The Missouri Western women’s basketball team outscored Evangel by 25 points in the second half Friday night as they cruised to a 75-41 win in Griffons’ opener of the inaugural Holiday Inn Express Classic at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Western took a nine-point lead to the break after shooting 38.5 percent from the field in the first. Missouri Western shot 69.6 percent from the field in the second half and 51 percent for the game. The Griffon defense held Evangel to 36 percent from the field for the game. MWSU finished the night with 15 steals and forced 26 Crusader turnovers.

LaQuinta Jefferson led the team with 20 points and Sarafina Handy chipped in 16. Tiara Hall led the team with six rebounds.

Missouri Western improves to 4-1 this season and they’ve now won three consecutive games.  The Griffons will take on Maryville University at 5 p.m. on Saturday to close out the classic. Maryville defeated Lyon College, 71-56 Friday night. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost to East Central (OK) 73-59 Friday afternoon in their first game of the Doubletree Hotle/Houlihans Drury Thanksgiving Classic in Springfield.

The Griffons struggled early as they fell behind 26-6 and trailed 39-19 at halftime. Missouri Western was held to 22% shooting, while East Central hit on 52% of its shots including 12-16 free throws.

MWSU was able to cut the deficit to single digits in the second half with less than five minutes to go with a Kevin Thomas layup but couldn’t overcome the Tigers hot shooting.

Missouri Western was led by Cortrez Colbert with 19 points and six rebounds on the day. Forward’s Kevin Thomas scored 12 points and Seth Bonifas chipped in seven points.

East Central has five players score at least eight points. They were able to hit five three-pointers on the day and convert on 30-42 free throw attempts to seal the victory.

The Griffons will return to the court Saturday at 3 p.m. to take on #4 Drury. The game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ and here on StJosephPost.com.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri Western senior Erica Rottinghaus has been selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Central Region first team.

The senior, outside hitter led the Griffons with 396 kills for a 3.6 average per set and ranked fifth in the MIAA in kills per set average. The Seneca, Kansas native was second on the team with 438.5 points and third with 59 total blocks. She was also second on the team with 279 digs.

It’s the fourth postseason honor for Rottinghaus. She has also been named first team All-MIAA, CoSIDA Academic All-District first team and also was also an MIAA Scholar Athlete Award recipient as well as being named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost their first game of 2014, falling at Upper Iowa Monday night 82-70.

The Griffons shot 42 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range after going just 1-11 from behind the arc in the first half.  The Peacocks led by as many as 23 points in the second half.

Three Griffons scored double-figures. Aaaron Emmanuel led the way with 14. Currie Byrd scored 13 and pulled down seven rebounds while Dareon Jones added 11 points.

Missouri Western is 2-1 on the season and will stay on the road this weekend when they travel to Springfield, Missouri for the Doubletree Houlihan’s Thanksgiving Classic at Drury University.  They play East Central (OK) at 1:00 PM Friday and the game will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western Women’s Basketball team moved to 3-1 on the season with a 76-69 win over MidAmerica Nazarene Tuesday night in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons stretched a 37-31 halftime lead to a 17-point lead with 15 minutes left in the game. Missouri Western led by 14 with 3:35 to go but the Pioneers outscored MWSU 13-5 over the game’s last three minutes to pull within seven.

The two teams combined for 48 total turnovers with MidAmerica Nazarene committing 26. The Griffons shot 43.5 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from behind the arc. Chelsea Dewey paced the Griffons with 17 points with LaQuinta Jefferson adding 16 and Sarafina Handy scoring 12. Tiara Hall just missed a double-double with 11 rebounds and nine points.

Missouri Western returns to the fieldhouse this weekend when they host the Inaugural Holiday Inn Express Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Griffons take on Evangel on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and Maryville University on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team wrapped up the 23rd Annual Hillyard Tip-Off Classic Saturday night with a 63-61 win over William Jewell.

The Griffons improve to 2-0 on the season and they won both games as the Hillyard Classic for the first time since 2011.

Western trailed for only three minutes in the game, grabbing the lead with 13:45 left in the first half on a Wes Mitter layup and never lost the lead from that point on.

Missouri Western went to the locker room at halftime with an 11 point lead but William Jewell was able to claw back late with a chance to tie at the buzzer but the Cardinals couldn’t get the shot off.

Missouri Western shot just 28.6 percent from the free throw line and 25 percent from behind the arc but did finish 46.6 percent from the field. Second chance points were big for the Griffons as they outscored William Jewell 19-12 in that category.

Several of those points came from transfer Kevin Thomas who finished with a game-high, 21 points and 11 rebounds. No other Griffon broke 10 points. Currie Byrd added nine points and eight rebounds. Ryan Devers and Aaaron Emmanuel each scored eight and Cole Clearman chipped in five.

The Griffons spend next week on the road, beginning Monday with a trip to Upper Iowa. The tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on 680 KFEQ AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team won their season opener Friday night against Rockhurst 66-60 on the first day of the 23rd Annual Hillyard Classic inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons traded the lead with Rockhurst 11 times. The game was tied four times. Missouri Western did lead for 11 more minutes than the Hawks including at the final buzzer.  Neither team broke the 40 percent barrier from the field and were even in second chance points and bench points. The Griffons took advantage down low, doubling Rockhurst up in the paint, 36-18. The Griffons shot just 37.3 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three point range.

Aaron Emmanuel led the team with 13 points. Freshman Currie Byrd added 12 and Ryan Devers chipped in 11. Cortrez Colbert led the team with nine rebounds. The Griffons got big contributions from this year’s freshman class. In addition to Byrd’s performance, Seth Bonifas scored five points and added three rebounds. Cole Celarman scored seven points and had three big steals.

The Griffons face William Jewell Saturday night in their second game of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic. The Cardinals lost Friday to Northwest Missouri State, 91-85.

Rockhurst will take on Northwest Missouri State at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and then Missouri Western battles William Jewell at 7:00 p.m.  The game will air live on 680 KFEQ and the Griffon Sports Network.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Eighteen members of the 2014 Missouri Western football team have been named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with two members of that team also receiving the MIAA Scholar Athlete Award.

To achieve honor roll status, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 and have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms.

The MIAA Scholar Athlete Award is given to those who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50, have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms, and, if competing in a championship sport of the MIAA, earn All-MIAA honors.

Newcomers and MIAA Academic Excellence Awards will be given out following the end of the 2014-15 school year.

MIAA Scholar Athlete Award
Alek Ferbet, Jr., Biology-Health Science
Leonard Western, Jr., Finance & Accounting

MIAA Academic Honor Roll
Yomi Alli, Jr., Electronics Engineering Tech.
Austin Burau, Fr., Business
Joey Capul, So., Business
Demetric Dinwiddie, Fr., Health & Exercise Science
Alek Ferbet, Jr., Biology-Health Science
Will Gaye, Fr., Undeclared
Cameron Glenn, So., Undeclared
Darius Griffin, Fr., Undeclared
Scott Groner, Sr., Health & Exercise Science
Brock Kimball, So., Management
T.J. LaFaver, Fr., Undeclared
Ian McIntosh, Fr., Undeclared
Nathan O’Neill, So., Health & Exercise Science
Jonathan Owens, Fr., Undeclared
Kendall Short, Fr., Undeclared
Dominic Thomas, Sr., Sports Management
Emmett Wester, Fr., Business
Leonard Wester, Jr., Finance & Accounting

— MWSU Sports Information —

It wasn’t easy but Missouri Western Women’s Basketball moved to 2-1 on the season with a 71-69 win over Rockhurst in the team’s home opener.

The two teams began the second half tied, but MWSU stretched its lead to double digits on several occasions only to have Rockhurst claw their way back.

The Griffons led by six with two minutes remaining, but a three from Mary Dineen pulled the Hawks within three. After a layup by Tiara Hall, Sarafina Handy committed a fould sending the Hawks to the line with 1:18 left in the game. Dineen made both free throws to pull Rockhurst within three. LaQuinta Jefferson sunk a free throw for Missouri Western’s last points

Western was led once again by 23 points from LaQuinta Jefferson. Tiara Hall finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and bringing down 13 rebounds. Sarafina Handy chipped in 13 points. The Griffons shot 45.8 percent from the field in the game and 38.5 percent from behind the arc.

Missouri Western returns to the Fieldhouse Monday as they host Mid-America Nazarene at 7:00 p.m.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN 1550 AM.

— MWSU Sports Information —