ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball (15-7, 10-4 MIAA) got outscored 18-4 in the first 4:30 of the second half, and ultimatelty fell to No. 5 Pittsburg State, 77-62, on Thursday night at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Missouri Western trailed 35-22 at halftime, and struggled to stop Pitt (22-2, 14-0 MIAA) in the third quarter, as the Gorillas were a scorching 12-of-17 from the field and 5-of-6 from three in the third period alone.

The Griffons trailed by as many as 32, but showed some fight late, going on a 23-8 run in the fourth quarter to get back to within 74-60, but by that point, there was only 1:47 to go.

Kassandra Caron led the late rally, as she scored all 18 of her points in the second half, pulling down seven rebounds and hitting 3-of-6 from three. Marie Sepp had 13 points and five assists, while Alyssa Bonilla scored 12.

Grace Pyle led four Gorillas in double figures with 21 points. Pitt State, winners of 13 straight games, shot 29-of-60 (48.3%) from the field and 9-of-24 (37.5%) from three. The Griffs were limited to 26-of-68 shooting (38.2%) and just 5-of-32 (15.6%) from three. Western went 0-of-19 to start from downtown.

Missouri Western is back home to face Missouri Southern (16-10, 8-6 MIAA) on Saturday at 1:40 p.m. That game is the MIAA Game of the Week and will be televised locally on 38 The Spot (Optimum Channel 17 in St. Joseph). It'll also be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and the MIAA Network as well.