FORT HAYS, Kan. — This win may have felt like hard candy, but it's a victory that feels sweeter than most.

Griffon Women's Basketball  survived through two overtimes vs. Fort Hays State, taking down the Tigers, 82-81, on Thursday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum and earning Head Coach Candi Whitaker the 200th win of her 17-year career.

Brionna Budgetts led the Griffons (18-4, 12-2 MIAA) with 29 points, scoring 20 points coming in an explosive first quarter. Connie Clarke added 16 points, including the game-winning layup with 2.2 second left in the game, while Mary Fultz scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her first-career double-double. 

Five Tigers (15-7, 10-4 MIAA) scored in double-digits, including Katie Wagner, who led the team with 20 points and 17 rebounds. 

The first quarter was highlighted by a ridiculous scoring effort from Budgetts, as she made 4-of-5 shots from three. A Budgetts layup with 15 seconds left made it 24-10.

Fort Hays was able to cut into the lead in the second quarter, slowly grinding the score back to within reach. The Tigers brought the Griffon advantage down to nine by the end of the quarter and took the momentum into the halftime break. 

Fort Hays quickly erased the deficit, taking a 35-34 lead just barely three minutes into the third quarter. The Griffons battled to keep the score tied at 42-42 going into the fourth quarter. The score remained tied in a variety of ways for the next two periods.

Quarter four was a dogfight, with both teams forcing mistakes and capitalizing on them. Fort Hays took the lead with little over a minute remaining, but a Budgetts jumper tied the game at 58-58, With 30 seconds remaining, a pair of Jordan Cunningham free throws with 36 seconds gave the Griffons the lead, but Fort Hays' Olivia Hollenbeck forced her way to the free-throw line, sinking both shots to eventually send the game into overtime.  

Both overtime periods were chaotic, with both teams landing what seemed to be knockout blows. Fort Hays took a five-point lead with 1:30 left, but a quick layup from Budgetts followed by a massive corner three from Cunningham tied the game, 67-67. Alyssa Bonilla came up with a steal and layup that looked to have won the game, but FHSU got to the stripe with six seconds left to sink another pair of free throws, tying the game at 69-69 and sending it to double-overtime.

Overtime number two saw the script flip, as the Griffons jumped out to a 76-70 lead. A Bonilla layup raised MWSU's advantage up to six before the Tigers came storming back in their own way. A driving one-handed prayer from Hollenbeck gave the Tigers an 81-80 edge with 12 second left. Not to be denied by Hays for a second time, a brilliant play design by Whitaker gave Clarke the chance to hit the game-winning layup with just over two ticks left to go.

NOTABLES

• MWSU is 3-0 in overtime games this season, all coming against teams with a combined record of 45-15.
• The Griffons have won two straight in Hays, repeating another classic effort after winning the Central Region Championship last season on the Tigers' home court.
• This is the first time MWSU and FHSU have gone into overtime since 1986. The Griffs are 2-1 all-time vs. FHSU in OT.
• Budgetts scored as many points in the first quarter as any other player did in the game.
• Four Griffons scored in double-digits.
• The Griffons won the turnover battle, only giving up the ball 15 times while forcing FHSU to cough it up 18 times.
• The game was Missouri Western's first double-overtime game since 2017-18 when the Griffons played Southwest Baptist on Jan. 15, 2018.
• This win is the first regular-season triumph for MWSU at Fort Hays since 2007. 

UP NEXT
Missouri Western heads to Nebraska-Kearney to take on the No. 13/19 Lopers (19-3, 12-2 MIAA). Kearney escaped with a win on Thursday against Northwest Missouri State, 66-65. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Health & Sports Center.