Setting the Scene:
The Griffons lost their first game since the calendar turned 2012 on Saturday in Warrensburg, Mo. by a score of 72-67. Western had been on a three game winning streak where they defeated Northwest Missouri 62-51 followed by a 74-66 win over Lincoln and a 65-64 come from behind victory over Truman. The Griffons are led by the MIAA's top scorer in
Jessica Koch, who is averaging 21.5 points per game. Koch had 29 against Central Missouri and 14 points in the victory over Truman and has scored in double figures in 24 consecutive games. The Bearcats have lost their last four games which includes 79-68 on Saturday in Maryville, Mo. against the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. Their last victory came on December 19 by a score of 63-56 against the Missouri Southern Lions. The Bearcats are 2-5 at home this season and 0-4 at home in MIAA play. Western has struggle don the road in MIAA play going 0-4 on the road.
Koch Climbing the Record Books:
Jessica Koch is climbing the record books as she currently sits in third in MWSU history in scoring 1,482 points which is 268 points from tying the record set by Lisa Hughes with 1,750. Koch is 10 points from being in a tie for 2nd with Judy Amos. Koch is 7th all-time in three pointers made with 126. She is also 3rd all-time in free throws attempted with 438 and 2nd all-time in free throws made with 334. Koch has scored in double figures in 24 straight games dating back to last season while scoring 20 or more points in 11 of those games. She has scored in double figures in 41 of her last 42 games. She has also recorded three double-doubles this season which includes the against Northwest when she had 12 points and 12 rebounds. She has recorded 14 double-doubles in her career.
Griffons against SBU in the Plett era:
The Griffons are just 3-5 against the Bearcats since coach Plett took over in 2007. Plett lost his first two meetings against the Bearcats by scores of 77-60 and 82-72 in his first season. Since then Plett is 3-3 against SBU going 2-1 at home and 1-2 on the road. His first victory over the Bearcats came on January 21, 2009 at home by a score of 84-66. Five Griffons scored in double figures with
Jessica Koch dumping in 21. The Griffons other victory over the Bearcats came last season on January 19 when the Griffons defeated the Bearcats 75-74 in Bolivar, Mo. Koch paced Western with 20 points while Kayla Vice and Tierra Ford dumped in 12 and 11 respectively. Western split with the Bearcats last season falling in the season finale by a score of 70-62 in Bolivar. Koch dumped in
27 points while Bell snared 13 rebounds.
The Coaches vs. Each Program:
Griffon head coach Lynn Plett is 3-4 overall against the Bearcats since coming to Missouri Western. His is 2-2 at home and 1-3 on the road. SBU head coach Todd Voss is in his first season as the Bearcats head coach. Prior to coaching at SBU, Voss was an assistant coach at Division I Drake University where he helped lead his team to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Series:
This will mark the 46th meeting between the two school with the Griffons leading the all-time series 29-12. Western had to vacate four victories due to NCAA violations. The Griffons are 16-5 in St. Joseph and 10-7 in Bolivar. Western is 3-0 at a neutral site. Western had to vacated two victories at home and two victories in Bolivar.
The Return of Curry:
Curry returned to action last Saturday against Central Missouri for the first time since the 2007 season. Curry played outstanding dumping in 25 points on 10-20 shooting. She also snared 7 rebounds in the contest. Here last action before Saturday was on March 10, 2007 against Texas A&M University Commerce where she scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. During the 2006-2007 season she played in 26 games with seven starts. She averaged 17.5 points per game making 48.1-percent of her field goals and 48-percent (73-152) of her long range shots. She also snared 5.9 rebounds per game and dished out 1.5 assists.
Curry against SBU in 2006-2007:
Against SBU
Ashleigh Curry dominated scoring 21 points per game making 48.3-percent (14-29) of her field goal attempts. She also had five assists and four steals in those games. She snaged six rebounds per game as well. On January 30, 2007 Curry played in 32 minutes against Southwest Baptist in Bolivar. She scored 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting while making all eight of her free throw attempts. She also went 3-of-5 from the three point line. She snared just four rebounds but had four of the Griffons 10 steals.
Koch against Southwest Baptist in her career:
Koch has played extremely well against SBU in her career. She has scored in double digits in five of the six games she has played against the Bearcats. The only time she did not score double digits was her freshman year when she scored two at Baptist. She has scored 20 or more three times including her last two in Bolivar.
Points in the paint success:
Since the turn of the new year the Griffons are 3-1 in MIAA play. Western has had a lot of success going inside outscoring their opponents 128-98 in the paint. Western outscored Northwest Missouri State 24-12, Lincoln 44-30 and Truman State 28-24. In four of their five wins this season the Griffons have outscored their opponents in the paint. Western and Central Missouri both had 32 points in the paint on Saturday.
Western on the road this season:
Western is 2-5 this season on the road this season with both their victories coming against non-conference opponents. They defeated Colorado School of Mines 65-57 on November 18 and Rockhurst University 57-50 on November 22. They have fell to Pittsburg State 82-57, Fort Hays State 70-48, #21 Washburn 87-63, Division I opponent Nebraska-Omaha, 64-62 and to Central Missouri 72-67. Western is getting outscored by 9.0 per game and out rebounded by 7.4 per game. They are shooting just 32.2-percent from the field and 25.6-percent from long range.
Jessica Koch leads the charge averaging 24.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on the road. She has dished out 22 assists and come away with 16 steals. Curry scored 25 points and snared seven rebounds in her only game this season.
Coming up Next:
Western will begin the second half of MIAA play on Saturday, January 21 when they host the 10th ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas in the fieldhouse. Game time is set for 1:30 pm. Western has struggled playing on Saturday's this season as they are just 1-7 overall. They have also struggled playing during the day winning just one of their eight day games.
