The Missouri Western women’s basketball team lost an exhibition game against Missouri Tuesday night inside Mizzou Arena, 78-75.

Missouri led by as many as 18 in the second half before MWSU closed the gap with a chance to tie at the buzzer. LaQuinta Jefferson missed a three that would have sent the game into overtime and handed the Mizzou women their second straight close win against an MIAA opponent. Last week, the Tigers downed Lindenwood by six.

The Griffons and Tigers stayed even throughout the first part of the first half but the Tigers eventually pulled away shooting 44% and forcing the Griffons into 17 team fouls. Missouri led at the break 41-25. In the second half, the Griffons were able to close the gap hitting four three-pointers and converting on 13-17 free throws in the half.

LaQuinta Jefferson scored 40 points in the game and collected five rebounds. Sarafina Handy added 10 points for the Griffons and Ariana Novak had eight points.

Missouri Western begins its regular season at Quincy, Illinois for the Quincy Classic as they take on Robert Morris College on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and Quincy Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

The game against Robert Morris can be heard on 680 KFEQ and the Griffon Sports Network.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western volleyball team got off to a slow start but rallied for a 3-1 win at Lindenwood Tuesday night. The Griffons improve to 22-7 this season and 16-5 in the MIAA.

After dropping set one, 26-24, Missouri Western won the next three sets: 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20. Erica Rottinghaus led the way for the Grifon offense with 13 kills and helped out on the other end with 19 digs. Jessie Thorup added 10 kills and Jordan Chohon finished with 36 assists and hit .444 with four kills. Sarah Faubel padded her school digs record with 20.

Missouri Western will wrap up the regular season Friday night when they travel to Central Missouri.  The match begins at 7:00 p.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —

A week after suffering their worst loss in four years, the Missouri Western football team had its largest margin of victory in over a year with a 55-0 win over Nebraska-Kearney.

It’s the biggest win for Missouri Western since a 60-point victory over Missouri S&T on Sept. 14, 2013 at Spratt Stadium and the Griffon defense’s second shutout of the year.

Western had a season high 550 yards of offense, including 217 on the ground and 333 through the air. The offense showed a new wrinkle, using tight end Daylon Harper as a fullback. The sophomore rushed seven carries for 24 yards and the only two rushing touchdowns of his career.

The win moves MWSU to 6-4 on the season and guarantees a sixth straight winning season and 12th consecutive winning record in the MIAA. Prior to the game, 12 Griffon seniors were honored for their contributions to the program. One of those seniors, linebacker Stephen Juergens, led the team with eight total tackles. The Griffon defense racked up seven sacks, including 2.5 from Cody Lindsay. Missouri Western also forced two Loper fumbles and Marc Harrison picked up his third interception of the year. Nebraska-Kearney was limited to 229 yards of offense and only 92 on the ground, nearly 100 less than their season average coming into the game.

Skyler Windmiller finished 16-23 with 296 yards passing, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Raphael Spencer rushed 17 times for 72 yards and Dominic Thomas, another Griffon senior, finished with seven carries for 56 yards and a 32-yard TD run. Dee Tolliver had two catches for 133 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Brandynn Clark finished with seven catches for 55 yards.

It’s the sixth straight win for the Griffons over Nebraska-Kearney. The Lopers still lead the all-time series 16-9. Griffon head coach Jerry Partridge is now 6-0 against UNK and Loper head coach Darrell Morris moves to 0-3 against MWSU.

Missouri Western will look to win their seventh game of the season next week when they travel to Missouri Southern for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western volleyball team lost in straight sets on senior night Saturday to No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons kept the first two sets close, losing set one, 26-24 and the second set, 25-19. Nebraska-Kearney dominated the third set, winning 25-11 to finish off the season sweep of the Griffons.

The loss dropped Missouri Western to 21-7 overall and 15-5 in the MIAA. It was the final home match for four Griffon seniors that have helped propel the program to its best season in recent memory. The 15 MIAA wins are the most in school history and the 21 overall wins are the most since 1998. Kelly Scannell, Sarah Faubel, Erica Rottinghaus and Amanda Boender were honored after the game for their contributions to the program.

Erica Rottinghaus led the Griffons with 13 kills and 10 assists. Faubel led the way with her 16 digs and Jordan Chohon chipped in 28 assists. UNK held the Griffons to a .133 hitting percentage.

Missouri Western wraps up the season on the road next week with a Tuesday match at Lindenwood before concluding the regular season at Central Missouri on Friday.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost an exhibition game at Oklahoma State University Saturday afternoon 74-35.

The Griffons were led by freshman Cole Clearman with 12 points and three steals, while Ryan Devers added eight points and seven rebounds.

Western managed to hit five three-pointers and 12-of-15 free throws in the game.

Oklahoma State was balanced offensively with six different players scoring at least eight points. Le’Bryan Nash and Anthony Hickey both scored 11 points to lead the team.

The Griffons will open the regular season on Friday, November 21 at 7 p.m. against Rockhurst University at home in the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic.

— MWSU Sports Information —

It was a record breaking night for the Missouri Western volleyball team as they defeated Fort Hays State 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 29-27) for their 15th MIAA win of the season, the most in school history. Overall, the Griffons are 21-6, their most wins since 1998.

The Tigers took the first set, but Missouri Western claimed the next three, the third in dramatic fashion as the Griffons faced multiple set points before taking the third set and match, 29-27. The entire match was extremely close, with each match decided by four points or less.

Erica Rottinghaus led the way with 19 kills on a .227 hitting percentage. The senior also tied for the most digs on the night with 15. The other 15-dig performance came from Sarah Faubel. Jessie Thorup hit .289 with 15 kills and Amanda Boender finished with a .310 hitting percentage with 11 kills. Jordan Chohon added to her MIAA assist lead with 59 and chipped in 12 digs.

The Griffons continue their final home stand of the season Saturday night with a chance to move into first place in the MIAA when they host No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney on senior night at 7:00 p.m. in the Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Two Missouri Western volleyball athletes have been named to the Capital One Academic All-District first team. Seniors Sarah Faubel and Erica Rottinghaus were both named to the District 7 firest team and are now eligible for the Capital One Academic All-America team.

Faubel, a libero from Lincoln, Neb., became the program’s all-time digs leader earlier this season. She has a 4.0 GPA and is a business major. Faubel leads the team with 358 digs this year, averaging 3.73 per set.

Rottinghaus is second on the squad with 336 kills for a 3.50 per set average. The senior, from Seneca, Kansas, is also hitting .280 and has a 3.92 GPA and is majoring in health and exercise science.

— MWSU Sports Information —

A record breaking season for the Missouri Western women’s soccer team came to a heartbreaking end Wednesday night as the Griffons fell to Fort Hays 1-0 in double-overtime in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.

Kelsey Steffens snuck a ball past Sarah Lyle in the 107th minute for the winner. The ball made it just past Lyle inside the left post.

It was Missouri Western’s first postseason appearance and ended a season that saw more than 20 records broken, including the most wins in school history. MWSU ends the season 9-9-1 overall.

Lyle finished the game with eight saves and the Griffon defense, which has been stellar all season, allowed just nine Tiger shots on goal on 21 total shots.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Six members of the Missouri Western women’s soccer team have been named All-MIAA, the most since 2009.

Goalkeeper Sarah Lyle, Defender Taylor Gant and Forward Tara Russell were named to the second team. It’s the first time more than one Griffon has appeared on any team other than honorable mention.

Lyle and Gant each earned MIAA Student Athlete of the week at their respective positions once this season. Lyle, a sophomore from Duluth, Minnesota, set MWSU records for goals against average (0.85), most wins (9) and most shutouts (8). Her 11 career wins also moved her to the top of that category.

Gant, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kansas, has been a key part of a Griffon defense that set season records for goals against average and most shutouts.

Russell has left her mark on the MWSU record book in two years. The senior from Olathe, Kansas, led the Griffons with four goals this season. She will leave Missouri Western as the program’s all-time leader in points per game (0.70), goals per game (0.30), shots per game (2.67) and shots on goal per game (1.56). Her three game winning goals this season are tied for the most in a season at MWSU.

Defender Sydney Andrews was named to the third team. Andrews, a junior from Wichita, Kansas, has helped the Griffon defense to new heights along with helping the Griffon offense. She added two goals this year, including a record breaking, ninth game winning goal for the team in their overtime win over Lindenwood last week.

Defender Paige Phipps and Mid-Fielder K.C. Ramsell were named to the honorable mention team. Phipps is a freshman from Omaha, Nebraska and is part of a young, impressive defensive unit. A four-year player from Bellevue, Nebraska, Ramsell is in the top-10 of nearly every career statistical category at MWSU. Her three goals this season are the second most on the team.

2014 ALL-MIAA SOCCER TEAM

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Karla Jamison, F, Southwest Baptist

DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
Emily Eldridge, D, Central Missouri

CO-GOALKEEPERS OF THE YEAR
Ana Dilkes, GK, Central Missouri
Yadira Rivera, GK, Emporia State

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Whitney Snow, MF, Southwest Baptist

COACH OF THE YEAR
Lewis Theobald, Central Missouri

FIRST TEAM
GK: Ana Dilkes, Fr., Central Missouri^
GK: Yadira Rivera, So., Emporia State^
D: Emily Eldridge, So., Central Missouri**#
D: Quinn Tookey, Jr., Central Oklahoma#
D: Abby Rhodes, So., Central Missouri#
D: Mallory Diederich, Jr., Fort Hays State#
MF: Taylor Thompson, Fr., Central Missouri
MF: Kate Jamison, Jr., Southwest Baptist
MF: Nicole Pond, Jr., Central Missouri
F: Karla Jamison, Jr., Southwest Baptist**
F: Julie Ireland, Jr., Central Missouri**
F: Hailey Davey, Sr., Fort Hays State
**Unanimous Selection

SECOND TEAM
GK: Sarah Lyle, So., Missouri Western
D: Ronise Miller, Fr., Missouri Southern
D: Taylor Gant, So., Missouri Western
D: Amy Bolton, So., Southwest Baptist
MF: Whitney Snow, Fr., Southwest Baptist
MF: Kate Foran, Sr., Central Oklahoma
MF: Hannah Smith, So., Fort Hays State
MF: Alex Yockey, Fr., Central Missouri
MF: Ali Skogrand, Sr., Southwest Baptist
F: Hannah Pyle, So, Central Missouri
F: Lexi Carroll, Fr., Central Oklahoma
F: Montanna Hosterman, Jr., Nebraska-Kearney
F: Tara Russell, Sr., Missouri Western
F: Elin Hammar, So., Southwest Baptist
Results reflect tie in voting

THIRD TEAM
GK: Kristen Thompson, Fr., Fort Hays State
GK: Cheyenne Forshey, Jr. Southwest Baptist
D: Baylie Edwards, Fr., Central Missouri
D: Jamie Babyak, Sr., Fort Hays State
D: Sydney Andrews, Jr., Missouri Western
D: Emily Burch, Jr., Northeastern State
MF: Emily Precure, Jr., Central Oklahoma
MF: Molly White, So., Lindenwood
MF: McKenzie Musella, Jr., Northeastern
F: Kelsey Steffens, Fr., Fort Hays State
F: Grace Linton, Fr., Emporia State
F: Taylor Schmidt, Jr., Southwest Baptist

HONORABLE MENTION
Central Missouri: Mikala Modiri, MF; Megan Woolley, MF.
Central Oklahoma: Kenzie Sublett, D; Kenna Dyess, MF.
Emporia State: Shannon Thomas, D; Amelie Heun, MF.
Fort Hays State: Gabrielle Makatura, D; Kylee Loneker, MF.
Lindenwood: Miranda Huebner, D; Jackie Lindner, D; Kristin Brewer, MF; Becky Roberts, F.
Missouri Southern: Carly Cecil, D; Karly Thomas, F.
Missouri Western: Paige Phipps, D; K.C. Ramsell, MF.
Nebraska-Kearney: Kadie Walaszczyk, D; Kristyn Otter, D; Lauren Hoeft, D.
Northeastern State: Jordan Woodruff, GK; Rachel Gleason, D; Melissa Giles, F.
Northwest Missouri: Ashley Malloy, GK; Katelyn Lindsey, D; Elizabeth Lee, MF.
Washburn: Hailey Ruder, D; Cadence Bourne, MF.

— MWSU Sports Information —

The Missouri Western women’s soccer team will travel to Fort Hays State for its first ever appearance in the MIAA Women’s Soccer Tournament on Wednesday, November 5 at 6 p.m.

The Griffons enter the tournament as the six seed and have a chance for redemption against the third seeded Tigers. Fort Hays snapped the Griffons, record, five game winning streak with a 1-0 win on Oct. 19 in Hays, Kansas. The Griffons held Fort Hays to just two shots on goal, but the first goal Sarah Lyle had allowed since September, was all the Tigers needed to win.

Should Missouri Western win Wednesday, they would face the winner of Emporia State (7) at Southwest Baptist (2) on Friday at the College Boulevard Activities Complex in Olathe, Kansas at 7 p.m. The Griffons claimed 1-0 victories over both squads during their five-game win streak earlier this season.

Along with winning more matches than any other Griffon Soccer squad, the team suffered the fewest losses, got off to the program’s best ever start, set a new mark for shutouts in a season, had the longest winning streak ever and head coach Chad Edwards became the program’s winningest coach on Oct. 10, among other records set this season.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014 (at higher seed)
Game 1: #8 Northeastern State at #1 Central Missouri     7 p.m.
Game 2: #5 Lindenwood at #4 Central Oklahoma             3 p.m.
Game 3: #7 Emporia State at #2 Southwest Baptist          2 p.m.
Game 4: #6 Missouri Western at #3 Fort Hays State         6 p.m.

Friday, November 7, 2014 (at College Boulevard Activities Complex)
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2    4 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4    7 p.m.

Sunday, November 9, 2014 (at College Boulevard Activities Complex)
Championship: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6     11 a.m.

— MWSU Sports Information —