ST. JOSEPH Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball (20-9, 14-5 MIAA) is NCAA tournament bound for a third time in four years and the 15^th time in program history.

Missouri Western, the No. 4 seed in the Central Region tournament bracket, will take on No. 5 seed and defending national champion Minnesota State (24-7) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
The game is being played at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kansas on the campus of Pittsburg State University.

The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Tommy Rezac on the call. Pregame coverage will start at approximately 7 p.m.

The game will also be available to stream on the MIAA Network with a subscription.

The winner advances to semifinals on Saturday night at 7:30 to face either No. 1 seed Pittsburg State (29-3) or No. 8 seed Harding (25-6). The regional championship comes up on Monday night at 7 p.m.

Game Schedule for Friday
Game 1: No. 3 Fort Hays State vs. No. 6 Southern Nazarene - 12:00 pm
Game 2: No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul vs. No. 7 Southwest Minnesota State - 2:30 pm
Game 3: No. 1 Pittsburg State vs. No. 8 Harding - 5:00 pm
Game 4: No. 4 Missouri Western vs. No. 5 Minnesota State - 7:30 pm

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.

NCAA tournament history
This trip to the dance is the first for the Griffons under first-year head coach Ashton Feldhaus, who guided MWSU to a 20-9 record in her debut season at the helm, and did so with a unique rebuild of the conference championship program she inherited. Competing with a roster of just 10 student-athletes for the majority of the 2024-25 season, the Griffons reached 20 wins for the fifth time in six years.

They did so with a series of impressive resume-building wins, including a regular season sweep of top-10-ranked Fort Hays State, a road win at then No. 9 Northwest Missouri State and a win over Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 2 to name a few.

The Griffons also scored out-of-conference regional wins over Augustana, Sioux Falls and Minnesota State-Moorhead. Missouri Western boasts the sixth toughest schedule in the country, per the Massey Ratings.

Missouri Western is 13-14 in NCAA tournament games all-time, with regional championships (Elite 8 Appearances) in 1994, 1995 and 2022.

Series History
This game against Minnesota State will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Griffons and Mavericks, and the second straight in NCAA regional quarterfinal. The series is tied 2-2, but Minnesota State scored a 78-58 win against the Griffons in the first round of the NCAA tournament last March in Bethany, Oklahoma.

Best of the Best
Senior Alyssa Bonilla is a first-team all-MIAA honoree and also a member of the all-MIAA Defensive team, while junior Marie Sepp picked up honorable mention all-MIAA honors Tuesday.

Bonilla has had a remarkable senior season, ranking second in the MIAA with 17.5 points per game, second in the league with 5.9 assists per game and No. 1 in the MIAA with 70 steals (2.6 per game) in the regular season. Bonilla is also No. 1 in the MIAA with an average of 18.9 points per game against conference foes.

The senior from El Paso, TX logged four double-doubles on the season and scored 20 points or more in 10 different games. Her 5.9 assists per game currently ranks as the fourth most in a single season in program history, while her average of 2.6 steals per contest is tied for ninth most in a single season at Missouri Western.

Bonilla is also third in the all-time record books with 387 assists and tied for second with 122 games played in her career.

Sepp, a first-year Griffon from Tallinn, Estonia, ranked second on the team with 11.9 points per game. She shot a team best 53.1% from the field and was second on the team with 96 assists.

Sepp scored 20 points or more four times, including a career-best 22 at home against Northwest Missouri State on Feb. 1.

Makin' it Rain, School Record Style
Missouri Western has set a new school record with 290 made three-pointers, shattering the old record of 245 set in the 2006-07 season. The 290 made threes are most in the MIAA and fourth most in the nation. The Griffons are averaging 10.0 made threes per game - most in the MIAA and second most in the nation.

MWSU's 911 three-point attempts are the most of any team in the MIAA, the fourth most of any team in the country and the most in a single season in program history. Their 31.4 three-point attempts per game is second most in NCAA Division II as well.

Stingy Defense = Efficiency
Missouri Western has jumped to No. 3 in the MIAA in takeaways per game with 17.3. With that, MWSU is No. 3 in the league with a +3.00 turnover margin. Their team assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.12 ranks third in the MIAA as well.

2024-25 Griffs
Missouri Western hired its 10th head coach in program history last year, 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.

Worth Noting
Kassandra Caron has emerged as the team's leader in rebounds (5.3 per game) and has scored in double figures 15 times, including a career-best 33 points at Emporia State on Feb. 26.

Jaidyn Schomp has started 18 games, and leads the team with 20 blocked shots.

Meredith Rieker has appeared in every game so far this season, making four starts. Reiker has also made 34 three-pointers on 117 attempts. She scored 15 points on five made threes in an MIAA tournament quarterfinal win over Arkansas-Fort Smith.

Soderlund Shootin'
Matilda Soderlund has been one of the sharpest shooters in the MIAA this season, making 63-of-166 attempts (38.0%) from long range. She ranks No. 2 in the MIAA and No. 29 in the nation in three-point percentage. Soderlund is averaging 2.2 made treys per game - fourth most in the MIAA.

Her 63 made threes are fourth most in the MIAA and tied for 8^th most by a Griffon in a single season.

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.

More D1 Experience
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 22 starts this season for Missouri Western, scoring a career-best 21 points against Fort Hays State in MIAA tournament semifinals. She's scored in double figures on 11 different occasions this season.

Malgorzata Byczkowska transferred after one year at Tarleton State. This year, she's posted a season-best seven rebounds 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 in that season.

From St. Petersburg to St. Joseph
Jessica Ford transferred in from NCAA Division II Eckerd College, following Ashton Feldhaus from St. Petersburg, Florida to St. Joseph.

Ford is averaging 4.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game so far this season, having made 19 starts.

Originally from Marlborough, England, Ford started 22 games for Eckerd last season, averaging 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game, helping the Tritons to a 20-win season and a Sunshine State Conference tournament championship in 2024.

Minnesota State Madness
Minnesota State, once again, looks to contend for a national title this March, coming off of a 32-win season and a national championship win over Texas Woman's University at Civic Arena in St. Joseph, MO last March.

Minnesota State reached the NSIC tournament championship game this year, falling to the top seed, Concordia-St. Paul, 92-73.

Minnesota State has the best scoring offense in Division II and one of the toughest defenses to play against. The Mavericks average 87.5 points per game, the most in the country, while shooting the 11^th-best field goal percentage in the nation at 45.3%. The Mavericks rank 15^th nationally in scoring margin, winning games by an average of 15.3 points.

MSU is aggressive on the offensive glass, averaging the 10^th most offensive rebounds per game in the nation at 16.4. Minnesota State makes a lot of trips to the free throw line, shooting 24.1 attempts per game - the fourth most in the country.

Defensively, behind a full court trap they run for the whole 40 minutes, the Mavericks force the second-most turnovers per game nationally with 27.6 takeaways per contest. The Mavs lead the nation in steals per game with 17.6, while turning those extra possessions into 30.5 points per game. 

Minnesota State returns several key players from their national championship team, including Destinee Bursch, who's is having the best season of her Maverick career. She averages 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 52.2% from the field, earning her first-team all-conference honors this season.

The Mavericks also boast Natalie Bremer, who leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game in 30 starts. Bremer was first-team all-NSIC last year and this year, and was a member of the all-Central Region team in 2024.

Ava Stier leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. She was named to the NSIC All-Tournament team this year.

Minnesota State is head coach by Emilee Thiesee, who boasts a 252-124 record in 13 seasons in Mankato. She's accumulated seven 20-win seasons and now six NCAA tournament trips.

Ashton Feldhaus interview