ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball goes for a season series sweep this Saturday, as the Griffons (12-6, 7-3 MIAA) host rival Northwest Missouri State (10-10, 3-7 MIAA).

Tip-off from the MWSU Fieldhouse on Saturday is set for 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Tommy Rezac and former MWSU head coach Rob Edmisson on the call. The games will be available to watch with a subscription on the MIAA Network as well.

Where Were We?
Missouri Western women's basketball (12-6, 7-3 MIAA) grabbed an early lead with a 14-2 first quarter run, and held off Washburn in a 62-56 decision last Saturday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Ichabods (11-9, 5-5 MIAA) got off to a 9-1 start in the first 5:38 of the game, but the Griffons went on their run to grab a 15-11 lead with 45 seconds left in the first quarter. The lead changed hands a couple of times, but Missouri Western never trailed after the 7:03 mark of the second quarter, and led 37-34 at halftime.

Missouri Western led 47-44 entering the fourth, but Washburn kept inching closer and got it to within 51-50 with 5:02 remaining. In those final five minutes however, the Griffons hit three triples, two of them by Matilda Soderlund, to go on a 9-0 run and lead 60-50 with only 1:07 to go.

Soderlund ended with a team-best 21 points on five made three-pointers in all. Alyssa Bonilla scored 19 points on a 9-of-12 effort at the free throw line. She also had seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. The Griffons were held to 30.8% shooting (20-of-65) and 26.2% (11-of-42) from deep, while hitting 11-of-15 (73.3%) at the foul line.

Defensively, Missouri Western was just as effective, holding the Ichabods to 32.1% (18-of-56) from the field and 6-of-25 (24%) from three. The Bods also went 14-of-26 (53.8%) at the free throw line.

Missouri Western forced 24 turnovers in the game, including 14 steals, and scored 18 points off of those takeaways.

History of Bearcat Brawls
Saturday marks the 81st all-time meeting with Northwest. MWSU holds a 48-32 all-time advantage in this series, having won each of the last six meetings in a row. The Griffs have won each of the last three games played in St. Joseph. Missouri Western scored a resounding 57-48 win at Northwest back on Dec. 3, 2024. The Bearcats were ranked No. 9 in the nation at the time.

Makin' it Rain
Missouri Western has made 186-of-550 three-point attempts (33.8%) so far this season. Their 186 makes are most in the MIAA and second most in the nation. The Griffons are averaging 10.3 made threes per game - most in the MIAA and second most in the nation.  Missouri Western also ranks No. 2 in the MIAA with its 34.9% clip from long range.

MWSU's 550 three-point attempts are the most of any team in the MIAA and the second most of any team in NCAA DII.

Stingy Defense
Missouri Western has jumped to No. 1 in the MIAA in takeaways per game, forcing a league-best 18.9 turnovers per game. With that, MWSU is now No. 2 in the league with a +3.5 turnover margin.

Getting to Know the Griffs
Missouri Western hired its 10th head coach in program history this past offseason, naming Ashton Feldhaus to the position on April 15, 2024. Feldhaus took the reins after spending the previous five seasons as the top assistant and associate head coach for NCAA 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. They also won the Sunshine State Conference tournament championship in 2020 and again in 2024.

As for the team itself, Missouri Western returned five players from the 2023-24 team that won an MIAA regular season title for the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2016.

Bonilla Ballin'
Alyssa Bonilla, a fourth year Griffon, has become perhaps the most versatile guard in the MIAA in her senior season. Bonilla is averaging 17.6 points (2nd MIAA), 4.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists (2nd MIAA, t-8th nation) and 3.1 steals (1st MIAA, 12th nation) per game.

Familiar Faces
Meredith Rieker, Kelsey Johnson, Kassandra Caron and Jaidyn Schomp make up the rest of the returners. Caron, in her junior season, is averaging a solid 7.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest, including a 10-point and 10-rebound double-double at Central Missouri on January 11.

Schomp has started 14 games thus far, and leads the team with 16 blocked shots. She's also averaging 4.1 points and 3.4 boards per game.

Rieker has appeared in every game so far this season and has made 18 three-pointers on 61 attempts.

From St. Petersburg to St. Joseph
The Griffons added five transfers this past offseason, including four from Division I schools. Jessica Ford transferred in from NCAA Division II Eckerd College, following Ashton Feldhaus to St. Joseph from St. Petersburg, Florida.

Originally from Marlborough, England, 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.

Ford leads MWSU in rebounding so far this season with 5.0 boards per game. She corralled a career-best 13 rebounds against Emporia State on Dec. 7, 2024. Ford has also hit at least one three-pointer in seven of the last eight games.

Soderlund Shootin'
Matilda Soderlund has been one of the sharpest shooters in the MIAA this season, making 49-of-111 attempts (44.1%) from long range. She ranks No. 2 in the MIAA and No. 8 in the nation in three-point percentage. Soderlund is averaging 2.7 made treys per game - second most in the MIAA. Her 49 made threes are third most in the MIAA and tied for 24th most in the nation.

Soderlund transferred to Missouri Western from Morehead State, where she played 30 games and made five starts last season. The Stockholm, Sweden native led the Eagles last season with 45 made three-pointers.

Soderlund is averaging 10.4 points per game this season for the Griffs, having scored in double-digits nine times, including a career-best 24 points against McKendree.

More D1 Experience
Marie Sepp comes to MWSU after two seasons at Division I University at Albany. She appeared in 54 total games and scored 38 total points in that time. So far at MWSU, Sepp is averaging 12.1 points per contest this season. She has scored 21 points, a career-best, against McKendree, Nebraska-Kearney and Washburn all this season.

Laura Toffali joins the fold after a two-year stay at Kennesaw State. A Villasanta, Italy native, Toffali played in 38 games for the Owls over the last two years, including four career starts. She scored a total of 114 points over those two years.

Toffali has made 13 starts this season for Missouri Western, scoring a career-best 15 points against Fort Hays State on Jan. 4.

Malgorzata Byczkowska transferred after one year at Tarleton State. A native of Gdynia, Poland, Byczkowska spent the 2022-23 season at Howard College in Big Springs, Texas, earning WJCAC All-Conference honors. She averaged 13.1 ppg and 5.3 rpg that season as well.

Northwest Nuggets
Coming off of an NCAA tournament bid for the first time since 2011 last season, Northwest comes into Saturday's contest at 10-10 overall and 3-7 in MIAA play. After starting the year at 7-1, the Bearcats dropped six in a row and have now split each of their last six contests.

Northwest has played a whale of a schedule, facing six WBCA top 10 opponents and beating two of them - then No. 5 Ashland and then No. 1 Minnesota State. Both of those wins came at St. Joseph's Civic Arena in November.

Like Missouri Western, Northwest is a threat to shoot it from long range. The Bearcats rank No. 3 in the MIAA in three-point percentage, shooting 33% from deep. Their 132 made threes are the third most of any MIAA team. The three-point threat is led by Caely Kesten, who's No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 3 in the nation with a 48.7% clip from beyond the arc. She's made an MIAA-best 55 triples on the year, which is also tied for 10th most in the nation.

While Kesten leads the Cats with 14.2 points per night, Molly Hartnett is close behind, averaging 10.6 points per contest. Hartnett has compiled 1646 points in her now five-year career at Northwest.

Northwest is head coached by Austin Meyer, who's in his seventh year at the helm. He's guided Northwest to a 99-99 record in that time, including a 23-8 record and second place finish in the MIAA last year. Meyer is 3-10 against Missouri Western in his career.