ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — After picking up a pair of wins at home, the Missouri Western Women's Basketball team heads to Oklahoma to play Northeastern State and Rogers State in hopes of pushing towards first place in the MIAA. 

KEEPING UP WITH THE GRIFFONS
KFEQ Radio will broadcast the game live on 680 AM and 95.3 FM with the "Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac on the call alongside Missouri Western's Director of Athletic Communication Derek Zimmerman-Guyer.  Fans that want to watch the games can purchase a subscription to the MIAA network.  Admission can be purchased by clicking on the "Tickets" tab above. Catch an exclusive interview with Head Coach Candi Whitaker during the pregame show, beginning 30 minutes prior to tip-off. 

FEELIN' 22
The Griffons will be looking for wins number 21 and 22 this weekend. Missouri Western (20-5, 14-3 MIAA) has not won that many regular-season games since 2015-16's tally of 26. This season has already cemented itself as one of the best in recent memory, as the Griffons haven't won 20 or more games in back-to-back seasons since the Dave Slifer Era, with the last back-to-back stretch happening between 2002-2004. 

FIRST PLACE WITHIN REACH
After a weekend sweep, the Griffons sit just one game out of first place in the MIAA, with the two teams ahead of Missouri Western facing off this week. With the right results, the Griffons could finish the weekend atop the MIAA and in control of its own destiny in terms of a regular-season conference championship. 

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN STATE: FEB. 9 - 5:30 PM
The RiverHawks (6-14, 3-13 MIAA) have won two games since New Year's, but one of those games came against Rogers State the last time they took the floor. Northeastern beat the Hillcats with relative ease in a 72-48 triumph in Claremore. Previous to that, the RiverHawks had not won a game since a one-point win vs. Central Oklahoma on Jan. 5, just three days after the Griffons dispatched of NSU. 

Head Coach
Fala Suiaunoa is in year five at the helm at Northeastern State, where she is 40-112 with the RiverHawks, 26-92 in the MIAA and 138-185 overall in her 10-year coaching career. Suiaunoa and NSU are 1-5 vs. MWSU and 1-3 vs. Whitaker's Griffons since 2019. Suiaunoa owns the RiverHawks' lone victory over the Griffons since 2014, an 82-74 win for NSU in 2020 in Tahlequah.

Who to Watch
Sophomore guard Ashton Hackler is leading the RiverHakws in points per game, scoring 13.9 on a nightly basis. Sophomore forward Courtney Lee is the other RiverHawk putting up over 10 points a night, scoring 12 and grabbing 7.5 rebounds on average. Overall, five players have started at least 17 games for NSU, with four others grabbing two or less starts this season. 

Record Rabbit Hole
The Griffons and RiverHawks have only been playing each other since 2005, and Missouri Western holds a 10-6 all-time series advantage. Nine of those 10 wins have come in the past 10 games, with the lone blemish coming in 2020. The Griffons are 3-4 in Tahlequah and 9-3 in conference play against NSU. 

Last Time Out
Box Score | Video Recap 
A three-headed attack from junior guards Connie Clarke, Brionna Budgetts and junior forward Trinity Knapp took down NSU earlier this season, as the Griffons won, 74-53. Lee was the leading scorer for Northeastern, putting up 11 points. Mika Scott also scored in double-figures, putting up 10 points. 

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: FEB. 9
Missouri Western ascended to one of its highest rankings ever in the WBCA polls, climbing all the way to No. 8.

SCOUTING ROGERS STATE: FEB. 11 - 1:30 PM
The Hillcats (4-18, 2-14 MIAA) haven't won a game since a double-overtime victory over Newman on Jan. 5. As Rogers State doesn't sponsor a football team, Saturday will be homecoming for the Hillcats.

Head Coach
The Hillcats are led by Kyle Bent, who is in year number five at Rogers. Bent is 39-89 with RSU, 16-58 in the MIAA and 200-176 in his coaching career. He is 0-3 vs. Missouri Western since the Hillcats first started playing the Griffons in Whitaker's first season in 2019-20.

Who to Watch
Senior forward Bailey Kliewer is in the top three in nearly every major statistical category for the Hillcats, averaging 12.6 points (first on team) and six rebounds (second on team). She has grabbed the second-most offensive boards (32), defensive boards (99) and total rebounds (131), has the second-most blocks (eight), the second-most steals (25), the second-most 3-pointers made (21) and the most-field goals made with 99 this season.

Record Rabbit Hole
The Griffons have never lost to Rogers State, going 4-0 all-time against the Hillcats. The two did not start playing until 2019, and the only single-digit game occurred in 2020, an 83-81 MWSU victory. That is also the only time Missouri Western has played in Claremore. 

Last Time Out
Box Score | Video Recap
The Griffons took care of business in emphatic fashion on Dec. 31, 2022,, beating the Hillcats, 96-51, inside the Looney Complex. Four Griffons scored in double-digits, and 12 Griffons scored overall. Budgetts led the Griffons with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, making 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. 

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY: FEB. 11
Box Score | Video Recap
The Griffons took care of Missouri Southern in 78-54 fashion on Feb. 11, 2021, at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Budgetts and Logan Hughes led the Griffs with 14 points each. Mary Fultz scored 13 as well.

NOTABLES

• Budgetts is currently sitting in fifth in the nation for 3-point percentage, shooting 46.6% on the season. She is tied for sixth in the country for made threes with 69. 
• The Griffons are one of two schools to have two players in the top 10 in scoring in the MIAA. Clarke and Budgetts are the highest-scoring duo in the league, putting up 32.6 PPG on any given night. 
• No team in the MIAA shares the ball better than the Griffons, who are averaging 17.2 assists per game. 
• Clarke's line of 9.2 RPG is second best in the conference.
• Johnni Gonzalez sits in fourth place in the conference with a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio.