ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A double-double by Connie Clarke (19 pts, 10 reb) and a 52-30 advantage in points in the paint helped Missouri Western to a 78-67 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Saturday. Clarke was one of four Griffons in double figures as MWSU moves to 2-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

Clarke opened the scoring for MWSU and paced the Griffons through a 10-5 run over the first three minutes of the contest. The Savage Storm surged back with an 8-3 stretch to take a one-point lead with 4:15 left in the first, but the lead lasted all of 21 seconds as Jordan Cunningham notched a three-point play to start a 9-0 run. Clarke followed up with back-to-back buckets off assists from Camille Evans and Jaelyn Haggard, and Corbyn Cunningham picked up a second-chance bucket to give MWSU a 21-13 lead.

Missouri Western extended its first-half lead as far as 13 before taking a nine-point lead into halftime. Alyssa Bonilla found Clarke on the break for a 34-21 Griffon lead with 3:10 on the clock.

Immediately out of the break, Clarke extended Missouri Western's lead back to double figures with a layup. Jordan Cunningham drew an offensive foul and sank a three-pointer on the opposite end. The Griffons never allowed Southeastern Oklahoma to pull closer than 10 points down the stretch and led by as many as 20.

Trinity Knapp had 12 points off the bench for MWSU, with Jordan Cunningham and Brionna Budgetts each adding 11. The Griffons shot 49.2 percent from the floor (32-65) on the night and held a 35-25 rebounding edge. Kamryn Cantwell led all scorers on the night with 32 points as Southeastern Oklahoma shot 48.1 percent (25-52) in falling to 0-2 on the year.

The Griffons hit the road for their next contest, traveling to Southwest Baptist on THursday, Nov. 18 for a 6 p.m. tipoff.