ST. JOSEPH Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball (11-6, 6-3 MIAA) rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to force overtime, but the Griffons were held to just three points in the extra period, and fell to Central Missouri, 68-62, on Wednesday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Missouri Western trailed 13-2 to start, and then 34-23 at halftime. The Griffons had a strong third quarter, going on a 13-0 run and making it a 45-43 game entering the fourth quarter.

A three-pointer by Malgorzata Byczkowska with 8:40 left in regulation gave Missouri Western its first lead at 46-45. The Griffons led 59-57 with two minutes left in the fourth, but went scoreless for the rest of regulation. Reese Schaaf tied the game on a driving layup with 10 seconds left.

Schaaf had a strong look at a buzzer beater to end the fourth, but it just missed. Both teams struggled to score early in overtime, but Alyssa Bonilla hit a three to give Western a 63-62 lead with 1:59 remaining.

That would be the Griffons' last points, as UCM hit a three of their own and six free throws in OT to come away with a win. Bonilla led three Griffs in double figures with 15 points to go with four steals, three assists and three rebounds.

Laura Toffali gave 14 points, four steals, three rebounds and a block. Marie Sepp chipped in 12 points, six assists and five boards.

Reese Schaaf, the MIAA leader in scoring and rebounding, had her 10th double-double of the season with a career-best 32 points and season-best 20 rebounds to lead the Jennies (12-8, 4-5 MIAA) in their first win in St. Joseph since Dec. 2020.

Taylor Weishaar, a freshman from Wathena, KS, also had a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds to go with five blocked shots. UCM outrebounded MWSU 48-33 and held the Griffons to 33.3% shooting (24-of-72). Missouri Western turned UCM over 25 times and scored 20 points off of those.

The game featured five ties and 10 lead changes in all.

Missouri Western stays home Saturday to face Washburn (11-8, 5-4 MIAA). Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen). It'll be available to watch on the MIAA Network as well.