ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western softball team, who won the 2016 MIAA regular season and tournament championships, was picked second in the 2017 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Griffons received two first place votes and were picked behind NFCA Preseason No. 19 Central Oklahoma in the poll.

Last year, Jen Bagley Trotter’s squad swept both MIAA titles for the first time in program history and advanced to the NCAA Central Sub-Regional Championship before falling to Southern Arkansas. MWSU finished 43-15 last season and 23-3 in the MIAA.

The 2017 team returns six 2016 All-MIAA selections, highlighted by first team honorees Morgan Rathmann and Katie Klosterman. Both were also named NFCA and D2CCA All-Region last year, and Klosterman was named MIAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

The 2017 season begins Feb. 4 at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

2017 MIAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Oklahoma (12) – 168
2. Missouri Western (2) – 152
3. Pittsburg State – 151
4. Northwest Missouri – 128
5. Central Missouri – 105
6. Northeastern State – 101
7. Southwest Baptist – 90
8. Emporia State – 86
9. Fort Hays State – 75
10. Missouri Southern – 62
11. Washburn – 55
12. Nebraska-Kearney – 46
13. Lindenwood – 40
14. Lincoln – 13

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – MIAA baseball coaches seem to think the plate is set for Missouri Western baseball team to match its record-breaking 2016 season. The team was picked third in the MIAA Preseason Baseball poll as voted on by league coaches, receiving two first place votes.

The Griffons finished tied for third in the 2016 MIAA regular season before finishing as runner-up in the MIAA Tournament and advancing to the program’s third-ever NCAA Regional. The 2016 team won the second most games in program history (38-20) and broke program records for runs (481), RBIs (447) and home runs (67). Head coach Buzz Verduzco also logged his 500th career win last season.

2016 All-Region selections David Glaude and Landon Mason headline a group of eight returning position players and nine pitchers to the 2017 team. The season is right around the corner for the Griffons, who open Feb. 2 at the Air Hogs DII Classic in Grand Prarie, Texas.

2017 MIAA Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Missouri (9) – 140
2. Emporia State (1) – 130
3. Missouri Western (2) – 119
4. Missouri Southern – 101
5. Washburn (1) – 100
6. Central Oklahoma – 90
7. Northeastern State – 75
8. Pittsburg State – 53
9. Northwest Missouri – 49
10. Nebraska-Kearney – 46
11. Lindenwood – 44
12. Fort Hays State – 36
13. Southwest Baptist – 31

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH –  The Missouri Western men’s basketball team used a 15-0 run to end the first half and begin the second and they cruised to an 80-63 victory over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

NOTABLES
– The Griffons shot 71.4 percent from the three-point arc in the first half
– Missouri Western started a 15-0 run with 3:22 left in the first half and never trailed after that
– MWSU had two 7-0 runs throughout the game to go along with the 15-0 run
– The Griffons held a 33-29 rebounding advantage over the Lopers
– UNK was held to a season-low of 63 points

TOP PERFORMERS
– Seth Bonifas dropped a career-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds
– TJ Evans scored 21 points, going 3-4 from three-point and 4-5 on the free-throw stripe
– Cole Clearman had 15 points and went 3-4 from the three-point arc

UP NEXT
Missouri Western is back in action Saturday as they host No. 1 Northwest Missouri State at 4:00 p.m. inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – If nothing else, the Missouri Western women’s basketball team discovered it can win a game despite shooting worse than 35 percent from the field and getting out-rebounded by 10. That’s exactly what the Griffons (14-5, 6-4) did Saturday afternoon in a 55-51 win over Nebraska Kearney (5-12, 1-8).

NOTABLES
– Missouri Western’s 55 points were the fewest the team has scored in a victory this season
– The Griffons shot just 36.4 percent from the field, 16.7 percent from three-point range and 68.4 percent from the free throw line
– Nebraska-Kearney out-rebounded Missouri Western 42-42
– The Griffons were aided by outscoring Nebraska Kearney 22-11 in the second quarter after being outscored 16-10 in the first

TOP PERFORMERS
– Chelsea Dewey had 14 points and a team-high six rebounds
– Dwanisha Tate led Missouri Western with 15 points on 6-13 shooting from the field to go with her four rebounds
– Melia Richardson went 4-9 from the field and scored a season-high 12 points
– Sefulu Faavae also had six rebounds and a team-high three assists to go with her five points

UP NEXT
Missouri Western gets a break next week with no midweek game before hosting Northwest Missouri (7-10, 2-8) next Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team (13-5, 5-4 MIAA) stopped a two-game skid and snapped No. 23 Fort Hays State’s eight-game winning streak with an impressive 65-51 victory Thursday inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

NOTABLES
– Fort Hays State had won eight-straight games coming into Thursday night and was ranked No. 23 in the WBCA poll
– Missouri Western held Fort Hays 30 points under its scoring average
– Fort Hays State entered, shooting 43.9 percent from the field and was limited to 29.3 percent by the Griffons
– In the first quarter, Missouri Western shot better than 63 percent from the field and limited Fort Hays to 25 percent shooting
– The Griffons shot 58.3 percent in the third quarter and limited Fort Hays to 25 percent shooting again
– It was the first time in eight games the Griffons outscored an opponent in the fourth quarter (19-14)

TOP PERFORMERS
– Chelsea Dewey led all scorers with 23 points on 6-11 shooting from the field
– Julia Torres registered her third double-double of the season, pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds and scoring 15 points
– Dwanisha Tate added 11 points, eight in the second half

UP NEXT
Nebraska-Kearney (5-11, 1-7) visits the fieldhouse this Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. after picking up its first MIAA win of the season Thursday night at Northwest Missouri State.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost at home to Fort Hays State Thursday 74-69 as they fall to 6-12 this season and 2-7 in the MIAA.

NOTABLES
– Missouri Western held a 32-27 halftime edge but was outscored 47-37 in the second half
– The Griffons shot 57.9 percent in the second half and 51.1 percent for the game
– MWSU had all five starters in double figures for the second time this season
– Fort Hays had a 14-3 run  at the 16:08 mark in the second half to take the only lead it would need for the victory
– The Tigers had a 35-26 rebounding advantage with 12-1 margin on offensive boards

TOP PERFORMERS
– Joe Hamilton went 5-6 from the three-point arc to finish with 16 points
– Cole Clearman finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season
– Rob Davis ended with 20 points for the Tigers, going 7-8 from the free-throw stripe

UP NEXT
Nebraska Kearney (12-5, 5-3) visits the fieldhouse this Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. after falling to #1 Northwest Missouri 88-71 in Maryville, Missouri.

— MWSU Athletics —

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team (6-11, 2-6) couldn’t hang on to a nine-point first half lead as they lost 81-68 at Central Missouri (10-5, 4-3) on Monday.

NOTABLES
– It was the sixth-straight loss in Warrensburg for the Griffons
– Missouri Western twice led by nine in the first half
– UCM ended the first half on a 6-0 run to take a three-point lead to the half
– After falling behind by 13 in the second half, MWSU cut the lead to six with a 10-3 run but UCM answered with an 8-0 run to take a 14-point lead
– The Griffons’ bench was outscored 33-11 by Central Missouri’s reserves
– Central Missouri shot 61.5 percent from the field, best of any MWSU opponent this season

TOP PERFORMERS
– Cole Clearman led Missouri Western with 20 points on 6-10 shooting from three-point range to go with his four assists
– Aaron Emmanuel scored 16 points with six rebounds and four assists
– Seth Bonifas had 10 points and six rebounds

UP NEXT
Missouri Western hosts Fort Hays State (9-6, 3-4) Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. before second place Nebraska-Kearney (12-4, 5-2) visits the MWSU Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – It was a tale of two halves in Warrensburg on Monday as the Missouri Western women’s basketball team lost at Central Missouri 69-49.  After leading by as many as 11 points in the first half and seven at halftime, the Griffons were outscored 39-12 in the second half and 22-2 in the fourth quarter.

Western falls to 12-5 this season and 4-4 in the MIAA, while UCM improves to 13-2 and 6-1 in league play.

NOTABLES
– MWSU went 3-24 (12.5%) from the field in the second half
– The Griffons were out-rebounded 22-8 in the second half after holding a 23-13 advantage on the glass at halftime
– Central Missouri opened the second half on a 13-5 run to take its first lead since the opening minute of the game
– Central Missouri opened the fourth quarter on an 18-0 run
– Missouri Western went 1-15 from three-point range
– The Griffons shot a season-low 30.6 percent from the field and 6.7 percent from long range
– Sefulu Faavae tied a career-high with six rebounds

TOP PERFORMERS
– Faave ahd 10 points to go with her six rebounds
– Julia Torres also scored 10 points along with a team-high nine rebounds

UP NEXT
Missouri Western hosts Fort Hays State (14-2, 5-2) Thursday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. before Nebraska-Kearney (4-11, 0-7) visits the MWSU Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Missouri Western men’s basketball team (6-10, 2-5) held off a second half rally from Southwest Baptist (9-6, 2-4) Thursday and defeated the Bearcats 66-63.

NOTABLES
– Missouri Western led by 16 with 11:20 to go in the game, but SBU cut the lead to five 1:13 to go, neither team scored over the final 1:13
– It was Missouri Western’s fifth win in the last seven games
– SBU cut the MWSU lead to single digits on a 5-0 run on all free throws
– Southwest Baptist shot 35 free throws to Missouri Western’s 13
– The Griffons used a 14-1 run to turn a five-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 16:29 remaining
– Missouri Western hit eight threes and 24 field goals overall; SBU hit five threes and 17 field goals

TOP PERFORMERS
– TJ Evans led Missouri Western with 20 points on 6-13 shooting from the field
– Cole Clearman had 18 points, four made threes and a career-high nine rebounds
– Aaron Emmanuel led Missouri Western with five assists to go with his 12 points

UP NEXT
Missouri Western’s scheduled game at Central Missouri (9-5, 3-3) for this coming Saturday was pushed to Monday, Jan. 16 in Warrensburg.

— MWSU Athletics —