ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Women's Basketball (2-5) begins MIAA conference play this week with a home game against Northwest Missouri State (5-3) on Tuesday night.
Tip-off from the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph is set for 5:30 p.m. The game will be carried live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Voice of the Griffons
Tommy Rezac on the call and former Griffon women's basketball coach Rod Edmisson as the analyst. Pregame coverage starts at 5 p.m.
The game is also available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
Where Were We?
MoWest played a pair of games in the state of Arkansas the weekend before Thanksgiving, facing No. 10 Harding on Nov. 22 and then Ouachita Baptist this past Monday.
In the game at Ouachita, the Griffons held a lead for nearly 30 minutes, but the Tigers went on a 9-0 run in the final 50 seconds to come away with a 78-70 win in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
In a game that had 11 lead changes and seven ties, MoWest led by as many as seven points and led 70-69 with just 1:05 remaining after a layup by
Nakiya Harris. Ouachita Baptist, however, answered back with a layup of their own to jump in front 71-70 with 50 seconds left.
The Tigers never trailed after that and proceeded to make 7-of-8 free throw attempts in those final 50 seconds to pad their lead.
LaNicia Parker led the Griffons in scoring with 19 points. She also had seven rebounds.
Ana Oliveira Dias tallied 18 points to go with five assists. Harris had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with four points.
Schedule Strength
MoWest has played, arguably, the toughest schedule in NCAA Division II thus far, with four of its first seven opponents ranked 13th or higher in the WBCA Coaches' Poll. The Griffons have shown the ability to score as well, ranking third in the MIAA with 74.3 points per game, while shooting 43.4% (3rd MIAA).
Staying Sharp from Long Range
MoWest has continued to be a consistent threat from beyond the arc, leading the MIAA with 67 made threes (2nd nation) for an average of 9.6 makes per game (12th nation). The Griffs have sunk 37.6% of their attempts from deep (1st MIAA, 20th nation).
Lindsey Kelderman has the best three-point percentage in the MIAA (51.6%), knocking down 16-of-31 thus far.
Opponent at a Glance
Northwest is a new-look team this year, as the Bearcats return only 25% of their scoring from the season prior. Northwest graduated five seniors last year - three of whom were the top three scorers. The 'Cats have since added three freshmen and three transfers.
One of those newcomers, junior and Black Hawk CC transfer Andrea Lopreato, leads Northwest out of the gate with 15.1 points per game (6th MIAA). True freshman Bailey Birmingham has been impressive as well with 12.9 points per outing.
Defensively, sophomore Sadie Maas has impressed with 6.5 rebounds per game and a whopping 17 blocked shots (2nd MIAA). Northwest, who went 15-15 last season, owns wins over Division II members Sioux Falls, Rockhurst, Lincoln and William Jewell. They also beat NAIA Graceland the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
As usual, defense is the strength of coach Austin Meyer's team with Northwest holding opponents to 54.3 ppg (2nd MIAA) and just 33.6% shooting (1st MIAA). The Bearcats also lead the league so far with 33 blocked shots.
Tuesday marks the 84th all-time meeting with Northwest. MoWest leads the series 51-32 and has won each of the last seven meetings dating back to 2022.
