THIS WEEK IN MISSOURI WESTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS - MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM - KANSAS CITY, MO
Friday, March 6th - 2:15 p.m.
#6 Missouri Western (21-7, 16-3) vs
#3 Nebraska-Kearney (25-5, 17-4)
ST. JOSEPH - It is survive and advance time for Missouri Western women's basketball as the Griffons begin the MIAA Championships against Nebraska-Kearney on Friday in Kansas City, Missouri.
LEAD-IN
- The teams meet in the opening round of the MIAA Championships for a third straight year and the fourth meeting in the tournament in the last five seasons.
- MWSU has won all three postseason meetings with the Lopers including a 55-47 win last year in the first round.
- Not only is Missouri Western 3-0 against UNK in the MIAA tournament, but the Griffons are 4-0 all-time in first round games of the tourney.
- UNK handed the Griffons their first home loss of the season and one of just two overall. The Lopers won 60-57 to end MWSU's nine-game home win streak.
- Both teams exceeded outside expectations. MWSU was picked 8th in the preseason media poll and 11th by the coaches while UNK was 6th in both.
- Missouri Western fell to the No. 6 seed despite finishing in a three-way tie for fourth in the standings, one game back of UNK. MWSU's 1-2 record against Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State was the lowest winning percentage among those three against each other.
- After holding down second most of the season in the MIAA standings, the Lopers lost their final two regular season games and three of their final five to drop to third.
HEAD COACHES
- Missouri Western's Candi Whitaker guided a seven-game improvement for MWSU in her first season. She joined Josh Keister (20-9, '04-05) as the only two MWSU head coaches to win 20 games in their first season.
- Carrie Eighmey led UNK to its second 20-win season in the last three years in her fifth year as head coach at UNK.
LEADERS
Scoring: MWSU,
Corbyn Cunningham (15.7); UNK, Brooke Carlson (12.4)
Rebounding: MWSU,
Corbyn Cunningham (8.5); UNK, Claire Kirsch (8.2)
Assists: MWSU,
Katrina Roenfeldt (3.6); UNK, Haley Simental (3.5)
FG%: MWSU,
Corbyn Cunningham (57.4); UNK, Brooke Carlson (54.8)
3-PT%: MWSU,
Kylee Williams (43.4); UNK, Haley Simental (43.4)
FT%: MWSU,
Kylee Williams (82.1); UNK, Kelsey Sanger (84.4)
SEASON BY THE NUMBERS
21 - In her first season at MWSU, head coach
Candi Whitaker led the Griffons to 21 wins, the most for the program since going 21-8 in 2016-17.
+7 - Not only did Whitaker guide MWSU to a 21-7 overall record, she spearheaded a seven-game improvement for the team over its 14-16 record last season.
14 - The Griffons went 14-2 in the MWSU Fieldhouse this season, winning their first nine at home and five of their last six. It was the most home wins since the 2015-16 MIAA Championship team went 14-1 in the Looney Complex.
4th - The Griffons landed 4th in the MIAA standings for the second time in three years. MWSU took the No. 4 seed via a two-way tiebreaker over Central Oklahoma that season, losing in the MIAA Championship quarterfinals to UCO.
.333 - Missouri Western's .333 winning percentage against the other two teams tied for fourth in the MIAA standings (Pittsburg State and Fort Hays) landed the Griffons the No. 6 seed. MWSU went 1 2 against the other two. Fort Hays split its games against MWSU & PSU while Pitt State went 2-1.
4.1 – Missouri Western didn't lose a game by more than nine points all season. The average margin in MWSU losses was just 4.1 points. MWSU led in the fourth quarter of all but one of its seven losses (at Emporia State) and in that game the Griffs whittled a 20-point deficit down to three.
19.3 - As close as the losses were, MWSU made a habit of winning big. The average scoring margin in Griffon wins was 19.3 points. Three blowout home wins to end the regular season aided the stat. The Griffs averaged a 29-point win over their last three games coming into the postseason.
16 - Griffons recorded 16 double-doubles this season.
Corbyn Cunningham had nine,
Chris Wilson had six and
Katrina Roenfeldt recorded one.
58.1 - The MIAA' s third-best scoring defense held opponents to 58.1 points this season, including holding its final three opponents under 50. MWSU held eight opponents to 50 points or less on the season.
21,762 - MWSU drew the sixth most fans per game in all of Division II this season. 21,762 fans attended
MWSU women's basketball games this season. The only MIAA program with a higher total was Fort Hays State with 32,150.
2 - Only two teams have defeated both the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the last NCAA DII Central Region rankings: Missouri Western and the No. 1 team in the nation, Drury. The Griffons thumped No. 2 Minnesota Duluth 77-61 on Nov. 9 and won one of two against No. 1 Central Missouri, 67-57 on Feb. 8. Despite the big wins, MWSU found itself outside the top-10 of the regional poll heading into Kansas City.
START STRONG, FINISH STRONG
After a 16-point lead evaporated in the second half to hand the Griffons a loss in the season opener,
MWSU won 12 of its next 13 games to get off to a 12-2 start. The Griffons rattled off a seven-game win streak early in the season and finished with three blowout wins over teams that all made the
MIAA Championships field. Missouri Western may be playing its best basketball of the season heading into Kansas City. After a heartbreaking last-second home loss to Pittsburg State, MWSU outscored Missouri Southern, Northwest Missouri and Washburn by an average of 29 points to finish the regular season. Over those final three games, the Griffons outscored opponents 74-45 and shot 47.9% from the field while limiting opponents to 33.6%.
Corbyn Cunningham averaged 20.3 points and 10 rebounds over her final three regular season games while shooting 57.5% from the field.
Anastacia Johnson shot 56% and averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and five assists.
| LAST 3 GAMES |
MWSU |
Opp. |
| Avg. Score |
74 |
45 |
| Rebounds |
37.3 |
28.7 |
| Assists |
17.3 |
4.7 |
| Turnovers |
11.7 |
18 |
| FG% |
47.9 |
33.6 |
| 3-PT% |
37.5 |
25 |
THE BIG TWO
Two box scores all season included single-digit scoring for both
Corbyn Cunningham and
Chris Wilson: McKendree and at Central Missouri. Both got into early foul trouble against McKendree which plagued Wilson again in Warrensburg when Cunningham was suffering from an injury that limited her to 16 minutes. The other 26 games saw at least one of the post duo score in double figures. They combined for 15 double-doubles this season and together produced 38.8% of MWSU's scoring and 38.6% of its rebounds. Cunningham averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 57.4% on her way to first team All-MIAA honors. The junior's 237 rebounds rank as the third most ever by a Griffon and a postseason run could put her in position to break Nicole Lindsey's record of 272 in 2002-03. Wilson scored 13.5 per game, averaged 7.6 rebounds and shot 52.1%.
DO-IT-ALL GUARD
Katrina Roenfeldt saw her scoring average drop by almost six points per game from her junior to senior season, but it didn't slow the guard. Along with her 10.4 points per game this season, she averaged 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 steals. She ranked third in the MIAA with a 1.9 assist-turnover ratio and was second in the conference in steals. It helped her earn MIAA All-Defensive Team honors along with a third team All-MIAA nod.
BURYING THEM EARLY
MWSU averaged an 11.2 point lead at halftime this year. The Griffons allowed just 336 points in the first quarter all season (12 per game). The Griffons went seven straight games holding opponents to less than 10 points in the first quarter. While the first quarter has been the best defensively for the Griffons, the second has been the highest-scoring for MWSU with 517 points.
|
MWSU |
Opp. |
| 1st Quarter |
504 |
336 |
| 2nd Quarter |
517 |
373 |
| 3rd Quarter |
482 |
459 |
| 4th Quarter |
481 |
447 |
| OT |
20 |
13 |
UNLUCKY TIE-BREAKER
MWSU finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the MIAA standings with Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State. MIAA three-way tiebreaker rules look at the three teams' winning percentage against each other and seed in order. The Griffons' 1-2 record against those two teams bumped them to the No. 6 seed and the side of the bracket where they haven't had as much success. MWSU went 2-3 against its side of the bracket and 7-3 against the other half of the bracket. On the bright side, the Griffons wouldn't see top-seeded Central Missouri until the championship game and could have a chance to avenge at least two of its regular season losses before reaching the championship game.
HISTORY ON THEIR SIDE
Missouri Western is 3-0 in the MIAA Championships against Nebraska Kearney. That includes a 55-47 quarterfinal win last year and the historic win in Kearney in 2018 that saw MWSU become the first-ever No. 12 seed to win in the tournament. MWSU later advanced to the semifinals. In 2016, MWSU avenged one of just two regular season losses in the quarterfinals, defeating UNK 64-53.
WINS vs LOSSES
|
WINS |
LOSSES |
| Scoring |
74.6 |
62.6 |
| Opp. Scoring |
55.3 |
66.7 |
| Rebound Margin |
8 |
0.8 |
| Assists |
16.1 |
12.1 |
| FG% |
47.2 |
39.2 |
| Opp. FG% |
35.7 |
43 |
| 3-PT% |
35.1 |
28.6 |
| Opp. 3-PT% |
28.1 |
33.3 |
| FT% |
60.5 |
65.9 |
| Opp. FT% |
69 |
68.9 |
