ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Women's Basketball (2-6, 0-1 MIAA) resumes MIAA conference play this weekend with a road game at Emporia State (4-3, 0-1 MIAA) on Saturday afternoon.
Tip-off from William L. White Auditorium in Emporia, Kansas is set for 1:30 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. Pregame coverage starts at 1 p.m.
The game is also available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription. Both teams seek their first conference win of the season after Northwest Missouri State beat both the Griffons and the Hornets to open conference play this week.
Where Were We?
Griffon Women's Basketball faltered in the fourth quarter in a 62-48 loss to Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
MoWest got off to a decent start, leading 11-8 at the end of the first quarter, and then leading 18-10 with 8:20 left in the second quarter after a Nakiya Harris three-pointer.
Northwest charged back and tied the game at 27-27 by halftime. The third quarter was back-and-forth, as the Bearcats eked out a 42-41 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Griffons never could get going in the fourth, shooting only 2-of-17 in the final 10 minutes. Northwest got up by double digits at 56-46 with 4:28 remaining, and the lead only grew from there.
Northwest, who had lost seven games in a row to MoWest dating back to 2021, ended the game on a 12-2 run in the last 6:05 to secure their fifth straight win overall.
Harris led the Griffons with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Sydney Lewis had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Jada Smith and Mia Morel each scored seven points.
The Griffs were limited to 16-of-55 shooting (29.1%) and a 7-of-23 mark (30.4%) from three.
Schedule Strength
MoWest's strength of schedule is ranked as No. 3 toughest in NCAA Division II per the Massey Ratings with four of its first seven opponents being ranked 13th or higher.
Staying Sharp from Long Range
MoWest has continued to be a consistent threat from beyond the arc, leading the MIAA with 74 made threes (5th nation) for an average of 9.2 makes per game (12th nation). The Griffs have sunk 36.8% of their attempts from deep (2nd MIAA, 22nd nation).
Lindsey Kelderman has the best three-point percentage in the MIAA (53.1%), knocking down 17-of-32 thus far.
Opponent at a Glance
Emporia State has a new leader this year with Melissa "MJ" Baker taking the reins as the ninth head coach in ESU women's basketball history. She had previously spent eight years at Eastern Florida State College as the head coach, going 183-58 in that time with three conference titles and three trips to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.
Now with the Hornets, Baker has led Emporia State to a 4-3 start, including wins over GLVC members Southwest Baptist, Missouri S&T and Quincy. The Hornets signed two freshmen and six transfers to this year's squad while also returning four players from last year who scored five points per game or higher.
Grad student Kaitlyn Sanders has been the lead scorer with 17.5 points per game (2nd MIAA). Senior Macey Gandee is the lead rebounder with 6.3 boards per contest. Defensively, the Hornets have an MIAA-best 66 steals (11 per game).
Saturday marks the 103rd all-time meeting with Emporia State. The Hornets lead this series 60-42, but MoWest has won seven meetings in a row and eight of the last nine since 2022.
