ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Missouri Western Women's Basketball heads to Liberty, Missouri, to take on the Cardinals of William Jewell in the second of two-straight matchups against GLVC teams.
WHEN AND WHERE
The game is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. on Monday at the Maybee Center in Liberty. Tickets can be found on William Jewell's website or at the box office of the Maybee Center.
CAN'T GET TO LIBERTY?
Tune in to KFEQ to hear "The Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac call the game. He is joined by Derek Zimmerman-Guyer on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
Brionna Budgetts led the Griffons (3-2) with 26 points in an 81-72 win over Truman State last Wednesday at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The game saw both teams take the lead multiple times, but the Griffons took over in the fourth quarter behind Budgetts' 12 points in the quarter.
Mary Fultz dished a career-high seven assists off the bench, scoring 14 points in the process.
William Jewell (1-3) won their first game of the season in decisive fashion, taking down division three Blackburn College, 86-36. Kate Hillyer and Chloe Frank teamed up to lead the Cardinals with 16 points apiece. Thirteen of the Cardinals' 15 players ended up scoring.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
William Jewell is a young team, with seven freshmen and six sophomores on the 17 player roster. Hillyer leads WJC with 8.5 points per game. Abigail Jones leads the team with seven rebounds per game. The Cardinals currently are being outscored on an average of 59.5 to 56.75.
William Jewell may have found their shooting form in their last game, firing from 3-point range at just over 41% as a team. Just under half of their shots came from beyond the arc, and the percentage of shots from outside and makes from outside would have been significantly higher had they not taken their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter when the game was in hand.
The Cardinals are led by long-time Head Coach Jill Slominski. This season marks her 27th season in charge of William Jewell, where she has obtained an overall record of 449-338. Their last Division II win occured on Feb. 27, 2021, in a 72-66 win vs. Rockhurst.
HIGH-OCTANE GRIFFONS
The Griffons are off to a high-flying start, with close games against top opposition. A split in Kansas City, including a win over then No. 23 Lubbock Christian, a split with two highly-skilled South Dakota teams and a win over Truman State have the Griffons sitting at 3-2.
Connie Clarke leads the Griffons with 17.6 points per game, followed closely by Budgetts who is averaging 17, both good for ninth and 10 in the MIAA, respectively. Clarke also leads the Griffons with nine rebounds per game.
Cleao Murray has been a fantastic outside shooting addition to the Griffons for the 2022-23 season, as she's shooting 31% from downtown, connecting on 11 shots to place her at 13th in the MIAA. Murray is averaging 8.4 points per game to land her in third on the team.
NOTABLES
- The Griffons are 3-1 all-time against William Jewell and have won both meetings in the Candi Whitaker Era.
- This will be the Griffons first visit to the Maybee Center.
- Last time MWSU played William Jewell, the Griffons were ranked No. 20 in the nation.
- The Griffons are 7-0 vs. GLVC teams under Whitaker's command.
