Fans have seen a couple of public preseason tuneups for the Missouri Western women's basketball team, but on Friday night, it's the real thing as the Griffons host the University of Sioux Falls to open the 2021-22 season. The game is the second half of a doubleheader to open the first weekend of the 2021 Hillyard Tip-Off Classic, with the Griffons and Cougars set to tip off at 7:30 p.m., following a 5:30 contest between Fort Hays State and Southeastern Oklahoma.

LAST TIME OUT
In its final preseason tuneup, Missouri Western saw four players finish in double figures - led by Jordan Cunningham's 14 - as the Griffons outpaced Livin' The Dream 81-59 on Wednesday night. Cunningham did most of her damage from beyond the three-point line, connecting on four of her five efforts from long range, while Corbyn Cunningham and Connie Clarke each added 11 points and Trinity Knapp chipped in 10 points off the bench.

Missouri Western turned in a solid shooting performance on the night, finishing at a 46.7 percent pace (35-75) from the floor and going 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Aside from Cunningham's four makes, however, the Griffons weren't able to find the range from distance as the team finished 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) over 40 minutes.

AGAINST THE COUGARS
Friday is the first meeting between the teams.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls finished the 2021 season with an 8-6 mark on a schedule limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, and lost its first round game in the NSIC Championship to top-seeded Minnesota-Duluth.

The Cougars return four starters, and account for 64 percent of their scoring and 50 percent of their rebounding from last year, led by Anna Brecht (18.0 pts/5.6 reb) who ranked 47th in Division II for scoring average in 2021. Also returning for the Cougars are Krystal Carlson (9.2 pts/3.9 reb), Dallie Hoskinson (7.9 pts, 7.6 reb) and Megan Fannin (5.4 pts/1.8 reb).

Head coach Travis Traphagen brings a 245-117 (.677) record into tonight's season opener, as he begins his 14th season on the bench for USF.

ABOUT THE HILLYARD CLASSIC
Headquartered in St. Joseph, the Hillyard Companies are a basketball institution. Hillyard is the worldwide leader in basketball gym finishes, but it also has a history on the court. The Hillyard "Shine-Alls" won AAU National Championships in 1926 and 1927, and since then, Hillyard has been an outstanding supporter of Missouri Western and Griffon Athletics. In 1971, Missouri Western hosted the Hillyard Christmas Basketball Classic in the old City Auditorium downtown. It continued for three years, but went dormant until 1992 when Coach Tom Smith revived the event, and the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic remains one of the premier non-conference basketball tournaments in the country.