ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball will unofficially begin a new era on Wednesday night, as the defending MIAA regular season champions head to Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City for an exhibition contest with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen). Tommy Rezac will provide the play-by-play commentary. The game is available to stream with a subscription on Big Ten Plus.

Exhibition Experiences
Missouri Western women's basketball is no stranger to playing in high level exhibitions. Last season, Missouri Western went down to Springfield to play Missouri State and won 65-57 on Nov. 1, 2023. Missouri Western also beat Division I University of Missouri-Kansas City in a 2012 exhibition, 68-51. The Griffons played at Creighton in 2022, Iowa State in 2019 and Mizzou in 2018.

Not the First Meeting
Missouri Western played Iowa in an exhibition on Nov. 8, 2007, and the Hawkeyes won that contest, 79-56, in Iowa City.

Battle of Two New Coaches
Missouri Western hired its 10th head coach in program history, naming Ashton Feldhaus to the position on April 15. Feldhaus takes the reins as a first-time head coach after spending the past five seasons as the top assistant and associate head coach for Division II Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida.

In those five years, Eckerd won a combined 91 games and made the NCAA tournament in each of those five seasons.

Meanwhile, Iowa had a changing of the guard this offseason as well. After 24 years, legendary head coach Lisa Bluder retired. Jan Jensen, who was Bluder's assistant in those 24 years, became Iowa's fifth head coach in program history and kept the remainder of Bluder's staff intact.

Glance at the Griffs
Missouri Western's first official game won't come up until Nov. 8, when the Griffons head to St. Joseph's Civic Arena to battle Sioux Falls in the Division II Women's Basketball Central Region Showcase. But, this exhibition will provide fans with their first glimpse of the 2024-25 squad.

Missouri Western returns six players, including two with starting experience, from last year's team that won an MIAA regular season championship for the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2016.

Tiani Ellison is the team's lead returning scorer and rebounder, as she averaged 8.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a freshman last season. Alyssa Bonilla is back for her fourth season after leading the team last year with 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. The Griffons also added five transfers this offseason, including four from Division I schools.

Jessica Ford transferred in from Eckerd College, following Coach Feldhaus to St. Joseph from St. Petersburg. Ford started 22 games for the Tritons last season, averaging 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game, helping Eckerd to a 20-win season and a Sunshine State Conference tournament championship.

Life after Clark
Caitlin Clark ended her run as perhaps the greatest female college basketball player of all time at the University of Iowa last season, but the Hawkeyes believe they are reloading rather than rebuilding.

Iowa has played for a national championship each of the last two years, but lost to LSU in 2023 and then South Carolina in 2024. Iowa has won a remarkable 65 games over the last two years, and have reeled off eight consecutive 20-plus win seasons. New head coach Jan Jensen begins her first year as coach, but it'll be her 25th season overall with the Hawkeyes.

The excitement around the program is still palpable, as general public seating for the 2024-25 season is sold out for Iowa women's basketball for the second consecutive year.

The Hawkeyes return eight letterwinners and welcome six newcomers to the 2024-25 roster. Five of the six newcomers are freshmen. Iowa's lone transfer pickup was significant indeed, as the Hawkeyes welcome Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen. Olsen was the NCAA's third leading scorer last season, averaging 23.3 points per game. She was first-team all Big East and an honorable mention All-American.

Olsen and Hannah Stuelke were named Preseason First Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. Stuelke returns to the Hawkeyes after earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore last year, averaging 14 points per game.

What's Next
The Griffons will head home to St. Joseph's Civic Arena to battle Sioux Falls in the Division II Women's Basketball Central Region Showcase on Friday, November 8. That game starts at 7:30. Missouri Western will then play Augustana (S.D.) the following day, November 9, at Civic Arena at 7:30 p.m. as well.

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