KEARNEY, Neb. — Missouri Western Women's Basketball heads north to take on the No. 13/19 Nebraska Kearney this Saturday at the Health & Sports Center in a rematch from earlier this season.
KEEPING UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
Fans not making the trip west can hear the game live on 680 AM/95.3 FM with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and Paul Smith on the call. Tune in 30 minutes early for pregame and an exclusive interview with Head Coach Candi Whitaker. Fans wanting to watch the game can subscribe or buy a single game pass through the MIAA Network.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA KEARNEY: JAN. 28 - 2 PM
The Griffons look to sweep the No. 13/19 Lopers for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Griffons are also looking for their first win against the Lopers in Kearney, Nebraska, since 2018. With UNK ranked again, this means the Griffons will have a chance to knock off their fourth ranked team of the year. Missouri Western is 3-1 against ranked teams this season.
The Lopers are yet to drop a game at the Health & Sports Center this season with a perfect 11-0 record. The Lopers puts their home winning streak up against the Griffons, who have won a current MIAA-high of 11 games in a row after their win at Fort Hays on Thursday. Kearney is coming off a 66-65 home victory over Northwest Missouri State this past Thursday.
Head Coach
The Lopers are led by Carrie Eighmey, who is 156-71 overall as the coach of the Lopers and 103-53 in MIAA play. Eighmey is 9-6 all-time against the Griffons and is 5-1 against Missouri Western in Kearney. Before coming to Kearney, Eighmey was the head coach at Hastings University, her alma mater.
Who to Watch
Redshirt junior forward Shiloh McCool is the leading scorer for the Lopers, putting up 12 points per game. Elise Backes is the only other Loper scoring in double-digits, but three other players are scoring over eight points a game for the Lopers. Nebraska Kearney has 10 different players that play at least 10 minutes a game on average.
Record Rabbit Hole
Missouri Western has taken on the Lopers 50 times over the years, and the Griffons have done well against UNK. The Griffs are 29-21 all-time against the Lopers but are only 3-7 in the last 10 meetings. The Griffons cruised past the Lopers in last season's Central Region Tournament and then beat them this year in St. Joseph when the Lopers were ranked No. 22/24. Those two wins mark the first time the Griffons have won back-to-back games against UNK since 2016-17. The Griffs haven't beaten UNK three times in a row since a five-game winning streak that spanned from 2000 all the way to 2014.
Last Time Out
Box Score | Video Recap
Missouri Western took down UNK earlier this season on Dec. 8, 2022, at home, 68-65, with Clarke blocking the game-winning 3-pointer to seal the win. Since that game, both the Griffons and Lopers have only lost once, and both teams have embarked on long winning streaks of 11 and six games, respectively. Kearney's only loss since falling at the MWSU Fieldhouse came against a top-10 Central Missouri team on Jan. 2 in Warrensburg.
ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: JAN. 28
Box Score | Video Recap
January 28, 2017, saw the Griffons take down Northwest Missouri State behind a more-than-convincing second-half display, as the bench led Missouri Western to outscore NWMSU by 20 in the second half. Chelsea Dewey led the Griffons with 18 points, and six different Griffons scored in double-figures.
NOTABLES
- Junior guard Brionna Budgetts needs 28 points to reach 1,000 in her career. She would be the 20th Griffon to do so. She needs one steal to reach 100-career takeaways.
- Last time out, the Griffons beat Fort Hays State. That win marks the first time since 1983-84 that the Griffs have won consecutive games in Hays.
- Whitaker secured her 200th win as a head coach with the win on Thursday
- UNK ranks at the top of the MIAA in most defensive metrics, including holding the top spot in points per game allowed, only giving up 50.7 PPG.
