MIAA Tournament - 1st Round
#10 Missouri Western (15-11, 8-10 MIAA) @ #7 Pittsburg State (17-9, 11-7 MIAA)
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Pittsburg, Kan. - John Lance Arena - 7:00 pm
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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The Missouri Western women's basketball team, will open up the MIAA tournament on the road for a 1st Round tournament game against Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan. The Griffons beat the Gorillas in their only game of the season by a score of 70-65 in St. Joseph, Mo. on January 30. The two teams meet in the MIAA tournament for the first time since March 2, 2007 when the Griffons defeated the Gorillas 86-66 in Kansas City, Mo. The victory was vacated by MWSU due to NCAA violation. The Griffons lead the all-time series in the MIAA tournament 5-0 with on vacated victory (4-0).

Griffon Notes
• This marks the 37th season of Griffons women's basketball.
• The Griffons are under first year head coach Rob Edmisson who became the eighth head coach in Griffons history on March 29, 2012, he has led them to its best start since the 2004-2005 season when they started 15-6 through 21 games. The Griffons will have a winning record for the first time since the 2010-11 season when they finished 14-13. This marks the best season for a Griffon team that counted since the 2004-2005 season when they went 20-9.
• The Griffons have had nine different starting line ups this season. In their final home game the Griffons started the seniors of Brittany Griswold, KC Clouser, Kallie Schoonover, Heather Howard and Alicia Bell. The Griffons won 71-64 over SBU. The Griffons are 5-3 when starting, Griswold, Dever, Howard, Bell and Lawrence and 2-0 when starting Howard, J. Lewis, Dever, Bell and Lawrence. They are 3-1 starting  Abrams, Howard, Bell, Lawrence and J. Lewis. MWSU has went with Clouser, Dever, Howard, Bell and Lawrence. That line-up is 1-2 defeating Lindenwood 65-59 and falling 62-55 against ESU and UCM 74-71 in overtime. They used another different line-up against Lincoln on January 26 and in their last three games. They are just 1-3 when they used Griswold, Howard, S. Lewis, Bell and Lawrence.
• The Griffons have had numerous close games this season, but have been able to come out on the winning end. The Griffons are 10-5 when the game is decided by less than 10 points and are 12-7 when they game is decided by 15 points are less. Four of the last five Griffon victories have been by six points or less with two being by two. (UCO 78-76 & NWMSU 68-66).
• The Griffons are 9-3 at home this season and 6-3 at home in MIAA play defeating Truman State, Northwest Missouri State, Lindenwood, Pittsburg State, Nebraska-Kearney and Southwest Baptist. They fell before Christmas break against Fort Hays State University and fell after break against Northeastern State and Washburn.
• The Griffons hare 6-7 in road games this season. The Griffons are just 2-7 in MIAA play defeating Central Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney.
• The Griffons beat a Division I team for just the second time in history when they beat UMKC . The Griffons only victory against a Division I opponent was on November 21, 1997 when they defeated IUPU-Indianapolis, 70-49.
• The Griffons victory against #7 Metro State was their first over a top-25 team since January 26, 2011 when MWSU defeated 14th ranked Emporia State 78-71 in the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Griffons are 1-4 against ranked teams this season.
• Missouri Western is back in the MIAA Tournament for the third straight season. They were the 8th seed last season. The Griffons boast a 28-16 (24-16) tournament record but were forced to vacated four of those victories due to NCAA violations. The Griffons have won the tournament three times, with the last time coming in the 2001-2002 season under Dave Slifer. The Griffons have finished second in the tournament seven times. The Griffons have been bowed out of the tournament in the first round four times, back in the 1991-1992 season against Central Missouri by a score of 67-49 in 2007-2008 against Washburn, 78-63, in 2010-2011 against Washburn, 58-55 and in 2011-12 against Washburn by a score of 80-63.
• The Griffons are 5-0  (4-0) all-time against the Gorillas in the MIAA tournament but were forced to vacated one win on March 2, 2007 when they won 86-66. The last victory that counted against the Gorillas in the MIAA tournament was on March 3, 2005 by a score of 72-70.
• Heather Howard was named to the All-MIAA second team while Alicia Bell was an honorable mention selection.
• The Griffons were picked to finish 11th in the MIAA coaches preseason poll and 12th in the MIAA media preseason poll.

Coaches vs. Each Program - PSU:
Griffon head coach Rob Edmisson is 1-0 against the Gorillas at MWSU. PSU's, Lane Lord is currently 7-4 against the Griffons since being at PSU. Lord is 5-0 in Pittsburg and 2-4 in St. Joseph. MWSU has won three of the last six games with all of those contest being at home.

Series vs. the Gorillas:
Pitt State and Missouri Western have met almost regularly twice a year since the 1976-77 season. Missouri Western leads the overall series 45-21, including a 16-16 record in Pittsburg, a 27-5  mark in St. Joseph and a 2-0 record a neutral sites. The largest margin of victory in the series was a 29-point win (94-65) by the Griffons on Feb. 23, 1985 in St. Joseph. Pitt State's biggest win was a 82-57 win in Pittsburg on Nov. 30, 2011. The most points scored by a team in the series was 101 by the Gorillas in a 101-82 win on Jan. 24, 1996 in Pittsburg. The last time the Griffons defeated the Gorillas on the road was on 1/17/07 but it was negated due to NCAA violations. The last time that it counted was on December 10, 2005 when they defeated the Gorillas 65-57. The last victory before this season at home was by a score of 73-55 on December 1, 2010.

Up Next:
The winner of tonights game will play in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium at 6:00 pm on Friday, March 8 against the #2 seed Central Missouri. The Griffons fell to Central Missouri earlier this season.

2013 MIAA Tournament Schedule

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 (Campus Sites - High Seed Hosts)
Game 1: #9 Northwest Missouri State at #8 Missouri Southern State      7 p.m.
Game 2: #12 South Baprist at Truman State                                                 7 p.m.
Game 3: #11 Lincoln at #6 Fort Hays State                                                    7 p.m.
Game 4: #10 Missouri Western at #7 Pittsburg State                               7 p.m.

Friday, March 8, 2013 (Muncipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 5: #1 Washburn vs. Winner Game 1                                        12 p.m.
Game 6: #4 Emporia State vs. Winner Game 2                                  2:15 p.m.
Game 7: #2 Central Missouri vs. Winner Game 4                              6:00 p.m.
Game 8: #3 Northeastern State vs. Winner Game 3                          8:15 p.m.

Saturday, March 9, 2013 (Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6                                  6 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8                                8:15 p.m.

Sunday, March 10, 2013 (Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 11: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10                               3:30 p.m.

All times are approximate