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Category: College

No. 1 Jayhawks use big second half to get exhibition win over Washburn

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas juniors Dedric Lawson and Udoka Azubuike combined for 35 points, while senior Lagerald Vick added 16 of his own to help No. 1 Kansas sprint past the Washburn Ichabods, 79-52, Thursday night in exhibition play. The Jayhawks outscored the visitors 44-24 over the final 18 minutes of the contest to complete close out their 29th-consecutive exhibition victory.

The Jayhawks opened the game scoring six field goals on six assists. Kansas’ unselfishness continued as it ended the first half with 12 assists on its 13 field goals, helping the squad build a 35-21 advantage as the two squads head to the locker room. VIck had the hot hand early, knocking down a pair of first-half threes as he tallied 10 points to lead the team at the break.

It was a less than stellar start to the second frame for the Jayhawks as the Ichabods stormed out of the intermission on a fast 7-0 spurt to cut the KU lead to seven points, 35-28, less than two minutes into the half. From there, Kansas locked down defensively and kicked off a huge run to gain back the momentum. An Azubuike dunk sparked a 33-5 Kansas run over the next eight minutes to help the Jayhawks gain a 23-point edge just over midway through the half.

A key to the KU run was precision passing, which led to open looks for Azubuike, who showed why he led the NCAA in field goal percentage a season ago, going a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. His dunks weren’t the only method of scoring for the junior center as he managed to knock down five of his six attempts from the free throw line.

The second-half surge was also fueled by some torrid Kansas outside shooting. In a five minute stretch early in the second frame, KU connected on six 3-pointers from three different Jayhawks as Lawson, Vick and freshman Quentin Grimes each knocked down shots from beyond the arc.

For the second-straight outing, Lawson led all scorers with 18 points, going 4-4 from three-point range. Azuibuke and Vick showed the Kansas depth as they totaled 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Grimes led all Jayhawks with eight rebounds and was joined by four of his teammates to pull down five or more boards on the night.

KU ended the game with 23 assists on its 30 field goals. Sophomore Marcus Garrett led all players with five assists., with redshirt-sophomore Charlie Moore and Grimes tallying four dimes apiece.

That crisp passing led to a field goal percentage of 49 percent (30-61), and a three-point percentage of 42 percent (11-26), as the Jayhawks closed out exhibition play with a 79-52 victory.

— KU Athletics —

Mizzou women defeat Washburn 74-59 in final exhibition

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball closed out their exhibition slate on Thursday evening with a 74-59 victory over Washburn. The Mizzou offense found its grove in the fourth quarter, as the team shot 59 percent from the field in the closing frame to finish off the visiting Ichabods.

Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) spearheaded the Mizzou offense with 22 points and eight rebounds (five on the offensive glass). Junior guardAmber Smith (Shreveport, La.) contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds to record a double-double in just 19 minutes played. Freshman guard Akira Levy (Baxter, Tenn.) chipped in 10 points, while redshirt senior guard Lauren Aldridge (Marshfield, Mo.) and junior guard Jordan Chavis (Lexington, N.C.) scored seven and six points, respectively. Cunningham and Smith combined to grab 18 of the teams’ 38 total rebounds, while Aldridge, Levy and Smith dished out nine of the Tigers’ 15 total assists.

TURNING POINT
Mizzou and Washburn played a tight game for the majority of the contest, but that changed with a Chavis three-pointer from top of the key with 46 seconds left to play in the third quarter. Then, a buzzer-beating three pointer from Cunningham on the subsequent possession put the Tigers up by seven to end the third period. From there, the Black & Gold offense came alive in the final period of play, as they outscored in the Ichabods 23-15 in the final 10 minutes of action.

TOP TIGERS
Cunningham led Mizzou’s offense, scoring a team-high 22 points and pulling down eight rebounds. The hometown senior turned in another solid shooting performance, going 8-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc.

Smith tallied a double-double with 17 points on 57 percent shooting, while also recording 10 rebounds, four blocks and four steals. The Shreveport, La., native was on fire in the second half, scoring 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

After an impressive debut as a Tiger on Monday against Missouri Western, Levy contributed valuable minutes off the bench, filling the stat sheet with 10 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes of action.

GAME NOTES

  • Cunningham shot 50 percent (3-for-6) from the three-point line. The two-time All-SEC selection shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc in both exhibition contests this season.
  • Cunningham, Levy and Smith all scored in double-digits for the second game in a row. The deadly offensive trio combined for 49 points on 59 percent shooting in tonight’s game.
  • The Tigers shot a notable 50 percent from the field, improving on a 44 percent performance from Monday’s exhibition matchup against Missouri Western.

UP NEXT

Mizzou kicks off the regular season on Tuesday when the Tigers pay a visit to Macomb, Ill. to take on Western Illinois. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Western Hall.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffon soccer drops MIAA tournament opener at Fort Hays State

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HAYS, Kan. – Missouri Western Soccer (12-7, 7-4 MIAA) lost in the first round of the MIAA Championships to Fort Hays State (11-6-2, 8-3 MIAA) on Wednesday. The Griffons were unable to score on the Tiger defense and fell by a score of 3-0. They will now wait for the final regional rankings with hopes of making the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

NOTABLES

  • With the first round loss, Missouri Western is eliminated from the MIAA Championships.
  • The Griffons will now wait for the reveal of the NCAA Division II National Tournament field. The selection show will be Sunday evening.
  • To make the tournament, Missouri Western will have to be in the top-eight of their region. The Griffons entered Wednesday’s game ranked eighth in the Central Region.
  • If Wednesday’s loss was the last time that this year’s senior class suited up for the Griffons, then it was a remarkable run. This year’s graduating class will leave Missouri Western as the winningest class in program history.

STATS AND LEADERS

  • The Griffons fell victim to two impressive shots by the Tigers, as two of Fort Hays State’s goals were scored from more than 20 yards out.
  • Claire Meyers and Taylor Schwartzkopf both finished with two shots and one shot on goal.
  • Missouri Western totaled seven shots in the loss.
  • The Tigers ended the game with nine shots on goal.
  • Madeline Cowell, Bailey Ketcham, Jordan Jennings, and Anna Mayer played all 90 minutes for the Griffons.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats ranked fifth in preseason NABC Division II men’s basketball top 25

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball is ranked No. 5 in the NABC/Division II preseason coaches top 25 poll.

The Bearcats picked up a first-place vote and will open the 2018-19 season this Saturday and Sunday in St. Joseph, Missouri, at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Northwest will match up against Northern State on Saturday at 7:45 p.m., followed by a Sunday tilt against No. 13 Ferris State on Sunday at 5:45 p.m. Both games will played at the Civic Arena.

Bellarmine, who has made three Elite Eight appearances since winning the NCAA Division II title in 2011, picked up the bulk of the first place votes and heads the pre-season rankings. The Knights are followed by West Liberty, who reached five Elite Eights in a six-year span beginning in 2011 and Lincoln Memorial, who played in the 2016 national championship game in the first of back-to-back appearances.

The next two teams in the poll are West Texas A&M, who was a national semifinalist a year ago and Northwest Missouri State, won the 2017 national title.

After Northwest is Saint Anselm, followed by Queens (N.C.), who also reached last year’s national semifinal round and Indiana (Pa.), who played in the national title game in 2015. Cal Poly Pomona, who was the first national champion of the 2010s, is ranked ninth in the pre-season.

Southern Nazarene rounds out the top 10 following its best season as a member of NCAA Division II and the same can be said for West Florida, a 28-win team a year ago that was ranked one spot in back of fellow Gulf South Conference foe Valdosta State.

Defending national champion Ferris State appears in the poll at No. 13, while Western Washington is ranked 14th and another 2018 Elite Eight entry, East Stroudsburg, was picked 15th.

The pre-season top 20 is completed by Virginia State, Morehouse, St. Cloud State, Regis and Southwest Minnesota State; three of those teams either won a regular season or conference tournament title last year.

The final five teams in the poll are Dallas Baptist, Florida Southern, Findlay, UC San Diego and Missouri Southern.

Two pre-season events kick off the 2017-18 season this weekend, beginning with the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif., which starts Friday. The field includes No. 4 West Texas A&M and two others that received votes, Azusa Pacific and Drury.

The other event takes place in St. Joseph, Mo., with the Hall of Fame Classic, which includes the two teams that faced off in the national title game, Ferris State and Northern State, in a field that also has Queens (N.C) and Northwest Missouri State.

NABC/Division II Rankings
(Oct. 30, 2018 – Pre-Season Poll)
Record Points Last
Bellarmine, Ky. (14) 29-3 398 4
West Liberty, W.Va. (1) 26-4 364 12
Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 32-2 347 1
West Texas A&M 32-4 332 11
Northwest Missouri State (1) 27-4 277 5
Saint Anselm. N.H. 22-9 272 NR
Queens, N.C. 32-4 259 7
Indiana, Pa. 22-8 231 NR
Cal Poly Pomona 23-7 225 25
Southern Nazarene, Okla. 27-3 207 8
Valdosta State, Ga. 26-5 196 15
West Florida 28-4 195 9
Ferris State, Mich. 38-1 183 2
Western Washington 21-8 182 NR
East Stroudsburg, Pa. 27-6 162 NR
Virginia State 25-5 148 17
Morehouse, Ga. 25-3 138 10
St. Cloud State. Minn. 24-9 113 NR
Regis, Colo. 27-6 110 22
Southwest Minnesota State 25-9 93 NR
Dallas Baptist, Texas 26-6 92 16
Florida Southern 21-11 81 NR
Findlay, Ohio 28-5 75 13
UC San Diego 21-11 63 NR
Missouri Southern 20-10 58 NR
Others receiving votes: Clayton State (Ga.) 40, Fairmont State (W.Va.) 38, UNC Pembroke 35, Point Loma (Calif.) 34, Saint Martin’s (Wash.) 32, Northern State (S.D.) 27, Nova Southeastern (Fla.) 19, Barry (Fla.) 18, Minnesota State 18, Texas A&M-Commerce 17, Drury (Mo.) 13, Shaw (N.C.) 13, Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 12, Dominican (N.Y.) 12, Ashland (Ohio) 11, Lees-McRae (N.C.) 13, Tarleton State (Texas) 10, Claflin (S.C.) 9, Daemen (N.Y.) 8, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 4, Merrimack (Mass.) 4, Chico State (Calif.)  3, King (Tenn.) 3, Clark Atlanta (Ga.) 2, Stanislaus State (Calif.) 2, Colorado School of Mines 1, Dixie State (Utah) 1.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri women picked to finished 5th in the preseason SEC coaches poll

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball was picked to finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference on Tuesday by the league’s coaches, as the league office announced its 2018-19 SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Senior Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) and junior Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) each garnered All-SEC Preseason honors, as Cunningham was named to the Preseason First Team All-SEC and Smith to the Preseason Second Team All-SEC.

Mizzou was picked to finish fifth behind Mississippi State, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Each team picked ahead of the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, with South Carolina making the Elite Eight and Mississippi State ending the season as the national runner-up. Mizzou was also tabbed to finish fifth in the SEC in the preseason media poll on Oct. 16.

Just like in the preseason media poll, Cunningham was one of three players to receive votes for the Preseason SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year award, which ended up going to Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan.

Cunningham was named Preseason All-SEC First Team for the third consecutive season. In 2017-18, Cunningham averaged 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as she earned AP All-America Honorable Mention honors for the second consecutive season. She was the only player in the nation to shoot better than 54 percent from the field (54.2 percent, 186-for-343), 45 percent from three (45.7 percent, 69-for-151) and 83 percent from the free throw line (83.6 percent, 133-for-159). Cunningham continue to climb up the Mizzou record book in her senior season, as she currently ranks No. 8 in all-time scoring (1,563 points), No. 4 in career 3-pointers made (153), No. 4 in PPG (16.6), No. 5 in free throws made (386), No. 3 in three-point percentage (.404), No. 3 in free throw percentage (.839) and No. 8 in field goal percentage (.508).

Smith, the 2016-17 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, started all 32 games for Mizzou as a sophomore in 2017-18, averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Smith scored a career-high 27 points vs. LSU (Jan. 4) on 11-for-18 shooting from the field while grabbing seven rebounds. She grabbed five rebounds in 15 contests and corralled 10 rebounds in four games.

As a team last season, Mizzou earned a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 1984-86. Head Coach Robin Pingeton’s squad spent the entire season in the Top 25, ranking as high as No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the Coaches’ Poll, their highest ranking in that poll in program history.

Preseason Coaches’ Predictions
1. Mississippi State
2. South Carolina
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. Mizzou
6. Texas A&M
7. Kentucky
8. Auburn
9. LSU
10. Alabama
11. Arkansas
12. Florida
13. Vanderbilt
14. Ole Miss

Player of the Year
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State

First Team All-SEC
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
Maci Morris, Kentucky
Anriel Howard, Mississippi State
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Sophie Cunningham, Mizzou
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M.

Second Team All-SEC
Malica Monk, Arkansas
Janiah McKay, Auburn
Unique Thompson, Auburn
Taylor Murray, Kentucky
Ayana Mitchel, LSU
Shandricka Sessom, Ole Miss
Amber Smith, Mizzou
Alexis Jennings, South Carolina
Evina Westbrook, Tennessee

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffon women drop exhibition game at Mizzou

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team lost their exhibition game at Missouri Monday night 70-48 inside Mizzou Arena.

Katrina Roenfeldt played 37 minutes and led all scorers with 16 points and tied for a team-high seven rebounds after missing the final 23 games of last season. Simone Walker played 19 minutes and scored five points with two rebounds after missing all of last season with an injury. Most of the Griffons’ newcomers saw time Monday night. St. Joseph native Kylee Williams started and played 21 minutes.

Down 42-16 at halftime, Missouri Western outscored the Tigers by four in the second half, nearly doubling their field goal percentage from half to the next. Melia Richardson and Cera Ledbetter each added nine points for the Griffons. Walker’s five were the most by any bench player.

The regular season begins in two weeks for the Griffons at the MIAA/NSIC Crossover in Hays, Kansas. Missouri Western plays Upper Iowa in Hays on Nov. 9 then Southwest Minnesota State on Nov. 10.

— MWSU Athletics —

Bearcats’ Sampson earns weekly MIAA football honor

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Northwest Missouri State sophomore placekicker Parker Sampson has been honored as the MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Northwest Missouri State’s 62-17 win at Northeastern State.

Sampson (Kansas City, Mo.) booted a career-long 50-yard field goal and accounted for 14 points with two field goals and eight extra points in the win over the RiverHawks. Sampson’s 50-yard field goal gave Northwest a 31-3 lead in the second quarter. His 32-yard field goal capped the scoring for the Bearcats in the third quarter. Sampson kicked off 11 times and had four touchbacks.

Sampson ranks second in the MIAA in scoring with 71 points on the season.

— Northwest Athletics —

MWSU soccer falls at Central Missouri; earns No. 5 seed in MIAA Tournament

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WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Missouri Western soccer team (12-6, 7-4 MIAA) lost at Central Missouri (14-3-1, 8-2-1 MIAA) Sunday 4-0 in its final game of the regular season.

NOTABLES

  • The Jennies scored their first goal in the 10th minute and held the lead for the rest of the game.
  • The Griffons allowed the game’s next goal in the 22ndminute and went into halftime down 2-0.
  • Central Missouri scored two goals late to take the 4-0 win.
  • The Jennie won the rematch in the team’s second matchup of the season. Missouri Western ended the Jennies’ 32-game win streak with a 1-0 victory on September 21.

STATS AND LEADERS

  • Cassidy Menke finished with a game-high six shots.
  • The Griffons recorded 11 shots with four shots on goal.
  • The Jennies had just two more shots on goal than the Griffons.
  • Taylor Schwartzkopf ended the game with two shots and one shot on goal.

UP NEXT

Griffon Soccer will make its fifth-straight appearance in the MIAA Women’s Soccer Championships on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Missouri Western will be the No. 5 seed and opens the postseason at No. 4-seeded Fort Hays State.

The first round game will begin at 6 p.m. in Hays, Kansas. It will be the third time in five years the Griffons travel to Hays for the first round of the MIAA Championships. Missouri Western ended the regular season with a 7-4 conference record, earning 21 conference points. Emporia State and Fort Hays State tied for third with 8-3 records and 24 points. Emporia State earned the No. 3-seed by way of head-to-head tiebreaker over Fort Hays State.

Regular season champion Central Oklahoma is the No. 1 seed with defending national champion Central Missouri seeded second.

Missouri Western went 12-6 overall in the regular season, the second most wins in program history. Now the Griffons return to the site of two heartbreaking MIAA Championships first round losses. The Griffons lost 1-0 in two overtimes at Fort Hays State in their first-ever appearance in the postseason (2014). Two years ago in the first round, Fort Hays State won on penalty kicks after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. Fort Hays State defeated MWSU 2-1 on Oct. 5 this season.

Winners of Wednesday’s first round games will advance to the semifinals on Nov. 2 to be hosted by highest remaining seed in the tournament. The MIAA Championships final will be played on Nov. 4.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest soccer ends season with double OT loss at Lindenwood

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The Northwest Missouri State soccer team played its final game of the season at Lindenwood Sunday and lost 1-0 in double overtime.

After 109 minutes of scoreless soccer Emily Jower scored with 9 seconds left in the game to give Lindenwood their 7th win of the season.

With this win, Lindenwood qualifies for the MIAA tournament. Northwest ends its season 2-15 overall and 1-10 in the MIAA.

— Northwest Athletics —

Griffons commit five turnovers in 34-14 loss to Pitt State

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ST. JOSEPH – Five costly turnovers spoiled an otherwise impressive performance by the Griffon Football team against Pittsburg State (7-2), Saturday. Missouri Western (5-4) out-gained the Gorillas by 126 yards, but fell 34-14 in the Rogers Pharmacy Hall of Fame Game.

NOTABLES

  • The Griffon defense limited what was the MIAA’s second best rushing team coming into Saturday to 125 yards on 46 carries, a 2.7-yard per carry average
  • Missouri Western averaged nearly seven yards per carry, rushing 39 times for 265 on the MIAA’s third-ranked rush defense
  • A four-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard Shamar Griffith touchdown on the Griffons first drive of the second half cut the Gorilla lead to 24-14. Pittsburg State answered with a 95-yard return touchdown on the ensuing kickoff
  • The kickoff return touchdown was the only TD for the Gorillas in the second half
  • Missouri Western entered having thrown four interceptions and six lost fumbles, but threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles to Pittsburg State
  • The Griffons were penalized nine times for 122 yards with Pittsburg State losing 96 yards on 11 penalties

LEADERS

  • Shamar Griffith led the Griffon running game with 78 yards on five carries for a 15.6-yard average per carry
  • Dom Marino rushed for 69 yards and threw for 87 yards
  • Wyatt Steigerwald completed 6-of-15 passes for 53 yards and had a touchdown pass taken away due to a penalty
  • Anthony Williams led the defense with 12 total tackles

UP NEXT

  • The Griffons travel to Nebraska Kearney (4-5) Nov. 3 for an 11 a.m. kickoff
  • The Lopers scored 28 second half points in a 42-35 loss at Central Missouri, Saturday

— MWSU Athletics —

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