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Category: College

Ong in first, Griffon women in third after day one in Las Vegas

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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Missouri Western Women’s Golf began the 2019 spring season at the Warrior Invitational on Tuesday. It was a successful first day for the Griffons, as Shi Qing Ong leads the field of 47 while Missouri Western sits in third as a team after the first round.

Leading the Griffons after the first round in her senior season, Ong shot a 71 (-1) and was the only golfer below par. She sits two strokes ahead of three golfers currently tied for second. Ong separated herself from the field with consistent play throughout the round, leading all golfers with 15 pars.

Chong Yong is the second Missouri Western golfer on the leaderboard, as she shot an 80 (+8) and is tied for 13th heading into the second round.

Anna Bech and Jenna Kosmatka both shot an 81 (+9) which ties them for 15th. Bech was one of just four golfers to shoot an eagle while Kosmatka tied for second in the entire field with three birdies.

Freshman Sabrina Galfano is also in the top-half of the leaderboard, sitting in 21st with her 83 (+11).

Missouri Western will continue play at the Warrior Invitational on Wednesday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Two Missouri women’s basketball signees earn WBCA high school honors

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Two Mizzou Women’s Basketball signees received honors from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association on Monday, as Aijha Blackwell and Hayley Frank both earned WBCA High School Coaches’ All-America honorable mention accolades.

Blackwell, who is finishing her senior year at Cardinal Ritter, is the No. 8-ranked prospect in the nation and No. 1 in the state of Missouri in espnW’s 2019 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. She is a three-time Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 3 All-State selection (2016-18) and as a junior at Whitfield, averaged 24.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

Last summer, Blackwell won a gold medal in Mexico City at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship while playing for the USA U18 National Team. She averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game over six games during USA’s championships run, including eight points, four rebounds and three steals in the gold medal game win over Canada.

Frank, from Strafford High School, is the No. 29-ranked prospect in the nation and No. 3 in Missouri in espnW’s 2019 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. Frank closed her prep career by leading the Lady Indians to its fourth consecutive Class 3 state title win an incredible 115 consecutive wins. She reached the 3,000 point plateau in her final game, and ended with 3,004 points, 1,629 rebounds, 824 assists, 310 blocks and 296 steals. Her rebounds and 54.3 career three-point percentage are a Missouri state record, while her career assists total ranks fifth.

After another outstanding campaign in her senior season, Frank was named the 2018-19 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Frank has also been named to the MBCA Class 3 All-State team for each of the last three seasons (2016-18), the MBCA Class 3 Player of the Year in 2016-17 and 2017-18 and the 2018 Missouri Wendy’s High School Heisman state winner.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Missouri Western baseball won’t play their mid-week games this week

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ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western baseball team will  not play either of two scheduled non-conference games this week.

The Griffons were scheduled to play at Truman State Tuesday before hosting Maryville on Wednesday.  The Truman State game is postponed to a later date, while the Maryville game has been canceled.

Missouri Western is off to a 7-2 start in MIAA play, entering the week tied atop the league standings. The Griffons are scheduled to begin a 3-game series at Washburn beginning on Friday.  Ichabods are 8-10 overall and 3-6 in MIAA play.

— MWSU Athletics —

Mizzou basketball to play in 2019 Hall of Classic in Kansas City

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Mizzou Men’s Basketball will compete in the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic next season in Kansas City, Mo. In addition to Mizzou, the event features former Big 12 rival Oklahoma, Butler and Stanford. The two-day, four-team tournament will take place Nov. 25 and Nov. 26 at the Sprint Center. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced the field on Tuesday.

“We’re looking forward to playing in next season’s Hall of Fame Tournament against great competition,” Mizzou head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “It’s an exciting opportunity to showcase our program at a high-level event right in our backyard in Kansas City, and we’re ready for the challenge.”

The Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker will be the culminating event of college basketball’s Hall of Fame Weekend, which also includes the 14th annual induction ceremony for the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. That event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 24 in Kansas City.

The semifinal rounds will be held on Monday, Nov. 25. The finals will take place the following day, Tuesday, Nov. 26, beginning with the consolation game, followed by the championship game. All four contests will be aired on an ESPN network.

Select tickets for the championship round games at Sprint Center will be available beginning Tuesday, March 12, through www.axs.com or www.halloffameweekend.com, and will remain on sale through the end of the college basketball season on April 9. Additional tickets will be available beginning on Saturday, September 7, at 10 a.m. CT via the same on-line ticket outlets, as well as charge by phone at 1-888-929-7849 and in person at the Box Office.

The complete bracket including matchups and television times for the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker, will be announced at a later date.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffon men’s basketball gets verbal commitment from St. Louis prep guard

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Missouri Western men’s basketball received a verbal commitment from St. Louis prep guard JaRon Thames on Monday night.

Thames announced his commitment to MWSU on Twitter, “It was a long journey to get here and I’ve been dreaming about playing college basketball since I could remember. I would like to thank GOD, my parents, family, friends, and all the coaches and trainers that helped me get to this point. With that being said I’m blessed and proud to say that I’m committing to Missouri Western State University.”

Thames, who is a 6’5″ combo guard, played at Trinity Catholic High School and help the Titans to a 25-4 record this season as they lost to eventual state champion Vashon in the Class 3 quarterfinals. Thames averaged 15 points per game and also played his AAU ball for Team Carroll in St. Louis.

When Thames signs his letter of intent, he’ll be the third prep standout to sign with Missouri Western. Reese Glove (Franklin, TN) and Alex John (Champlin Park, MN) have already signed letter of intent to play for Sundance Wicks.

Northwest Missouri State earns No. 1 seed and will host NCAA Central Regional

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The undefeated Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team earned the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Central Region of the 2019 NCAA Division II Tournament.

The Central Region will take place March 16 (four games), March 17 (two games) and March 19 (regional final) in Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Missouri. It is the third straight season that Northwest will serve as the region’s host.

Northwest will be taking part in its 19th NCAA tournament. It is the Bearcats’s seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament under 10th-year head coach Ben McCollum. The Bearcats are 32-0 in 2018-19 and have won six consecutive MIAA regular season titles to go with the four straight MIAA tourney crowns. Earlier Sunday, Northwest secured the MIAA’s automatic bid the regional with an 82-53 win over Washburn in the tournament championship game.

Northwest will match up against No. 8 seed Minnesota State, Mankato, on Sat., March 16, at 6 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

The Elite Eight will be held in Evansville, Indiana, on March 27-30 at the Ford Center.

Tickets for the regional can be purchased online starting at 10 p.m. Sunday evening. All seating for the regional will be general admission. Fans can purchase single session tickets in person at the Cashiering office. The Cashiering office, located on the first floor of the Administration Building, will be open until from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets early.

Single session tickets can be purchased for $12 each for adults and $7 for students. Children 2 and under are free per NCAA policy. The ticket office will open 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to the start of each session.

NCAA Central Region
1. Northwest Missouri State (Host)
2. Northern State
3. Washburn
4. St. Cloud State
5. Southern Nazarene
6. Missouri Southern State
7. Southeastern Oklahoma
8. Minnesota State

Saturday, March 16
Noon: No. 3 Washburn vs. No. 6 Missouri Southern (Session 1)
2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Northern State vs. No. 7 Southeastern Oklahoma State (Session 1)

6 p.m.: No. 1 Northwest Missouri vs. No. 8 Minnesota State, Mankato (Session 2)
8:30 p.m.: No. 4 St. Cloud State vs. No. 5 Southern Nazarene (Session 2)

Sunday, March 17
5 p.m.: Semifinal 1
7:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2

Tuesday, March 18
7 p.m.: Regional Championship Game

— Northwest Athletics —

No. 1 Bearcats dominate Washburn to win fourth straight MIAA tournament

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KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team became the first MIAA school to win four consecutive tournament championship titles with an 82-53 triumph over Washburn University.

The 29-point margin is the largest ever in an MIAA Tournament championship game. The previous largest margin of victory in a title contest was a 26-point win by Pittsburg State over Missouri Southern in 2015 (91-65).

Northwest (32-0 overall) shot 50.9 percent from the field and made 14 three-pointers en route to the crown. Redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins scored a game-high 27 points and dished out eight assists.

Senior Joey Witthus tallied 25 points and became a member of Northwest’s 1,000-point scoring club. Witthus has recorded 1,019 points in two seasons as a Bearcat. Witthus did a lot of the heaving lifting in the opening half as he poured in 18 points in the opening 20 minutes.

“I think it’s extremely special,” head coach Ben McCollum said. “When you are 32-0 and now you’ve won four straight tournaments with six straight regular season – it’s unheard of. Being 32-0 with younger kids and a group that didn’t have a lot of experience that says a lot about the kids in our program their mental toughness. The reason it’s so difficult, because human nature sets in. It is so difficult to fight human nature with youth.”

Northwest led 39-25 at the break. The Bearcats led by as many as 34 points in the second half.

NOTES: Northwest has won 29 consecutive neutral floor games … Northwest has won eight MIAA Tournament titles overall – the most in the league’s history … Joey Witthus was named the tournament MVP … Trevor Hudgins earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU softball cancels home opener, now will travel to Illinois-Springfield

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ST. JOSEPH – The weather is warming and snow is melting, but soggy field conditions have forced the Missouri Western softball team to postpone its home opening doubleheader against Texas Woman’s University on Tuesday.

Missouri Western was set to open an 18-game homestand against Texas Woman’s, but instead will travel to Illinois-Springfield for two games away from St. Joseph on Tuesday. The first game of that doubleheader will begin at 1:00 p.m.

The Griffons will then return home to open a 16-game homestand against Central Missouri on Friday.

Missouri Western is 11-10 overall and 1-3 in MIAA play after splitting a doubleheader at Northeastern State and dropping two games at No. 8 Central Oklahoma last week on the road. Griffon Softball fans will have a good chance of witnessing history during the three-week stretch of home games. Head coach Jen Bagley Trotter needs just six more wins to become the winningest softball coach in MIAA history. In her 18th season, Trotter has 609 wins at MWSU.

— MWSU Athletics —

Men’s Basketball All-Big 12 awards announced

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Irving, Texas – Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver earned the program’s first Player of the Year honor while Chris Beard was selected Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, headlining the 2018-19 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball awards.

Barry Brown, Jr. (K-State) was named Defensive Player of the Year while Dedric Lawson (Kansas) was voted Newcomer of the Year and Jaxson Hayes (Texas) captured Freshman of the Year. Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State) picked up the Sixth Man Award and Kristian Doolittle (Oklahoma) was voted as the Most Improved Player, a new award presented by the Conference.

Culver helped the Red Raiders to a share of their first Big 12 regular season title. The sophomore guard ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring (18.3 ppg), fifth in assists (3.6) and is 10th in rebounding (6.2).

Brown is recognized as K-State’s defensive stopper and holds the school record in steals. He ranks first in the Big 12 in steals (2.0) and is fifth in scoring (15.1). He helped the Wildcats to a share of their second Big 12 regular season championship.

In his first season with the Jayhawks, Lawson leads the Big 12 in scoring (19.1), rebounding (10.6) and double-doubles (20). He is the only player in the Conference averaging a double-double.

True freshman Hayes has started 21 of 30 games for the Longhorns. He leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.728), is fourth in blocks (2.2) and free throw percentage (.823), 26th in scoring (10.3) and 13th in rebounds (5.4).

As Iowa State’s first player off the bench, Wigginton is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg). An early season injury sidelined him for six weeks. Since regaining his form, the sophomore guard has averaged over 15 points in the last 12 games while shooting 48 percent from the field.

Doolittle has made a much bigger impact for the Sooners during his junior season with 11 ppg and 6.9 rpg while playing in every game with 28 starts. In his sophomore year he started just six games with averages of 2.9 points and 4.3 rebounds.

Beard led Texas Tech to a share of the Big 12 championship in just his third season after tying for second last year. The No. 8 Red Raiders are currently 26-5 overall and finished 14-4 in league play on a nine-game winning streak.

Culver, Brown and Lawson were unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selections and joined on the first team by Marial Shayok (Iowa State) and Dean Wade (K-State). Wade is the only repeat first team selection from last season.

The official All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league’s head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

ALL-BIG 12 AWARDS
Player of the Year: Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech

Coach of the Year: Chris Beard, Texas Tech

Defensive Player of the Year: Barry Brown, Kansas State

Freshman of the Year: Jaxson Hayes, Texas

Sixth Man Award: Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State

Most Improved: Kristian Doolittle, Oklahoma

All-Big 12 First team: Marial Shayok, Iowa State; Dedric Lawson, Kansas; Barry Brown, Kansas State; Dean Wade, Kansas State; Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech

Second team: Makai Mason, Baylor; Jaxson Hayes, Texas; Desmond Bane, TCU; Matt Mooney, Texas Tech; Derek Culver, West Virginia

Third team: Devon Dotson, Kansas; Kristian Doolittle, Oklahoma; Christian James, Oklahoma; Alex Robinson, TCU; Davide Moretti, Texas Tech

Honorable mention (alphabetically by school): Jared Butler (Baylor), Mario Kegler (Baylor), Mark Vital (Baylor), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Nick Weiler-Babb (Iowa State), Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State), Xavier Sneed (Kansas State), Kamau Stokes (Kansas State), Brady Manek (Oklahoma), Cameron McGriff (Oklahoma State), Lindy Waters (Oklahoma State), Kouat Noi (TCU), Matt Coleman III (Texas), Kerwin Roach II (Texas), Tariq Owens (Texas Tech)

All-Defensive team: Mark Vital, Baylor; Marcus Garrett, Kansas; Barry Brown, Jr., Kansas State; Jaxson Hayes, Texas; Matt Mooney, Texas Tech; Tariq Owens, Texas Tech (A tie in voting created an additional spot)

All-Newcomer team: Makai Mason, Baylor; Marial Shayok, Iowa State; Dedric Lawson, Kansas; Jaxson Hayes, Texas; Matt Mooney, Texas Tech

All-Freshman team: Jared Butler, Baylor; Talen Horton-Tucker, Iowa State; Devon Dotson, Kansas; Jaxson Hayes, Texas; Derek Culver, West Virginia

— Big 12 Press Release —

No. 18 K-State rolls past Oklahoma to win share of Big 12 title

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MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — There was one thing Kansas State seniors Barry Brown, Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes wanted to cross off their lists as they played their final home game for the Wildcats: win a Big 12 regular-season title.

Check.

Stokes scored 19 points and No. 18 Kansas State clinched a share of the conference title with a 68-53 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday night.

Brown added 15 points and Wade had 11 as the Wildcats (24-7, 14-4) finished atop the conference for the second time in 42 years, and first since 2013.The three seniors capped senior night by hoisting the Big 12 title in front of a sold-out crowd after winning just five conference games their freshman year.

“It was tough to only win five games that year,” Brown said. “When we came, this program was rebuilding and we knew that, but they allowed us to come in and play and get better every year.”

Kansas State is co-champions with No. 8 Texas Tech (26-5, 14-4), which topped Iowa State 80-73 earlier Saturday.

Kristian Doolittle scored 14 points and Jamal Bieniemy 12 for the Sooners (19-12, 7-11).

“We were down by 10 at the half, so obviously didn’t do what we needed,” coach Lon Kruger said. “They dictated pretty much throughout the game, but they are a good team.”

Kruger won two conference championships when he played at Kansas State in 1972 and `73.

“Just respect for what Bruce Weber has done,” he said. “He has been fantastic throughout his career and to win a conference championship is great for Bruce.”

K-State was dominant on the offensive boards, grabbing 11 rebounds and scoring 16 second-chance points.

The Wildcats also used nine three pointers, including four from Stokes and held the Sooners to only five.

Stokes started the second half by scoring eight straight points in a 10-1 run for the Wildcats, which gave K-State a 42-23 lead with 17 minutes to play. The Wildcats never looked back and led by as many as 29 in the win.

“I told them those first five minutes were very important,” Weber said. “To do something special, it doesn’t come easy. But this was easier than I thought it would be.”

Brady Manek was ejected late in the second half after a flagrant 2 foul.

As Brown and Wade walked off the court one final time, they both kissed the Powercat logo in the middle of the floor to show their appreciation of K-State.

“It’s been an incredible ride here at Bramlage and it means so much to cap it off being Big 12 champs,” Wade said. “It’s been an incredible journey and you couldn’t write it any better way.”

It’s tough to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, but Weber thinks this Wildcat grouped is equipped to do anything.

“We told our guys this is one phase of our mission this year,” he said. “We have to keep moving forward, there’s a lot more stuff to add to their rings.”

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma: The Sooners are playing much better since the middle of February and look much better than they did six games ago.

K-State: Won their first Big 12 regular-season title in six years and the second under Weber. K-State has won five of its last six games heading into the conference tournament.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma: Takes on 10th-seeded West Virginia on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.

K-State: Will play the winner of No. 8 seed TCU and ninth-seeded Oklahoma State on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

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