.

The Griffons trailed by seven with 9:30 left in the first half then rattled off a 22-10 run to take a five-point lead to the break. Missouri Western opened the second half on a 10-0 run that extended the lead to 15 and never let up from that point on. The Griffons would lead by as many as 23 in the second half. Missouri Western shot 42 percent from the field in the second frame but limited Central Oklahoma to 39 percent from the field and 3-13 three-point shooting. The Griffons out-rebounded UCO 42-33 and had 40 points off the bench to the Bronchos’ 28.

Aaron Emmanuel led Missouri Western with 14 points. Miles Wentzien hit double figures for the second straight game, scoring 13. Currie Byrd also scored 13 and Wes Mitter added 12.

The win ran Missouri Western’s record to 5-9 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA. The Griffons host Northwest Missouri, Saturday at 5 p.m.

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ST. JOSEPH – For the third straight week and fourth time this season, Missouri Western senior LaQuinta Jefferson has been named the MIAA Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week.

Jefferson has now scored at least 24 points in six straight games after dropping 25 and 24 in two games this past week. The senior averaged 24.5 points and five rebounds while shooting 77.3 percent from the field in wins over the University of Saint Mary and Northeastern State. Jefferson shot 80 percent from three point range, making four of five and made all 11 of her free throw attempts last week. She added three steals and two assists, leading Missouri Western to its first 13-0 record since the 1998-99 season.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The 16th-ranked Missouri Western women’s basketball team moved to 13-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season with another impressive victory inside the MWSU Fieldhouse Saturday. Missouri Western jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never slowed in a 88-49 win over Northeastern State.

Northeastern State was held scoreless through almost half the first quarter, scoring its first points with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Griffons took a 16-6 lead into the second quarter. It was a 43-20 Missouri Western lead headed into halftime then a 22-9 third quarter blew the game wide open for the Griffons.

For the sixth consecutive game, LaQuinta Jefferson scored 24 or more points, dropping 24 on Northeastern State on 75 percent shooting from the field. The senior added a team-high six rebounds and three steals.  Sarafina Handy added 15 points on five made three pointers. Dwanisha Tate finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

Missouri Western plays the third of four-straight at home Monday, Jan .4 against Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos won 61-57 at Northwest Missouri, Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team snapped its three-game losing streak Saturday with an 84-68 win over Northeastern State inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Missouri Western used strong run midway through the first half to jump in front and stay in front. The Griffons trailed by seven with 11:11 left in the first half, but rattled off a 13-0 run to jump ahead by six. Missouri Western would follow that run with spurts of 7-0 and 6-0 to eventually take a 43-33 lead to halftime. Northeastern State cut the lead to single digits early in the second half but couldn’t slow the Griffon offense. Missouri Western shot 42 percent from the field on the night, 46 percent in the second half.

Trey Sampson matched a career-high with 23 points to lead all scorers. Miles Wentzien added a career-high 16 points for the Griffons. Aaron Emmanuel finished with 13 points,  seven rebounds and 10 assists.  Kevin Thomas and Currie Byrd also had seven rebounds.

The win improved Missouri Western to 4-9 overall and 2-5 in the MIAA. Central Oklahoma will visit the fieldhouse Monday night at 7:30. UCO blew a nine-point halftime lead in a 78-59 loss at Northwest Missouri on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The 16th ranked Missouri Western women’s basketball team moved to 12-0 with a convincing 108-44 win over the University of St. Mary Thursday night.

It’s the program’s best start since opening the 1998-99 season with 13-straight wins. The Griffons broke the 100 point barrier for the second time this season, something the program hasn’t done since the 1994-95 season. Missouri Western got off to a fast start, taking a 51-22 lead to halftime. The defense stepped it up in the third quarter, holding St. Mary to six points in the frame. The Spires didn’t score more than 16 in any quarter.

Missouri Western shot 50 percent from the field on the night and 54.5 percent from behind the arc, making 12 three-pointers, five from Sarafina Handy. The Griffons also dominated the glass, outrebounding St. Mary 55-26. Missouri Western forced 26 turnovers, 13 of them steals. Those turnovers accounted for 36 of Missouri Western’s points. The Griffons also scored 36 in the paint to St. Mary’s 14.

Missouri Western was once again led by LaQuinta Jefferson. The senior shot 80 percent from the field and was 7-7 at the free throw line on her way to scoring 25 points. Handy finished with 23 points on 78 percent shooting from the field. She shot 71 percent from behind the arc. Miliakere Koyamainavure just missed a double-double after missing the previous two games. She scored 12 with eight rebounds. Julia Torres also just missed a double-dip, scoring 11 and adding nine boards. Mhykeah Baez led Missouri Western with 10 rebounds. She added six points. Chelsea Dewey scored seven with seven assists and Lakota Goe scored nine in her first appearance as a Griffon.

Missouri Western stays at home and returns to MIAA play this Saturday when the team hosts Northeastern State at 3 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – A groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday formally marked the beginning of construction for the next phase in the renovation of Missouri Western State University’s Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium – a $2.6 million video scoreboard that will rise seven stories above the playing surface. The LED video display, at approximately 2,500 square feet, will be the largest in NCAA Division II.

Steve Craig, founder and CEO of Craig Realty Group and benefactor of the Craig School of Business, will contribute $1.1 million toward the project, the largest individual gift in the history of Missouri Western athletics. With this gift, Craig has now donated $8.9 million to the university. In recognition of his support, the playing surface at Spratt Stadium was named Craig Field earlier this year.

“We are in the last few days of our university’s centennial celebration, with the theme of ‘100 Years of Transforming Lives,'” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “I can’t think of a better way of concluding our centennial year than thanking an individual, Steve Craig, who has been such an important part of that transformational process.”

Craig said he wanted to provide Griffon coaches with a “dynamic asset” to help recruit student-athletes, enhance the overall fan experience for football and soccer games and strengthen the relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs. He also wanted to nurture some much-needed community pride.

“Not only can northwest Missouri residents be proud of these fantastic new facilities, but the players who compete here will also be very happy,” Craig said. When plans for the scoreboard were announced in August, he said, “I spoke about some of those great civic projects of the past, and I’m hopeful that this new scoreboard along with these other improvements will be looked upon as some of the best as well.”

Student athletes spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony about their excitement.

“We’ve always been proud to play for Missouri Western, but now we’re so excited to play at home and see other teams come out and see our facilities,” said Taylor Gant, women’s soccer. “These enhancements will improve the experience for both the players and the audience.”

“These additions make Missouri Western’s facilities one of the tops in the nation by far,” said Michael Hill, former Griffon running back and NFL player. “I was really stoked to see all this construction going on, and I’m excited to see the scoreboard go up. The environment on game day will be superb.”

The video board will stand at the south end of the stadium, near the Baker Family Fitness Center. At a little more than 65 feet wide and 38 feet tall, or approximately 2,500 square feet, the video display will be the largest in NCAA Division II. It will be larger by area than many Division I schools, including the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas.

The brick structure built to house the scoreboard will be approximately 72 feet tall, with storage rooms inside, static signs and displays, and a rooftop fireworks launchpad. Construction is expected to be completed in time for the Spring Commencement Ceremony in May 2016.

In addition to Craig, other private donors have pledged through the Missouri Western State University Foundation’s Centennial Capital Campaign to complete the scoreboard. Major donors include Al and Gracie Landes, Randy and Mary Herzog, Sunshine Electronic Display, O’Malley Beverage and Nodaway Valley Bank. Other donors have provided leadership support for the Spratt Memorial Stadium renovation project.

E.L. Crawford Construction is the general contractor for the scoreboard project and the Spratt Stadium renovation, which includes corporate suites, additional chair-back seating for fans, elevator and other accessibility improvements, additional restrooms, expanded concessions area, new ticket office, a team store to sell Griffon merchandise, new press box and fencing.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – For the third time in four weeks, and the second week in a row, Missouri Western guard LaQuinta Jefferson has been named the MIAA Women’s Basketball Athlete of the week.

The senior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee averaged 30 points a game this weekend to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game. Jefferson scored 31 at Lindenwood on Friday, including the final four points of the game that tied and gave Missouri Western the lead in the final minute. On Sunday at Lincoln, Jefferson added 29 points. She shot 65 percent from the field and 73 percent at the free throw line in the two wins.

On the season, Jefferson is averaging 23.8 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per contest. She leads all MIAA scorers by more than three points per game.

Missouri Western is ranked 16th in the USA Today WBCA Top 25 poll as they are 11-0 on the season and 6-0 in the MIAA.  They’re back in action a week from Thursday when they host Saint Mary at 7:00 p.m. in their final non-conference game.

— MWSU Athletics —