WARRENSBURG, Mo. – One week after suffering defeat at the hands of a Central Missouri buzzer-beater, the Missouri Western men’s basketball team (12-16, 6-11 MIAA) fell in heartbreaking fashion again to the Mules. After rallying from a 13-point second-half deficit, the Griffons held a seven-point lead with under four minutes remaining. Central Missouri would then hold the Griffons to just one made basket in the final three minutes en route to a 12-2 run to win 69-66 on Saturday.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western’s offense struggled throughout most of the first half, shooting just 29 percent from the floor.
• Bryan Hudson helped keep the Griffons within reach in the first half, scoring 15 of the team’s 25 first-half points.
• Central Missouri closed the first half on a 20-9 run to take a 36-25 into the halftime break.
• The Griffons stepped up the defense in the second half as the Mules made just three of their first 10 shots in the second half.
• Missouri Western slowly chipped away at the Central Missouri lead, taking their first lead of the second half on Hudson’s layup with 13 minutes to play.
• After the Mules regained control with a one-point lead, the Griffons used a 10-2 run to take the 64-57 advantage with 3:19 remaining.
• Central Missouri made their final three field goal attempts and went four-of-five from the free-throw line.
• Tyrell Carroll’s potential game-tying three-point attempt was no good, giving Central Missouri the 69-66 comeback win.
• Missouri Western’s five starters accounted for all of the team’s 66 points scored.
• Missouri Western outscored Central Missouri 41-33 in the second half.
• The Griffons set a new season-best mark with just three turnovers on Saturday, improving from their previous-best of just five against Lincoln on Feb. 7.

LEADERS

• Hudson led all scorers with 26 points on 60 percent shooting.
• Carroll finished with 17 points while tying a career-high with eight rebounds.
• Tyus Millhollin added 11 points with three triples.

UP NEXT

• With just two games remaining, Missouri Western Men’s Basketball will travel to top-ranked Northwest Missouri (27-0, 17-0 MIAA) on Feb. 26.

— MWSU Athletics —

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Missouri Western women’s basketball team lost at No. 24 Central Missouri Saturday 86-66.  The Griffons have now lost three straight as they fall to 12-14 and 7-10 in the MIAA.  The Jennies improve to 20-5 and 13-4 in league play.

NOTABLES

• Both squads shot the ball well from the start, combining for 52 percent shooting in the first quarter as Central Missouri took a five-point lead into the second quarter.
• Melia Richardson beat the buzzer at the end of both quarters in the first half. Her layup as time expired in the first half brought the Griffons within 10 points at 46-36.
• Katrina Roenfeldt led the Griffons with 10 first-half points.
• The Jennies narrowly outscored the Griffons 20-18 in the third quarter, as the Griffons shot 50 percent in the period.
• After Central Missouri remained in control throughout the fourth quarter, the Jennies used a 10-1 run to put the Griffons away.
• The Missouri Western bench outscored Central Missouri 22-2.
• The Griffons also held a 35-28 rebounding advantage over Central Missouri.

LEADERS

• Roenfeldt led the Griffons in scoring with 17 points.
• Anastacia Johnson was the team’s next-leading scorer with 11 points.
• Brittany Atkins and Olivia Usher each added 10 points.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western Women’s Basketball will take on Northwest Missouri (7-19, 3-14 MIAA) in Maryville in its next game.
• The Bearcats have lost eight-straight games after falling to Southwest Baptist on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

BOLIVAR, Mo – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team (12-15, 6-10 MIAA) set the tone right from the opening tip of Thursday’s 85-71 victory at Southwest Baptist (12-13, 6-10 MIAA). The Griffons gained their first lead two minutes into the game before vaulting out to an 18-point lead in the first half and led throughout the remainder of the game.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western dominated both ends of the floor early in the game, using a 28-8 run to take a game-high 18-point lead in the first half.
• The Bearcats trimmed that deficit to 33-17 at the halftime break. The Griffons held Southwest Baptist to just 33 percent shooting in the half while forcing 11 turnovers.
• Tyrell Carroll led the charge offensively in the first half with 13 points and a pair of assists.
• Southwest Baptist used a 10-3 run to pull within nine points in the opening minutes of the second half.
• The Griffons settled in following the Southwest Baptist run, making five of their next eight shots to build the lead to 14.
• Southwest Baptist never managed to cut the deficit to double digits for the remainder of the game.
• Both teams’ offenses played better in the second half, as the teams combined for 106 points in the second half compared to just 50 points before halftime.
• Missouri Western took advantage of its trips to the free-throw line. The Griffons shot 86 percent (18-of-21) from the stripe, their best percentage with at least 10 makes this season.
• The Griffons hopes of making the MIAA Championships remain alive after Thursday’s road victory. Missouri Western has now moved into a four-way tie for ninth.
• After earning its seventh road win, Missouri Western has now won its most road games in a season since the program won nine in 2001-02.

LEADERS

• Carroll finished with a team-high 19 points, five assists, and three steals.
• JJ Jones set a new career-high with 16 points. Jones missed just one shot all night, going 8-of-9 while also grabbing seven rebounds.
• Lavon Hightower scored 18 points to go along with his team-high nine rebounds.
• Bryan Hudson added 17 points.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western Men’s Basketball will travel to Central Missouri (13-13, 6-10 MIAA)
• The Mules topped the Griffons on a buzzer-beating three-point in last week’s meeting.

— MWSU Athletics —

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team (12-13, 7-9) fell victim to a little revenge at Southwest Baptist (8-18, 4-12), Thursday night. After scoring 50 points in the second half last week against SBU in the MWSU Fieldhouse, MWSU was outscored 41-24 in the second half in round two of the series.

NOTABLES

• Southwest Baptist scored 41 in each half, shooting 51 percent from the field on the night and 53 percent from three point range
• The 82 points for SBU were the most allowed by Missouri Western since an 84-67 loss at Truman State on Nov. 13
• Missouri Western led 22-21 after one quarter and trailed 41-38 at halftime
• SBU opened up a big lead by outscoring MWSU 20-7 in the third quarter
• The Griffons shot 42 percent from the field and shot better than 50 percent in the first and fourth quarters, but were held back by a 19 percent third quarter
• Katrina Roenfeldt was held to a season-low three points

LEADERS

• Melia Richardson scored a season-high 22 points, 14 in the first quarter. Richardson was 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-7 at the free throw line.
• KeShara Scott had a team-high five rebounds
• Simone Walker led the team with three assists
• Brittany Atkins scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western travels to Warrensburg for a re-match with No. 24 Central Missouri (19-5, 12-4)
• The Jennies defeated Northwest Missouri 71-53 Thursday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Changes to the Missouri Western baseball and tennis schedules were announced Tuesday.

BASEBALL
Griffon Baseball will play its three-game series against Fort Hays at Wendell Simmons Field on the Central Oklahoma campus, Sunday, Feb. 24 and Monday, Feb. 25. Game one of the series will begin at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Edmond, Oklahoma with a doubleheader beginning at noon on Monday. The series was originally slated to be played at Missouri Western Feb. 22-24.

Missouri Western vs Fort Hays State
Wendell Simmons Field – Edmond, Oklahoma
Game 1: Sunday, Feb. 24, 5 p.m.
Game 2: Monday, Feb. 25, 12 p.m.
Game 3: Monday, Feb. 25, apx. 3 p.m.

TENNIS
Griffon Tennis has re-scheduled its home match with Quincy. The two teams will now play at noon on Friday, Feb. 22 at Genesis Health Club. The match was originally scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23. Head Coach Shawn Becker also announced the team has found a date and time for the previously postponed Rockhurst match. That match will be played April 5 at 1:30 p.m. at Genesis Health Club. Griffon Tennis has also added a match at John Brown University on March 1. Dates and times have also been set for the team’s previously postponed matches at Arkansas-Fort Smith and Arkansas Tech.

Re-scheduled/added matches
vs. Quincy: Friday, Feb. 22, 12 p.m. at Genesis Health Club
at John Brown: Friday, March 1, 3 p.m.
at Arkansas-Fort Smith: Saturday, March 2, 12 p.m.
at Arkansas Tech: Saturday, March 16, 10 a.m.
vs Rockhurst: Tuesday, April 5, 1:30 p.m. at Genesis Health Club

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – After Bryan Hudson’s coast-to-coast layup tied the game at 56 a piece with four seconds left, Central Missouri’s Jafar Kinsey took the inbound pass, drove the length of the court, and banked in the game-winning three at the buzzer, lifting Central Missouri (13-11, 6-9 MIAA) over the Griffons (13-11, 5-10) on Saturday 59-56 inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

NOTABLES

• The Mules shot out to an 11-2 lead out of the opening tip forcing Missouri Western to call a timeout.
• The Griffons settled in following the timeout, using a, 11-2 run of their own to tie the game at 13.
• Tyrell Carroll led the Griffons in a low-scoring first half with 11 points as the Griffons trailed 31-26 at the intermission.
• After falling behind by as many as nine points in the second half, Lavon Hightower’s three-pointer tied the game at 49-49 with 3:40 to play.
• The Mules would get those three points back on the next possession and then used two free throws to offset Hudson’s mid-range jumper, holding a two-point lead over the Griffons with under two minutes remaining.
• Hudson answered the call again on the next Missouri Western possession, driving to the basket for two.
• Central Missouri big man Jakob Lowrance then gave the Mules the lead on a layup with just 10 seconds left.
• Hudson then went coast-to-coast, elevating over the outstretched arms of Lowrance to even the score at 56 with just four seconds remaining.
• The Mules then managed to get the ball across the court and launch a 25-footer off the glass for the game-winning buzzer-beater.
• After an official review, the call was confirmed, giving Central Missouri the 59-56 win over the Griffons on Senior Day.
• The 59 points allowed by Missouri Western is its second-best defensive performance of the season.

LEADERS

• Hudson led the Griffons in scoring with 17 points on 50 percent shooting.
• Carroll finished with 15 points.
• Hightower added 11 points to go with his game-high nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will hit the road for a matchup with Southwest Baptist (12-12, 6-9 MIAA) on Thursday.
• The Griffons fell 79-71 to the Bearcats last Wednesday in the teams’ first meeting.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Women’s Basketball (12-12, 7-8 MIAA) went toe-to-toe with defending national champion Central Missouri (18-5, 11-4 MIAA), but lost 74-68 to the Jennies on Senior Day.

NOTABLES

• The Central Missouri offense struggled to get going in the first half. The Griffons held the Jennies to just 35 percent shooting and five turnovers to grab a 16-14 lead.
• Brittany Atkins gave the Griffons their largest lead of the game at 26-21 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
• Central Missouri closed the half on a 15-7 capped off by a three-pointer right before the buzzer, taking a 36-33 lead at the half.
• Katrina Roenfeldt led the Griffons with 14 points on just nine shot attempts in the first half.
• Roenfeldt and Atkins combined for 15 of Missouri Western’s 19 points in the fourth quarter, keeping the Griffons within four going into the final quarter.

LEADERS

• Katrina Roenfeldt matched a career-high with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added a team-high eight rebounds
• Brittany Atkins was the only other Griff in double-figures, scoring 13 points
• KeShara Scott had eight points and six rebounds
• Jessica Davies scored six points and added six rebounds

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western plays its final four games on the road beginning with a trip to Southwest Baptist (7-17, 3-12) on Thursday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Griffon Softball (6-4) saw leads erased in both its games, Saturday, at Henderson State. The Griffons lost 8-2 to Henderson State (5-5) and 4-3 to Arkansas at Monticello (4-1).

The Griffon offense that produced more than two dozen hits in Arkadelphia on Friday was held relatively quiet on Saturday, totaling 13 hits in the two losses.

GAME 1
Henderson State 8, Missouri Western 2

• Missouri Western jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings
• Henderson State took the lead with a three-run third then added to it with a four-run fourth
• The Reddies hit three home runs in the game
• Five Griffons had one hit each
• Lexi Kinnaird (1-2) allowed eight earned runs on 13 hits over 4 2/3 innings

GAME 2
Arkansas at Monticello 4, Missouri Western 3

• The Griffons led 2-1 after two innings, but UAM took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth
• MWSU tied the game at three with a Lauren Houston RBI-single in the sixth
• The Blossoms ended the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh
• Missouri Western committed four errors in the game
• The Griffons had eight hits, stranding six on base
• Emma Hoffart went 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles
• Taylor Hoelscher was 2-for-3 with two RBIs
• Kenzie Hilzer allowed one earned run on five hits. She walked seven and struck out six

NEXT UP

• Six more regional games for the Griffons in the Emporia State Classic
• Missouri Western is scheduled for two games a day, Feb. 22-24 in Emporia, Kansas.

— MWSU Athletics —

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Missouri Western softball team (6-2) pounded out 25 hits and 16 runs to sweep both games on the team’s first day at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.

Missouri Western started the day with its second win in as many games against Ouachita Baptist (1-6) and ended it with a big win over Harding (4-2). The Griffons were three outs away from run-ruling a Harding team that had shutout the Griffons in three-straight chances and had two wins over top-5 ranked teams this season.

Seven different Griffs had at least three hits on the day. Emma Hoffart went 5-for-7 at the dish with five RBIs, a home run and a double. She also walked once and was 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts.

GAME 1
Missouri Western 4, Ouachita Baptist 2

• A four-run fourth inning was enough for the Griffons who got a four-hit, five-strikeout complete game from Kaili Hinds
• In her first start of the season, Hinds went the distance and needed just 90 pitches to hold Ouachita to two runs on four hits. She struck out five and walked one batter with one out in the seventh. She improved to 2-0 on the season.
• Ouachita Baptist scored both their runs on a home run in the fourth
• Lauren Houston and Taylor Hoelscher both doubled in runs in the fourth, two for Houston and one for Hoelscher
• Sydni Hawkins also doubled in the game and was one of four Griffs with two hits
• Emma Hoffart, Houston and Hoelscher also had two hits each
• MWSU had chances to score even more, leaving 11 runners on base

GAME 2
Missouri Western 12, Harding 5

• Missouri Western had lost three-straight to Harding and hadn’t scored a run on the Bisons since a 4-1 win on Feb. 7, 2016
• Harding had allowed just 15 runs through its first five games of the season and came in 4-1 with two wins over top-5 ranked teams
• The Griffons led 11-1 headed to the fifth needing three outs to end the game, but Harding scored four in the inning to keep the game alive
• MWSU scored nine runs in the first two innings, hitting three home runs over the first two frames, the only three long balls surrendered by Harding all season
• Shelby Uhl led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot
• Emma Hoffart blasted a three-run homer to cap the four-run first for MWSU
• Morgan Frost added to the early home run derby with a grand slam in the second
• Hoffart went 3-for-5 in the game with a double and a home run. She drove in five
• Frost was 2-for-3 in the game with four RBIs and three runs scored
• Cassidy Kelsheimer went 2-for-4 with two doubles
• Kenzie Hilzer (2-1) got the win, allowing three runs on five hits over the first four innings, walking five and striking out five
• Olivia Goodale picked up her first save of the season, holding Harding off the scoreboard over three innings. She allowed four hits, walked two and struck out one

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western stays in Arkadelphia for two games on the Henderson State campus tomorrow
• The Griffons face Henderson State (4-5) at 9 a.m. and Arkansas at Monticello (3-0) at 1 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —