ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — While No. 23 Griffon Women's Basketball went into halftime beating Pittsburg State 29-23, they could not pull away and fell 65-56 to the Gorillas at home Thursday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Tiani Ellison led the Griffons (4-2, 0-1 MIAA) with 11 points and two steals. Camille Evans also tacked on eight points off the bench and Mackenzie Hart helped out with six points.

Missouri Western State forced 15 Pitt State (6-0, 1-0 MIAA) turnovers while committing 12 themselves in Thursday's game. The Griffons turned those takeaways into 11 points on the offensive end of the floor. Jayme Jackson led the way individually with three steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After playing to an 8-8 tie early in the game, Missouri Western went on a 5-0 run with 3:17 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Evans, to take a 13-8 lead. The Griffons then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 13-12 advantage. Western capitalized on three Pitt turnovers in the period, turning them into five points on the other end of the floor.

Western built that first-quarter lead to 20-17 before going on a 7-0 run starting at the 4:52 mark in the second period, highlighted by a bucket from Mary Fultz, to increase its lead to 27-17. The Gorillas cut into that lead, but the Griffons still enjoyed a 29-23 advantage heading into halftime, the Griffons dominated in the paint, scoring 10 of its 16 points close to the basket.

The Griffs then lost their advantage in the third quarter and trailed the Gorillas 50-37 entering the fourth. Western's bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled six of the team's eight third-quarter points.

Pitt kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 58-42 advantage before MWSU went on an 8-0 run, finished off by Evans' jumper, to shrink the deficit to 58-50 with 2:16 to go in the contest. The Gorillas responded and outscored the Griffons the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 65-56. Missouri Western took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 12 of its 19 points in the paint.

GAME NOTES

• Western's bench made an impact by scoring 23 points.
• The Griffon defense forced 15 turnovers.
• Ellison led the Griffons with 11 points.
• The Griffons got a team-high six rebounds from Jordan Cunningham, who made her first start of the season.

UP NEXT
The Griffons stay at home on Saturday and play Missouri Southern (3-3, 0-1 MIAA) at 3:30 p.m. inside the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Lions lost to Northwest Missouri State on Thursday night 69-59 in Maryville, Missouri.