ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Griffon Women's Basketball is back at their home away from home this weekend to take on Emporia State and Washburn at Civic Arena.

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon WBB (6-3, 2-2 MIAA) will hit the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac and MWSU Director of Athletic Communications Derek Zimmerman-Guyer on the call. 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. Both pregame shows start 30 minutes prior to tipoff. Game admission can be found in the "Tickets" tab.

NOTABLES

• With winter commencement taking place at the Looney Complex this weekend, the Griffs will be playing at Civic Arena.
• The Griff are 2-0 at Civic this season and have won their last three games there dating back to 2019. Under Head Coach Candi Whitaker, MWSU is 3-1 at Civic. 
• Missouri Western went 1-1 in MIAA play last weekend, falling to Nebraska Kearney on Thursday.
• Defeating No. 18 Fort Hays State last Saturday, the Griffons picked up their eighth win over a top-25 team in the Whitaker Era.
• Western is eighth in the MIAA standings. Emporia State is second, and Washburn is seventh.
• The Griffs are holding teams to 27.7% from 3-point range, the fifth-best mark in the MIAA.
• Western only turns the ball over on average 13.3 times per game, good for third in the conference.
• Senior forward Connie Clarke is 10th in the MIAA with 7.7 rebounds per game and 13th with 12.8 points per game.
• Clarke's free-throw clip of 78.8% is eighth in the MIAA.
• Clarke is also fourth with 20 steals.
• Junior guard Alyssa Bonilla leads the team with 18 assists, which is 23rd in the MIAA.
• Freshman forward Tiani Ellison leads the team with seven blocks, putting her in 11th place within the league. She had three rejections in two games last weekend.
• Junior guard Mackenzie Hart is second on the team with 8.2 points per game.
• Hart is also shooting 37.5% from three, making a team-high 15 triples that place her 11th in the conference. She is 11th in the MIAA in made three per game with an average of 1.7.
• Clarke is 21 points away from 1,000 for her career. Her season-high is 25, and she has scored 21 or more twice this year.

12/14 - SCOUTING EMPORIA STATE | 5:30 PM
Despite starting the season 0-2, Emporia State (5-3, 3-0 MIAA) has rattled off four wins in a row and sits in second place in the conference. After hounding Avila, the Hornets defeated Washburn, Rogers State and Northeastern State in single-digit games, starting 3-0 in the MIAA for a second consecutive season. Thursday's game against the Griffs will just be Emporia's second road game of the season, last falling on the road on Nov. 25 in a 73-61 decision against Wayne State in Wayne, Nebraska. 

The Hornets are a hard-nosed rebounding team. They are second in the MIAA with 42.9 RPG and first with 15.3 offensive RPG. That 15.3 average is also 30th in Division II. Emporia's rebounding margin of 7.1 ranks fifth in the conference.

Who to Watch
Leading the Hornets in scoring is senior forward Faith Paramore, whose 13.9 PPG ranks ninth in the MIAA. Also fourth with 9.3 RPG, Paramore only trails her own teammate, graduate student forward Queen Ulabo, who is third with 9.4 RPG. Ulabo is also 14th with six blocks. This is their first season at ESU. Sophomore guard Gracie Gilpin leads ESU from deep, making the second-most three per game in the MIAA with an average of 2.4. Her 19 triples are also the fourth most to drop through the nylon this season. Finally, senior guard Katie Horyna is fourth in the MIAA with 4.5 assists per game and fifth with 36 total assists.

Head Coach
Brian Ostermann is in his first year at ESU and at the Division II level as a head coach. Spanning multiple associate head coaching gigs in Division I and head coaching positions at junior colleges, Ostermann's coaching career actually started in the MIAA, starting as a graduate assistant for Northwest Missouri State from 1989-91. Next settling in St. Joseph, he served as an assistant coach for the Missouri Western State College women's and men's programs, working with Griffon Hall of Famers Jeff Mittie and Tom Smith.

Rivalry Record Rabbit Hole
Western trails the all-time series 36-60 dating back to 1976. The series is knotted up at 21-21 when the matchup takes place in St. Joseph. The Hornets' last win over the Griffs in St. Joseph was on Jan. 19, 2022, at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Since then, MWSU has emerged victorious in the last two overall outings. 

Last Time We Met
Box Score
Sweeping the regular-season series of ESU last season, the Griffons defeated the Hornets 76-60 on Feb. 4, 2023, at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The Griffs were led by Connie Clarke's 19th career double-double, consisting of 13 points and 10 rebounds. With Clarke securing five steals on defense, then-junior guard Brionna Budgetts ignited the offense with a team-high 24 points, blocking two shots in the process. Western iced ESU from the field, holding the Hornets to 34.3% overall and 18.2% from three.

12/16 - SCOUTING WASHBURN | 1:30 PM
As of Dec. 12, Washburn (6-2, 1-1 MIAA) is in seventh place in the MIAA, one ahead of MWSU. The Ichabods will play Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Maryville, Missouri, before making the trek down Highway 71 to St. Joseph on Saturday. The 'Bods just defeated Rogers State 56-44 on Dec. 9 in Topeka, Kansas. As of now, Washburn is 2-1 in away games this season and 3-2 on the road including neutral games. 

As of the date this was published, Washburn's offense is second in the MIAA with 77.5 PPG. Its defense only gives up 55 PPG, good for second as well. Washburn is on top of the leaderboards in many categories not only in the MIAA but in DII: second in the MIAA and 20th in DII in field-goal percentage (45.6%); first in the MIAA and fifth in DII in opponent field-goal percentage (32.2%); first in the conference and 18th in the nation in 3-point percentage (37.5%); and first in the MIAA and 12th in DII in opponent 3-point percentage (22.1%). 

Who to Watch
The 'Bods have a ballistic one-two punch when it comes to scoring. Sophomore center Yiibari Nwidadah is 11th in the MIAA with 13.1 PPG, and senior guard Aubree Dewey is 12th with 13 PPG. Sophomore guard Aniah Wayne is 23rd with 11 PPG, and sophomore guard Gabi Giovannetti is averaging 11 PPG in just five games played. Nwidadah is the only player in the MIAA to average a double-double, pulling down 11.1 RPG. She's also second in the MIAA with a field-goal clip of 60.3%, and Dewey is sixth at 47.1%. Wayne has the fourth-most threes in the MIAA with 19 made, and her deep-ball clip of 41.3% is fourth. She's also tied for second with 2.4 threes per game. 

An All-MIAA Honorable Mention in 2022-23, Dewey leads the MIAA with 6.5 APG, tallying the second-most assists with 52 so far. Her assist/turnover ratio of 1.9 is fifth, and her 16 steals are the eighth most in the MIAA.

Head Coach
Lora Westling, a Washburn graduate from 2005, is in her second season leading the 'Bods. In two nearly two seasons, Westling is 17-19 as a 'Bod and 77-78 in her 11-year career. She is 0-2 vs. Whitaker and the Griffs and 0-1 in St. Joseph.

Rivalry Record Rabbit Hole
Western is 45-57 all-time vs. Washburn since first playing in 1976. Since then, MWSU has compiled a 28-24 lead when playing at home, winning the last two meetings in St. Joseph and four overall meetings.

Last Time We Met
Box Score
The Griffons swept Washburn last season, sealing the deal with a 67-47 win on Feb. 1, 2023, at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Budgetts had another big night, tagging Washburn for a game-high 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Clarke collected the 18th double-double of her career with 17 points and 16 rebounds, snagging 14 defensive boards. No Ichabod scored more than nine points, with Washburn being held to 34% from the field and 27.3% from three. 

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON WBB HISTORY
Dec. 14 | Box Score
Amidst a four-game winning streak, the 2016-17 Griffons proved to be too much for Saint Mary with a 76-60 victory at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Western entered the fourth quarter up 71-41 and still managed to win by 16 points thanks to cruise control. Chelsea Dewey led MWSU with 14 points, and Julia Torres notched a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Dec. 16 | Box Score
Jumping out to a 7-2 start during Whitaker's first year in 2019-20, Western went to town on Peru State, defeating the Bobcats 91-50. The Griffons held Peru to single-digit scoring efforts in both the first and third quarters, forcing 16 steals along the way. Meanwhile, Corbyn Cunningham scored a game-high 18 points and shot 8-of-12 from the field. Behind her, Michaell Gray, Katrina Roenfeldt and Chris Wilson scored 13, 12 and 10, respectively.