ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Women's Basketball (2-7, 0-2 MIAA) concludes the 2025 portion of their schedule with a pair of non-conference games against Great Lakes Valley Conference teams.
MoWest first travels to Missouri's capital city to face Lincoln University in Jefferson City. Tip-off in that game from Jason Gym is set for 5 p.m. That game will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network (GLVCSN.com).
The Griffons then come home Saturday to face McKendree. Tip-off in that game from MWSU Fieldhouse is set for 1:30 p.m. That game will be carried 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 Rob Edmisson as the analyst.
Pregame coverage will start at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will also be available to stream on the MIAA Network with a subscription.
The Griffon women look to snap what's a currently a four-game losing streak, as MoWest is off to its first 0-2 start in MIAA play since 2013-14. The Griffs will resume MIAA play on Jan. 1 and 3 with games at Nebraska-Kearney and at No. 7 Fort Hays State.
Where Were We?
Griffon Women's Basketball scored a 105–53 exhibition victory over Livin' The Dream on Monday in the SJSD Education Day Game, presented by Lehr Construction, at MWSU Fieldhouse, as 2,672 elementary and middle school students from 17 St. Joseph School District schools filled the stands.
MoWest shot 53.2% from the field (42-of-79), including 37.5% from three-point range (12-of-32), and 60% at the free-throw line (9-of-15).
Mia Morel paced MoWest with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting, while also dishing out seven assists and collecting five steals.
Nakiya Harris recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor.
Sydney Lewis led the rebounding effort with 11 boards and added eight points, and
LaNicia Parker chipped in 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Schedule Strength
MoWest's strength of schedule is ranked as the No. 4 toughest in NCAA Division II per the Massey Ratings with four of its first nine opponents being ranked 13th or higher.
Staying Sharp from Long Range
MoWest has continued to be a consistent threat from beyond the arc, ranking second in the MIAA with 81 made threes (t-16th nation) for an average of 9.0 makes per game (11th nation). The Griffs have sunk 34.6% of their attempts from deep (3rd MIAA).
Lindsey Kelderman has the best three-point percentage in the MIAA (47.4%), knocking down 18-of-38 thus far.
Opponents at a Glance
Lincoln (4-6, 2-2 GLVC) has scored two wins over NCAA Division II programs thus far - 59-54 vs. Southwest Baptist and 67-65 at Lewis - both GLVC Conference eins.
A former MIAA member, Lincoln has faced two former conference foes already with a loss at Northwest on Nov. 22 (61-50) and then another loss at Emporia State on Dec. 14 (74-64).
For a program that's not had a winning season since 2011-12, things are off to a better start for Lincoln this year after they went 2-24 the year prior. Addae Houston, a Northwest Missouri State grad and former Northwest assistant under Austin Meyer from 2018-22, is in his second year as head coach of the Blue Tigers.
Another former Bearcat, senior guard and Cameron, Missouri native Laini Joseph, leads Lincoln this season with an impressive 17.5 points per game (2nd GLVC). She's also the lead rebounder with 6.2 boards per contest.
Series History
Thursday will be the 52nd all-time meeting with Lincoln. MoWest has dominated this series with a 44-7 advantage all-time. Lincoln seeks its first win over MoWest since February 2018.
McKendree (5-3, 2-1 GLVC) opened their conference slate with a dominant win over Rockhurst at home (96-50) and then a tight win at Illinois-Springfield (68-66).
McKendree is the lead scoring offense in the GLVC, averaging 74.5 points per game thus far. They're also No. 2 in their conference with 43.1 rebounds per game, and No. 1 in the GLVC with 16 offensive boards per contest.
Junior forward Baylie Parks, an all-conference and all-region pick last season, is off to a great start this season with a team-leading 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Series History
Saturday marks just the third all-time meeting with McKendree in women's hoops. MoWest leads this series 2-0 all-time, including a 77-69 win at McKendree last December. MoWest hit 14 three-pointers in that win last year.
