CLAREMORE, Okla. — Griffon Women's Basketball tallied 13 3-pointers on the way to an 84-44 win against the Rogers State Hillcats on the road Thursday night at the Claremore Expo Center, winning their season-high fifth straight game.

The Griffons (10-3, 5-2 MIAA) had three players score in double figures, led by Jayme Jackson, who had 17 points. Brionna Budgetts added season-highs of 15 points and seven rebounds, and Connie Clarke helped out with 11 points, seven rebounds, a season-high five assists, two steals and two blocks.

Missouri Western State shared the ball well in Thursday's game, racking up 19 assists on 32 made field goals. Clarke's five assists paced the Griffons.

Missouri Western forced 21 Rogers State (6-6, 1-5 MIAA) turnovers in Thursday's game. The Griffons turned those takeaways into 24 points on the other end of the floor. Johnni Gonzalez led the way individually with four steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Western started out the scoring by going on a 13-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Jordan Cunningham, to take an early lead with 3:58 left in the first quarter. The Griffons then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with an 18-8 advantage. Western capitalized on nine Rogers turnovers in the period, turning them into 10 points on the other end of the floor.

The Griffons State kept their first-quarter lead intact before going on a 7-0 run starting at the 7:49 mark in the second period, highlighted by a three from Clarke, to increase its lead to 25-9. The Griffons proceeded to tack on five points to that lead and enjoyed a 39-18 advantage heading into halftime. Western was strong from deep in the period, knocking down four 3-point shots to account for 12 of its 21 points.

Western continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Mary Fultz, to expand its lead further to 54-34 with 1:13 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Hillcats had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Griffons still entered the fourth quarter with a 54-38 edge. Western played well near the basket, scoring eight of its 15 points in the paint.

The Griffs kept widening that lead, expanding it to 63-42 before going on an 11-0 run to grow the lead to 74-42 with 4:29 to go in the contest. The Griffons kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 84-44 win. Western fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 30 points.

GAME NOTES

• The Griffons shot well from 3-point range, knocking down 13-of-28 long-range attempts.
• Western held the Hillcats to only 22.6% shooting from the field.
• The Griffs never trailed after taking an 18-8 first-quarter lead.
• Western tallied 19 total assists in the game.
• The Western bench came alive by scoring 34 points to its scoring output.
• The Griffs had a 38-32 edge on the boards in the win.
• The Western defense forced 21 turnovers.
• Jackson led the Griffons with 17 points.
• Western got seven rebounds from both Budgetts and Clarke.
• This is the seventh five-game winning streak in the Candi Whitaker Era. 
• The Griffons are 6-0 in the all-time series against Rogers.

UP NEXT
Western faces Northeastern State (5-7, 1-5 MIAA) this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. inside the NSU Event Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The RiverHawks fell to Northwest Missouri State 71-69 on Thursday night at the NSU Event Center.