LINCOLN, Neb. – Missouri Western Track & Field student-athletes earned an additional NCAA Division II provisional mark, got one event win and broke a few more school records in the final meet prior to the MIAA Indoor Championships.

The women’s 4x400m team of Savannah Simmons, Hanna Williams, Morgan Doyle and Symonne Holland did what the Nebraska Tune-Up is intended for. The group turned in a provisional time of 3:50.72 which shattered the school record by seven seconds. The time was the 20^th best in Division II this indoor season and the third best turned in by an MIAA women’s 4×400 relay team this winter.

TOP-10 FINISHERS

• Women’s 4x400m (Savannah Simmons, Hanna Williams, Morgan Doyle, Symonne Holland), 1^st, 3:50.72-P
• Bailey Gilbert, 3^rd, Women’s Long Jump, 5.45m (17-10.75)
• Madison Roumph, 3^rd, Women’s Triple Jump, 10.93m (35-10.5)
• Megan Gillen, 4^th, Women’s 800m, 2:16.42
• Hunter Scaggs, 6^th, Men’s High Jump, 1.96m (6-5)
• Dre’Shaun Sanders, 7^th, Men’s 200m, 22.10
• Simone Baldeh, 9^th, Women’s Weight Throw, 15.60m (51-2.25)
• Kallin Sheppard, 10^th, Women’s Shot Put, 11.93m (39-1.75)
• Jordan Garr, 10^th, Men’s Shot Put, 15.42m (50-7.25)
• Alison Nutt, 10^th, Women’s 400m, 1:00.33
• Nate Jelinek, 10^th, Men’s 400m, 51.53
• Allison Goos, 10^th, Women’s 1-mile, 5:16.71

SCHOOL RECORDS

• Women’s 4x400m (Savannah Simmons, Hanna Williams, Morgan Doyle, Symonne Holland), 3:50.72-P
• Dre’Shaun Sanders, Men’s 200m, 22.10
• Megan Gillen, Women’s 800m, 2:16.42

UP NEXT

• The MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Feb. 22-24 in Maryville, Missouri.

— Northwest Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – After falling behind by as many as 21 points in the second half, Missouri Western (11-14, 5-9 MIAA) came back to trail by just one possession with three minutes remaining. Southwest Baptist (12-11, 6-8 MIAA) managed to hold on late, allowing just two made field goals in the final three minutes to win by a score of 79-71.

NOTABLES

• The Griffons shot well out of the opening tip, making seven of their first 11 shots to take a 17-15 lead eight minutes into the game.
• Southwest Baptist’s three-pointer on the next possession sparked a 28-6 run to go ahead by 20 in the first half.
• Tyus Millhollin swung it out to Lavon Hightower for a buzzer-beating three to trim the Bearcat lead to 43-29 at the halftime break.
• Bryan Hudson led the Griffons with 11 first half points.
• Southwest Baptist built its first-half lead from beyond the arc with seven triples before halftime.
• The Bearcats stretched their lead to a game-high 21 points five minutes into the second half.
• The Griffons then used a 21-7 run to slowly chip away at the Southwest Baptist lead.
• Hightower’s driving layup finally brought Missouri Western within one possession at 66-63 with 3:22 remaining.
• Southwest Baptist would then halt the Griffons’ momentum with a corner three-pointer.
• With the Griffons down four with one minute remaining, Southwest Baptist’s Maris Colton put the Bearcats up six to put Missouri Western away.
• The Griffons’ aggression paid off offensively in the second half, scoring 30 of their 42 second-half points in the paint.

LEADERS

• Hudson led all players with 24 points on an efficient 65 percent shooting. Hudson’s 24 points give him his second-highest mark this season.
• Tyrell Caroll finished with 18 points.
• Hightower scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and also led the team with eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western Men’s Basketball will face Central Missouri (12-11, 5-9 MIAA) for the first time this season on Saturday.
• The Mules fell to top-ranked Northwest Missouri by 17 points on Wednesday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Southwest Baptist Wednesday night 78-64 inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.  The Griffons outscored SBU in the second half 50-29 as they improve to 12-11 and 7-7 in the MIAA.  The Bearcats fall to 6-17 and 2-12 in league play.

NOTABLES

• The Griffons went to halftime down by seven after being outscored 20-9 in the second quarter
• MWSU responded with a 26-15 third quarter and a 24-14 fourth quarter to climb ahead and put the Bearcats away
• The 78 points scored were the most for the Griffs since dropping 93 on Saint Mary in November
• Missouri Western shot 60 percent in the third quarter, 56 percent in the fourth and 48 percent for the game
• After SBU went 3-for-8 from three in the first half, the Griffon defense limited the Bearcats to 1-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc in the second half
• The Griffons were 50 percent (7-14) from three-point range in the game and 83 percent (15-18) from the free throw line
• With the win, Missouri Western took over sole possession of seventh place in the MIAA standings

LEADERS

• Katrina Roenfeldt had a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds
• Anastacia Johnson posted career highs for points (16) and steals (7)
• Jessica Davies scored 17 points, 13 in the second half

UP NEXT

• Senior Day and the home finale for the Griffons
• No. 24 Central Missouri visits the MWSU Fieldhouse Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.
• The Jennies won 78-67 at Northwest Missouri Wednesday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Once again, forecasted weather has resulted in significant changes to the Missouri Western spring sports schedules. Griffon Baseball postponed its home-opening series with St. Cloud State due to forecasted cold temperatures this coming weekend. Griffon Softball saw its scheduled weekend at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic re-written and moved.

The Alvy Early Memorial Classic has been moved from Bentonville, Arkansas to Arkadelphia, Arkansas with an abbreviated schedule. Missouri Western was scheduled for six games over three days this weekend in Bentonville, but will now play four games in Arkadelphia on the campuses of Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State Universities.

UPDATED GRIFFON SOFTBALL SCHEDULE AT THE ALVY EARLY MEMORIAL CLASSIC
Friday, Feb. 15
11 a.m. at Ouachita Baptist
3 p.m. vs Harding (at Henderson State)

Saturday, Feb. 16
9 a.m. at Henderson State
1 p.m. vs Arkansas at Monticello (at Henderson State)

Sunday, Feb. 17
No games for MWSU

MWSU is 4-2 entering the weekend after a split at the Arkasnas-Monticello DII Challenge last weekend in Bentonville. The Griffons ended their day in Arkansas with an 8-0, run-rule win over Ouachita Baptist.

The four game series for Griffon Baseball at the Spring Sports Complex against St. Cloud State will not happen this weekend. An announcement about possible make-up games this week is now expected to be made Wednesday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – For the third time in this young season, the Missouri Western baseball team (2-5) lost a game it led in the seventh inning or later. No. 13 Southern Arkansas (4-3) scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh, Sunday, to defeat Missouri Western 11-9 in the Henderson State Invitational.

NOTABLES

• The offensive momentum from an 11-1 win on Saturday continued into the early portion of Sunday’s game with MWSU scoring five runs in the top of the first on Southern Arkansas
• MWSU’s first three batters of the game all singled, including a two-RBI single from Casey Danley
• With two out in the first, Andrew Curry drove in one with a triple
• Brooks Day followed Curry’s at bat with a two-run homer, his first of the season
• Southern Arkansas took a 6-5 led with a three-run fourth inning
• MWSU answered with two runs in the fifth
• The Griffons scored another in the sixth and one more in the seventh to take a 9-7 lead
• With two on and two out in the bottom of the seventh, SAU got the rally going with a two-RBI triple and ended it with a two-RBI single
• After Sunday, 51 percent of Griffon opponents’ runs (26) crossed the plate in the seventh inning or later
• Offensively, Missouri Western has scored eight of its 43 runs (19%) over the final three innings
• Griffon pitchers struck out 10 batters Sunday and lead the MIAA with 12 more Ks than any other team
• As a staff, the Griffons are averaging 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings

STATS & LEADERS

• Curry led the team with three hits, going 3-for-4 with a walk. He scored three runs and drove in one
• Danley went 2-for-5 with two RBIs
• Conrad McMahon went 2-for-4 with two runs scored
• Jacob Purl struck out seven over the first four innings, but gave up six earned runs on five hits
• Kellan Richards (0-2) took the loss, facing two batters in the seventh and allowing two earned runs on one hit and one walk

UP NEXT

• St. Cloud State is scheduled to come to St. Joseph for a four-game series, Feb. 15-17
• The Huskies are 3-0 and picked up wins over No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville and No. 20 Central Missouri last weekend

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Missouri Western Men’s Basketball (11-13, 5-8 MIAA) had one of its best offensive performances of the season on Saturday, resulting in an 88-81 win over Lindenwood (11-14, 4-9 MIAA) on the road.

NOTABLES

• The Griffon offense struggled in the opening minutes, scoring just 14 points and 33 percent shooting in the first 10 minutes.
• After Lindenwood gained its largest lead of the game at 22-19 with under nine minutes to play in the first half, the Griffons used a 19-9 run to take a 38-29 lead into the halftime break.
• Lavon Hightower led all scorers at the half with 11 points, while Tyrell Carroll scored nine.
• Bryan Hudson stretched the Missouri Western lead to 13 points with five minutes remaining in the game.
• The Lions would not go away, going on a 10-0 run to pull within reach at 71-68 with 2:47 to play.
• The Griffons turned to Tyus Millhollin’s clutch shooting late in the fourth. Millhollin went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes to seal the win.
• The Missouri Western offense was firing on all cylinders in the second half. The Griffons shot 58 percent in the half, going 5-7 from three and making all 17 free-throw attempts.
• The Griffons set season-highs in field goal percentage (54), three point percentage (50), and free throw percentage (86) in the win.
• Saturday’s 88-point performance comes just two days after their season-low 52 points at Lincoln in their last game.
• The Griffons scored 52 points in the second half alone against Lindenwood, which is as much as they scored the entire game in Thursday’s loss to Lincoln.

LEADERS

• Millhollin led the team with 22 points with four made three’s.
• Hightower finished with 21 points, five assists, and five rebounds.
• Carroll added 18 points and four assists.
• Hudson scored an efficient 16 points on just nine shot attempts.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will return to the MWSU Fieldhouse for a matchup with Southwest Baptist (11-11, 5-8 MIAA)
• The Bearcats fell 74-65 to Washburn in their game on Saturday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Missouri Western Women’s Basketball (11-11, 6-7 MIAA) held a halftime lead and trailed by just two points in the fourth quarter against one of the top teams in the MIAA, but lost to Lindenwood (16-4, 10-3 MIAA) 69-58 on Saturday afternoon.

NOTABLES

• Lindenwood had the early advantage on Saturday, jumping out to a 20-16 lead after the first quarter on 67 percent shooting.
• The Griffons turned up the defensive pressure with their best stretch of the game in the second quarter, holding Lindenwood to just 11 points in the quarter.
• Katrina Roenfeldt spearheaded the Missouri Western offense in the first half, scoring 13 points to lead the Griffons to a 34-31 advantage at the half.
• Roenfeldt and Melia Richardson were the only two Missouri Western players to register a point in the third quarter, combining for 14 points to keep the Griffons within reach.
• After falling behind as much as 12 points in the second half, the Griffons made it a one-possession game at 55-53 with 7:38 to play.
• Lindenwood closed the game on a 14-5 run to pull away late, holding the Griffons to two made field goals over the last seven minutes.
• Both teams struggled shooting the ball from distance, combining for just six triples all game.

LEADERS

• Roenfeldt led all scorers with 27 points on 50 percent shooting.
• Richardson finished with one point shy of her season high with 17 points
• Richardson and Brittany Atkins each registered four steals.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will return home to take on Southwest Baptist (6-16, 2-11 MIAA) on Feb. 13.
• The Bearcats will have lost five-straight games entering their matchup with the Griffons.

— MWSU Athletics —

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Western Men’s Basketball (10-13, 4-8 MIAA) suffered a 66-52 loss at Lincoln (16-5, 9-3 MIAA) on Thursday night. The Griffons held Lincoln to just 27 points in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit.

NOTABLES

• After a slow start for Missouri Western, JJ Jones sank a pair of free throws to bring the Griffons within reach at 26-22.
• Lincoln closed out the first half on a 13-2 run, holding the Griffons without a made field goal for the final five minutes of the half.
• The Griffons trailed 39-24 going into halftime, shooting 25 percent from the field.
• Bryan Hudson led the Griffons with nine points in the first half.
• Lavon Hightower’s jumper capped a 9-0 run to cut the Lincoln deficit to eight points with 11:32 left in the game.
• The Blue Tigers held on to a double-digit lead for the final 10 minutes of the game to secure the victory.
• The Griffons outscored Lincoln 28-27 in the second half, holding the Blue Tigers to just 29 percent shooting.
• Lincoln’s 66 points is the second-fewest allowed by the Griffons this season.

LEADERS

• Hudson tied for a team-high with 11 points and also pulled down eight rebounds.
• Tyrell Carroll set a new career-high with five steals to go along with his 11 points.
• Lincoln’s Terrance Smith finished with a game-high 25 points.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western will play at Lindenwood (11-13, 4-8 MIAA) on Saturday, Feb. 9.
• The Lions topped the Griffons 75-58 on Dec. 6 in teams’ first meeting.

— MWSU Athletics —

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Western Women’s Basketball (11-10, 6-6 MIAA) used tough late-game defense to pull away from Lincoln (9-12, 1-11 MIAA) in a 68-59 victory on Thursday night. After the Missouri Western lead fell to just three points with 2:35 remaining, the Griffons held Lincoln to just one made field goal on its final eight possessions.

NOTABLES

• Missouri Western shot 69 percent en route to a 23-point first quarter. Katrina Roenfeldt nearly outscored the Blue Tigers on her own, with 11 points in the quarter.
• The Griffons survived a nine-point second quarter to hang on to a 32-28 lead going into halftime.
• The Griffons used a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 46-34 late in the third quarter.
• Brittany Atkins took charge of the Griffon offense in the fourth, scoring 12 points in the final period.
• Both teams found their stride in the fourth quarter offensively, combining for 41 points on 50 percent shooting.
• The Griffons made 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
• The Blue Tigers had a significant advantage in points in the paint, outscoring the Griffons 40-24.
• Lincoln never led the Griffons on Thursday, only managing to tie the game once in the second quarter.

LEADERS

• Atkins finished with a season-high 24 points and nine rebounds.
• Roenfeldt was the Griffons’ second-leading scorer with 15 points while also grabbing seven rebounds.
• Jessica Davies added 12 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting.

UP NEXT

• Missouri Western Women’s Basketball will remain on the road for its next game in a matchup with Lindenwood (15-4, 9-3 MIAA) on Feb. 9.
• The Lions bested the Griffons by 14 points in the teams’ first meeting this season.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Missouri Western State University head football coach Matt Williamson and his staff announced the program’s 2019 recruiting class, Wednesday. Thirty-nine recruits signed their national letters of intent Wednesday to become members of the 50th Griffon Football team in 2019.

CLASS ROSTER

— MWSU Athletics —