ST. JOSEPH – The MIAA portion of Griffon women's basketball's (6-1, 1-0) season got off to bang with Missouri Western handing No. 21 Central Oklahoma (5-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season, 71-59 on Thursday night.
 
The Griffons overcame an 8-point halftime deficit by outscoring the Bronchos 21-8 in the third quarter and 25-18 in the fourth. Between the last five minutes of the third quarter and the first four minutes of the fourth, Missouri Western was on a 20-2 run.
 
NOTABLES

• Brittany Atkins had a game-high 25 points, going 14-of-14 from the free throw line
• The Griffon bench out-scored UCO's 39-12, largely helped by Atkins' 25
• Central Oklahoma committed 10 more personal fouls than MWSU (26-16)
• Cera Ledbetter scored a career-high 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from the free throw line
• Katrina Roenfeldt led MWSU with a career-high 10 rebounds

UP NEXT
Missouri Western stays home and in the MIAA with Northeastern State (4-2, 1-0) visiting the fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 2.