ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Luke Scheidecker secured his first win as head coach, and Griffon women's basketball (1-2) scored its first win of the 2025-26 season, topping Minnesota State-Moorhead, 69-58, on Friday night in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Central Region Showcase at Civic Arena in St. Joseph.

The Griffons were locked into a tight battle early, and trailed 22-19 with 7:03 left in the second quarter. Tamesha Dozier gave MoWest a 24-22 lead at the 5:48 mark with a three-pointer, and the Griffons never trailed after that point.

Leading 35-28 at halftime, MoWest absorbed an 8-0 run by the Dragons (0-1), who pulled to within 39-38 with 4:14 left in the third quarter. But, MoWest went on a 5-0 run late in the third, sparked by another Dozier three-ball, pushing the Griffon lead to 44-38 with 3:18 to go in the third.

MoWest mustered a 54-47 advantage entering the fourth quarter. The Griffon lead was as big as 10 points in the final period. MSU-Moorhead hung around, but ultimately couldn't close the gap. The Griffons hit three of their last four free throws in the closing minutes as well.

Ana Oliveira Dias led the Griffs with 15 points, going 4-of-6 at the foul line. Mia Morel had 13 points, going 2-of-5 from three. Dozier had 10 points off the bench, going 3-of-5 from deep. MoWest shot 10-of-24 (41.7%) from three and 23-of-56 (41.1%) from the field overall.

MoWest is back at Civic on Saturday to face No. 11 Concordia-St. Paul. Tip-off in that game is set for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen).