ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A frantic fourth-quarter comeback led to an incredible finish when Missouri Western Women's Basketball took down No. 5/2 Central Missouri in stunning fashion on Saturday night inside the MWSU Fieldhouse, 66-63.

Brionna Budgetts and Johnni Gonzalez led Missouri Western in scoring, with Budgetts scoring 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three and Gonzalez scoring 18 on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown. As a team, the Griffons shot 50% from three and 42.6% from the field. 

The first quarter was an indicator of just how physical and tight the game would be. Both teams battled down low, fighting through contact to score. Missouri Western never trailed in the quarter, but there were three ties, including on the last shot of the quarter, a deep banked-in three from UCM's Lauren Frost. Budgetts led the Griffons with nine points in the quarter, all coming from beyond the arc. 

Central Missouri took their first lead early on in the second quarter, as Ashley Tull hit a free throw to put UCM up, 18-17. They led for the remainder of the quarter, going up as much as nine points at the 2:06 mark when Brooke Littrell hit a pair of free throws. Connie Clarke sank two free throws with 37 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to five, and the Griffons went into the break trailing, 33-28. 

Quarter three was more of the same, as the Jennies never trailed. A 6-0 run halfway through the quarter threatened to put the game out of hand, extending the Jennies' lead to a game-high 11. Jordan Cunningham scored a tough bucket, squaring up her defender and scoring on her to cut the lead back to nine. The Jennies kept the game in that region, leading at the end of the third, 52-43.

The fourth quarter saw Gonzalez go unconscious from beyond the arc. She hit two massive step-back 3-pointers to open the quarter, cutting the lead in half in just two minutes. It only took two more minutes for the Griffs to tie the game at 54 thanks to a bucket plus the foul for Clarke and a pair of free throws from Budgetts. Trinity Knapp hit a layup at the 2:52 mark, and then Gonzalez hit her third 3-pointer of the quarter, putting the Griffons up four. Tull would come down and score a layup, but then Budgetts nailed yet another 3-pointer, barely moving the net to put the Griffons up five and sending Looney into chaos. 

A great defensive possession from the Griffons ensued, and the Griffons held on to win, 66-63.

NOTABLES

• The Griffons shared the ball well, finding 15 assists in the win. 
• Missouri Western forced 14 turnovers while giving the ball away themselves 15 times, but the Griffons did more with less, finishing with 11 points off turnovers to UCM's eight. 
• A fantastic defensive effort from the Griffons held Central Missouri, the MIAA team with the highest season-long field goal percentage, to just 32.3% from the field. 

UP NEXT
The Griffons head to Hays, Kansas, looking for revenge against Fort Hays (14-6, 9-3 MIAA). Fort Hays most recently beat Washburn, 53-46, on Wednesday. The Griffons fell to Fort Hays, 64-58, on Dec. 10 in St. Joseph. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Gross Memorial Coliseum.