ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Ranked No. 25 in the nation, Griffon Women's Basketball is back this weekend to begin the 2023-24 season in the NCAA Division II WBB Central Region Showcase this weekend at Civic Arena.

The Candi Whitaker Era enters year number five, with the Griffons going 75-41 overall under their head coach. Under Whitaker, Missouri Western is 51-34 in the MIAA, going as far as the Elite Eight in 2021-22. After the Griffs went 24-7 overall and 18-4 in league play last season, Whitaker enters this winter with fifth-year Assistant Coach Emily Wacker, second-year Assistant Coach Todd Stutzman and first-year Assistant Coach Sandra Abston. The Griffons were voted second in both MIAA preseason polls, garnering first-place votes in each.

With Whitaker's Griffons finishing third in a competitive conference that featured six teams with 20 or more wins, they just missed out on making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since last doing so from 2002-04. Missouri Western ended the season with two tough losses against some of the best teams in the MIAA. Fourth-place Pittsburg State beat MWSU with a game-winning layup on the Griffs' Senior Day, and sixth-place Fort Hays State reclaimed revenge in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals after Western beat the Tigers the year prior in the Central Region Championship.

"I think we learned a lot from that experience just about regionalization and how difficult that can be and how complicated it really is," Whitaker said. "We talked a lot about just how close you are and how important every possession is. I think always getting people to understand that is difficult. Our players really learned that the hard way."

The Griffons begin the season No. 25 in the WBCA Top-25 Poll and No. 6 in the D2SIDA Central Region Poll.
  A PERFECT PRESEASON
Earlier this summer, MWSU went on a 10-day trip overseas to Greece. While enjoying the scenery, the Griffs also improved their skillset, going an impressive 3-0 against an international all-star competition.

The Griffons went 2-0 in exhibition games this preseason, beating MidAmerica Nazarene 81-44 on Oct. 25 at home before defeating DI Missouri State 65-57 on Nov. 1 in Springfield, Missouri. It is MWSU's first win over a DI program since defeating the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2012. 

BACK IN THEIR BAG
Missouri Western is returning three All-MIAA selections and nine overall student-athletes who saw the floor last season. Among them is one of the best scorers in the MIAA, senior guard Brionna Budgetts. With 523 points scored last season to an all-conference first-team nod, Budgetts is the second-leading returning scorer in the MIAA, averaging 16.9 points per game. 

Budgetts is joined by the reining MIAA Defensive Player of the Year, senior forward Connie Clarke. Just MWSU's second-ever DPOY, the All-MIAA Second Team player finished eighth in the conference with 449 points, averaging 14.5 PPG. Clarke also snagged 271 rebounds, the fourth most in MWSU WBB history. Her 8.7 rebounds per game ranked third in the MIAA, marking the third-best average in team history.

Rounding out MWSU's All-MIAA returners is senior guard Johnni Gonzalez, who made an honorable mention last year. Gonzalez finished seventh in the league with 103 assists, spearheading MWSU's MIAA-high average of 17.3 team assists per game. 

Guards Camille Evans and Jordan Cunningham and forward Mary Fultz round out MWSU's senior class of six. Four of these seniors, Budgetts, Cunningham and Fultz, have experienced everything with Whitaker, falling as low as a 6-16 record in 2020 before lifting the team back up to its third-ever Elite Eight in 2022.  

"We're going to lean heavily on their experience and their leadership and their drive to understand how good you have to be in this league," Whitaker said about her seniors. "They've experienced a lot and have been very, very successful, and I expect them to have a great senior season." 

The Griffons have five more returners and four newcomers. Fans can read more about them later this week in position previews right here on GoGriffons.com.

START THE SHOW
The Griffons will be one of eight teams competing in this weekend's season-opening Division II WBB Central Region Showcase put on by the St. Joseph Sports Commission. A full schedule can be found on the commission's website. 

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Women's Basketball will grace the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with MWSU Director of Athletic Communications Derek Zimmerman-Guyer on the call for Friday night's game. "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac returns to the mic on Saturday in game two. The games will air on KFEQ - AM 680 and the KFEQ Live Stream.

The games are also available to watch for a subscription fee on the MIAA Network. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. both nights, with pregame starting at 7. Game admission can be found in the "Tickets" tab.

11/10 - SCOUTING WINONA STATE | 7:30 PM
Tabbed 12th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, Winona State went 11-17 and 5-17 in NSIC play last season. The Warriors went 4-0 in neutral site games last year but were 1-11 in true road games. Winona seeks its first winning season since 2019-20 after losing 94-60 in an exhibition matchup at DI program Drake.

Who to Watch
Senior forward Alex Dornfeld was named the WSU Player to Watch in the NSIC. She averaged 10.6 PPG and 8.3 RPG last winter, earning MVP honors at the Quincy University Tournament. Dornfeld can be dominant in the paint, as she was fourth in the NSIC with 233 rebounds. Senior center Ava Sergio returns after leading the team with 16 blocks in 2022-23, the 22nd most in the conference. 

Head Coach
Ana Wurtz, a Winona graduate in 2010, is in her second season as head coach. 

Have We Met Before?
The Griffons and Warriors have indeed met once before, with MWSU winning 55-42 in a neutral game on Dec. 3, 2004, in Warrensburg, Missouri.

11/11 - SCOUTING CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL | 7:30 PM
Ranked seventh in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, Concordia-St. Paul went 14-14 overall and 10-12 in conference play a season ago. The Golden Bears only went 0-1 in neutral games and 7-7 in away matchups. Concordia competes with Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday at 5:15 before playing MWSU on Saturday at the Civic Arena.

Who to Watch
Senior guard Ally Gietzel made the All-NSIC Second Team in 2022-23, leading the Golden Bears with 15.4 PPG (11th in the NSIC), 7.6 RPG (seventh) and 22 blocks (eighth). 

Head Coach
Now in her ninth season at CSP, Amanda Johnson is 121-87 overall. She graduated from Concordia in 2008.

First Time We Met
The Griffons and Golden Bears have met once before, with CSP winning 66-59 on Nov. 8, 2019, in St. Joseph. It was Whitaker's first game as Western's head coach.

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON WBB HISTORY
 Nov. 10 | Box Score
The 2012-13 Griffons opened up their home schedule in a big way, upsetting No. 7 Metro State 66-55 at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Missouri Western was led by JaQuitta Dever's 18 points. She was complemented by Heather Howard's and Lanicia Lawrence's 15 and 12 points, respectively.  

Nov. 11 | Box Score | Video Recap
Opening up a season where they eventually went 21-8, the 2016-17 Griffs started off with a 78-56 drumming of Southwest Minnesota State at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Dwanisha Tate led all scorers with 16 points and was assisted Chelsea Dewey's 13 and Erin Anderson's 10. Missouri Western out-rebounded Southwest 41-28 and forced 20 Mustang turnovers.