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St. Joseph, Mo. - The Missouri Western women's basketball team will try and snap a five game losing streak opening up their 2014 schedule against the Washburn Ichabods and the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers. The Griffons take on the Ichabods on Saturday, January 4 at 1:30 pm at the Lopers on Monday, January 6 at 5:30 pm. Both games will be played in the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph, Mo. 

Griffon Notes
• This marks the 38th season of Griffons women's basketball
• The Griffons will be under 2nd year head coach Rob Edmisson who guided the Griffons to a 16-12 overall record and 8-10 in MIAA play. The Griffons went 1-1 in the MIAA tournament a year ago defeating Pittsburg State 71-67 and falling to #13 Central Missouri 54-53.
• Edmisson is 12-4 in non-conference games under the Griffons with six of those victories coming against GLVC teams. He is 1-2 against MIAA opponents in non-conference games falling to Truman and Central Missouri and defeating Pittsburg State.
• Edmisson won a NAIA National Championship at Oklahoma State University in 2011-12.
• This marks the 85th meeting with the Washburn Ichabods. The Griffons have struggled against Washburn as of late falling in 16 of the last 16 games and 12 of the last 13. Three of those losses were in the MIAA tournament.
• This marks the 32nd meeting with the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers.  The Griffons lead the all-time series with the Lopers 20-11.
• With their victory over Chadron State to open the season in the fieldhouse the Griffons improved to 18-7 since 1988-89 in season openers. The Griffons are now 11-3 at home, 6-4 on a neutral floor and 1-0 on the road. Last season the Griffons defeated the University of Missouri - Kansas City by a score of 68-51 on November 9, 2012 in Kansas City, Mo. The Griffons had to vacate their 79-60 victory on November 17, 2006 vs. Lincoln University due to NCAA violations.
• In MIAA home openers since the 1989-1990 season the Griffons are 16-8 with one victory vacated in 2006-07 due to NCAA violations.
• The Griffons are 12-12 since joining the MIAA in season openers with one victory vacated in 2006 due to NCAA violations...The Griffons are 6-8 overall on the road and 6-4 at home in MIAA openers (since 1989-1990).
• Since joining the MIAA in 1989-90 the Griffons are 11-13 in road MIAA openers. They had to vacate one victory in 2005-06 due to NCAA violations. The Griffons are won last season 78-76 in their MIAA road opener on January 3, 2013 against Central Oklahoma but lost this season 57-42 against Northeastern State.
• Since 1988-89 the Griffons are 4-1 on December 4. They are 3-1 at home and 1-0 on the road. They won their last game on January 4 in 2012 by a score of 62-51 against Northwest Missouri State in St. Joseph.
• Since 1988-89 the Griffons are 4-1 on December 6. They are 3-0 at home with one victory vacated due to NCAA violations and 1-1 on the road. The last game on January 6 was a 67-54 victory over Northwest Missouri State in 2010 at home.
• This season the Griffons return eight players from a season ago and bring in nine new players which include six junior college transfers and three freshman.
• The Griffons were picked to finish 8th in both the Coaches and Media MIAA Preseason polls. 

Coaches vs. Each Program - WU:
Edmisson is 0-2 against Washburn falling twice last season. The Griffons fell in Topeka by a score of 65-48 when Washburn was ranked 9th and then fell in St. Joseph by a score of 60-45 when Washburn was ranked 6th.  Ron McHenry is currently 25-10 against the Griffons since being at WU. McHenry is 9-4 in Lee Arena, 9-4 in St. Joseph and 7-2 on a neutral floor against Missouri Western.

Series vs. the Ichabods:
Washburn and Missouri Western have met 84 times on the hardwood since their inaugural meeting during the 1975-76 season, a 74-70 Lady Blues victory. Since then, the Lady Blues have held the upper edge on MWSU, as they hold a 49-36 record through the 35 years. The Griffons are 24-19 in the MWSU Fieldhouse against the Lady Blues. The Lady Blue hold an 7-1 lead on a neutral floor, but in games that have gone into overtime, MWSU is 3-1. The Griffons are just 11-23 in Topeka. WU leads 7-5 in MIAA tournament games and MWSU leads 2-0 in NCAA Regional games. The Lady Blues have won 15 of the last 16 meetings, which includes the 12 of the last 13 games.

Coaches vs. Each Program - UNK:
The only two times MWSU coach Rob Edmisson and Loper Coach Kevin Chaney have met was last season. Coach Edmisson won both meeting. The Griffons won 71-50 in Kearney, Neb. and 71-36 in St. Joseph.

Series vs. the Lopers:
The last game was the 31st meeting between the two schools. This Griffons lead the all-time series with the Lopers 20-11. The Griffons are just 7-7 on the road against UNK but are 13-4 at home. The last time the two teams met before last season was on November 27, 2004 when they Griffons beat the Lopers 82-64 in St. Joseph. The last meeting in Kearney before last season was on November 25, 2000 when MWSU won 74-73.

Struggles at the Free Throw Line
The Griffons have struggled at the free throw line  shooting just 56.3-percent (129-229) on the season. Just three Griffons are shooting better than 70-percent on the season.

Balanced Attack
The Griffons have four active players who average 6.0 points per game or more and have six active players who play 13 or more minutes a game. Sharniece Lewis is the only active Griffon averaging in double figure scoring at 10.2 points per game.

Rebounding Success
The Griffons have had success rebounding the ball this season averaging nearly 3.6 more rebounds per game than their opponents. They have 37 more offensive rebounds on the season. Tiara Hall and Quenisha Lockett lead the way with 6.8 and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Up Next
The Griffons hit the road for a three game road swing with two games against ranked opponents. The Griffon open up the string of road games against #3 Emporia State on January 8 in Emporia, Kan. Game time is set for 5:30 pm in White Auditorium.