ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball (15-6, 10-3 MIAA) returns home for a huge week of MIAA play. The Griffons first face No. 6 Pittsburg State (13-0, 21-2) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and then take on Missouri Southern (16-9, 8-5 MIAA) on Saturday at 1:40 p.m. in the MIAA Game of the Week televised on 38 The Spot.

Both games will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Tommy Rezac and former Missouri Western women's basketball coach Rob Edmisson on the call. Saturday's game is available on TV locally in St. Joseph on Optimum Channel 17.

Both games will be available to watch with a subscription on the MIAA Network.

Thursday will be Student-Athlete Academic Recognition Night, as well as Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night. Saturday's game will be a Pink Out theme and also St. Joseph Appreciation Day.
 
LISTEN - Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen)
Live broadcasts of Missouri Western athletics are available on The Varsity Network app. All home and away football games, along with all home and away men's and women's basketball games, are available to listen to for FREE on the Varsity Network App and at GoGriffons.com/listen. Available on iPhone and Android, fans can access free audio streams for game days on the Varsity Network App. Fans can also receive push notifications as reminders for upcoming games and broadcasts.
 
Once you download The Varsity Network app, search 'Missouri Western' and select which Griffon teams you want to follow. For more information on The Varsity Network and how to listen live to the Griffons, click here. Audio broadcasts can also be found at GoGriffons.com/listen. Audio broadcasts will also be archived at GoGriffons.com/listen and on the Varsity Network App in the 'On Demand' section.

What a Week in Oklahoma
The Griffons won back-to-back MIAA road games last week for the first time this season. After a 64-51 win at Rogers State last Thursday, Missouri Western scored 55 second half points and rolled to a 93-67 win at Central Oklahoma this past Saturday at the Hamilton Fieldhouse.

The Griffons got off to a 9-3 start and never trailed, leading 22-8 early in the second quarter. UCO (6-17, 5-9 MIAA) fought back and got to within 35-28 with 49 seconds left before halftime. Malgorzata Byczkowska, however, hit her second three-pointer of the game with six seconds left to give the Griffons a 38-28 halftime advantage.

Missouri Western was nearly unstoppable in the third quarter, hitting 12-of-18 from the field and 6-of-8 from three in that period alone. Meredith Rieker hit three triples herself within the first three minutes of the second half to put the lead at 49-31 with 7:41 left in the third quarter. The Griffons outscored UCO 32-20 in the third and led 70-48 entering the fourth.

Missouri Western saw all 10 players play and score, as the Griffs added 23 points to their total in the final 10 minutes. Marie Sepp led the scoring with 17 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Kassandra Caron was sound off the bench with a season-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and five rebounds.

Alyssa Bonilla had 13 points, six assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block. Rieker finished with a season-high 11 points and a career-best seven rebounds. Jaidyn Schomp scored 10 points, all in the second half, to go with a career-high tying seven boards. The Griffons shot 36-of-72 (50%) on the day, including 12-of-37 (32.4%) from three. MWSU outrebounded UCO 42-34, including 10-6 on the offensive glass.

Missouri Western doled out 21 assists to only 10 turnovers. The Griffons scored 22 points off of 14 UCO turnovers and outscored the Bronchos in the paint, 46-24.

Series Histories
Thursday is the 91st all-time meeting with Pitt State. Missouri Western owns a resounding 54-36 advantage in this series, though Pitt State has won three of the last four in this series, including a 75-55 win in MIAA tournament semifinals in Kansas City last March.

Saturday marks the 101st all-time meeting with Southern. The Griffons have dominated this series historically, 62-38, though the two teams have split the last six meetings since 2021.

Top of the Charts in KPI
 Missouri Western women's basketball ranks No. 1 in the first KPI Standings released by the MIAA Conference on Monday. 

The KPI is used only for MIAA tournament seeding. The MIAA win-loss standings will still determine the regular season champion. KPI ranks every team's wins and losses on a positive-to-negative scale, using opponent's winning percentage, opponent's strength of schedule, scoring margin, pace of game, location and opponent's KPI ranking.

Missouri Western boasts a 13-4 record against Central Region competition. The Griffons have knocked off three top ten opponents this season, two of them on the road, and are tied with Nebraska-Kearney for the third best in-conference record. What's more, Missouri Western's strength of schedule ranks No. 6 in the nation on MasseyRatings.com.

Makin' it Rain
Missouri Western has made 212-of-647 three-point attempts (32.8%) so far this season. Their 212 makes are most in the MIAA, fifth most in the nation and the second most in a single season in program history. The Griffons are averaging 10.1 made threes per game - most in the MIAA and second most in the nation.

MWSU's 647 three-point attempts are the most of any team in the MIAA, the second most in a single season in program history and third most of any team in NCAA DII. Their 30.8 three-point attempts per game comes in at third most in NCAA Division II.

Stingy Defense = Efficiency
Missouri Western has jumped to No. 1 in the MIAA in takeaways per game, forcing a league-best 18.2 turnovers per game. With that, MWSU is now No. 3 in the league with a +3.43 turnover margin. Their team assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.06 ranks third in the MIAA as well.

2024-25 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 squad 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, is perhaps the most versatile guard in the MIAA this season. Bonilla is averaging 17.3 points (2nd MIAA), 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists (2nd MIAA, 7th nation) and 2.9 steals (1st MIAA, 19th nation) per game. Her 1.8 A/TO ratio ranks No. 5 in the MIAA as well. Bonilla has now logged three double-doubles on the season and has scored in double figures in 20 out of 21 games this year. She's scored 20 or more points seven times this year as well.

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 16 games thus far, and leads the team with 17 blocked shots. She's also averaging 4.3 points and 3.6 boards per game. Rieker has appeared in every game so far this season, including her first career start vs. Washburn on Jan. 25, and has made 22 three-pointers on 74 attempts.

Soderlund Shootin'
Matilda Soderlund has been one of the sharpest shooters in the MIAA this season, making 53-of-128 attempts (41.4%) from long range. She ranks No. 2 in the MIAA and No. 18 in the nation in three-point percentage. Soderlund is averaging 2.5 made treys per game - third most in the MIAA. Her 53 made threes are fourth most in the MIAA.

Soderlund is averaging 9.9 points per game this season for the Griffs, having scored in double-digits nine times, including a career-best 24 points against McKendree on Dec. 18.

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.

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.

Ford is averaging 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game so far this season, having played in every game and making 16 starts.

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.

More D1 Experience - Starts with Sepp
Marie Sepp comes to MWSU after two seasons at Division I University at Albany. So far at MWSU, Sepp is averaging 12.6 points per contest this season. She scored 22 points, a career-best, against Northwest Missouri State on Feb. 1. Her field goal percentage of 53.8% ranks as the 4th best in the MIAA. Sepp appeared in 54 total games and scored 38 total points in her two years at Albany.

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 14 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. She's started three of the last four games and posted a season-best seven rebounfs against Northwest on Feb. 1 and a season-best 8 points against UCO on Feb. 8.

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.

Pitt Perfect
Pittsburg State comes in as the only team in the MIAA with an unblemished record in league play at 13-0. The Gorillas have won 12 straight and are an impressive 7-1 in true road games.

Pitt State leads the MIAA in scoring offense, putting up 81.5 points per game. That's the eighth most of all teams in NCAA Division II. The Gorillas are doing it behind a field goal percentage of 48.2% - the best in the MIAA and the best in the nation.

Pitt State leads the MIAA and is No. 4 in the nation with a 38.3% rate from beyond the arc. The Gorillas lead the MIAA with 42.4 rebounds per game, which is 18th most in the nation. Pitt State has a +11.2 rebounding margin on the season - the best in the MIAA and the sixth best in the nation.

Karenna Gerber has been the north star for this Pitt State team, setting a program record with 32 career double-doubles. She leads the team this season with 15.7 points (7th MIAA) and 8.6 rebounds per game (3rd MIAA). Gerber is shooting 57.6% from the field this season - the third best field goal percentage in the MIAA and the 12th best in the nation.

Grace Pyle is another Pitt State veteran, and has been a three-point threat her whole career. She ranks No. 2 in the MIAA this season with 59 made threes and No. 4 in school history with 226 made threes in her career.

Harper Schreiner is No. 1 in the MIAA and the nation with a 3.18 assist-to-turnover ratio (108 assists to 34 turnovers). 

Southern Standouts
Missouri Southern is starting to play better late in the year, having won five of their last seven games entering the week.

Southern ranks No. 2 in the MIAA with a three-point percentage of 32.9%. Ryan Franklin is the lead scorer with 13.7 points per game. She's also the lead rebounder with 7.5 boards per game - tied for sixth most in the MIAA. Former Griffon Mackenzie Hart is Southern's leader in steals with 40 - the fifth most in the MIAA. 

Hart played 32 games and made two starts for the Griffons last season, averaging 6.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. She also made 36 threes for the Griffs last season after enjoying an All-American season at Johnson County Community College in 2022-23.