ST. JOSEPH Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball (19-8, 14-5 MIAA) begins postseason play in the MIAA tournament with a Friday night matchup against Arkansas-Fort Smith (18-10, 12-7 MIAA) in quarterfinals.
Tip-off from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City is set for 8:15 p.m. 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 7:45 p.m., or shortly thereafter.
The game is also available to stream with a subscription on the MIAA Network. Missouri Western is the No. 3 seed, while UAFS is the No. 6 seed.
The winner advances to semifinals on Saturday night at 8:15 to face either Fort Hays State (2) or Central Missouri (7).
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.
Flew High Against the Jets
Missouri Western scored 21 second quarter points and 34 more in the third, rolling Newman 91-38 on Senior Day at MWSU Fieldhouse Saturday.
Missouri Western, winners in 8 of their last 10 games to end the regular season, dominated in practically every facet of the game.
Kassandra Caron capped the best week of her career, scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with four rebounds.
Alyssa Bonilla, who played in her 120
th career game Saturday, had a strong Senior Day with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Matilda Soderlund tacked on 12 points, while
Marie Sepp and
Laura Toffali scored 10. Toffali added six boards and four assists.
Missouri Western outrebounded Newman 55-26, including 11-4 on the offensive glass. The Griffons scored 56 points in the paint and shot 52.3% (34-of-65) from the field. MWSU also hit 18-of-22 at the free throw line.
Series History
This game on Friday marks just the second ever meeting with Arkansas-Fort Smith. The only other meeting took place two weeks ago on Feb. 20 at the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, and the Lions came out on top with an 88-80 victory, ending the game on a 19-4 run in the final five minutes.
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). 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 fourth in the all-time record books with 383 assists and tied for sixth with 120 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.
For your Regional Consideration
Missouri Western is ranked No. 4 in the latest Central Region Rankings released by the NCAA on Wednesday.
These regional rankings are the last ones before the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show on Sunday, March 9. That selection show is set to start at 9:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
The NCAA Central Region tournament is set to take place from March 14-17 at the location of the top overall seed. The regional champion will advance to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the Elite Eight, which is set for March 24-28.
Makin' it Rain, School Record Style
Missouri Western has set a new school record with 270 made three-pointers, shattering the old record of 245 set in the 2006-07 season. The 270 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 850 three-point attempts are the most of any team in the MIAA, the second most of any team in the country and the most in a single season in program history. Their 31.5 three-point attempts per game is third 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 +3.15 turnover margin. Their team assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.14 ranks third in the MIAA as well.
2024-25 Griffs
Missouri Western hired its 10th head coach in program history last 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.
Worth Noting
Kassandra Caron has emerged as the team's leader in rebounds (5.1 per game) and has scored in double figures 14 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 two starts. Reiker has also made 28 three-pointers on 100 attempts.
Soderlund Shootin'
Matilda Soderlund has been one of the sharpest shooters in the MIAA this season, making 62-of-158 attempts (39.2%) from long range. She ranks No. 3 in the MIAA and No. 26 in the nation in three-point percentage. Soderlund is averaging 2.3 made treys per game - fourth most in the MIAA.
Her 62 made threes are fourth most in the MIAA and 9
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 20 starts this season for Missouri Western, scoring a career-best 18 points against Northeastern State on Feb. 22. She's scored in double figures on 10 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 4.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game so far this season, having played in every game and making 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.
UAFS Footnotes
Arkansas-Fort Smith made the MIAA tournament field in their first season as members of the league. The Lions won five of their last six games to end the regular season, solidifying their spot in the field.
Anna Trusty was a major conference award winner for UAFS, taking home the MIAA Freshman of the Year award while also being named to the All-MIAA Third Team. Morgan Browning was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention as well.
Trusty led MIAA newcomers this season with 14.5 points per game while shooting 44.8% (137-of-306) from the field. Trusty also added 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. She also tallied six double-doubles on the season and six 20-point games.
Browning is second on the team at 14 points per game, scoring in double figures in 24 of 28 games. She also averaged 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season.
UAFS is head coached by Ryan McAdams in his fourth season, where he's compiled a 47-64 record.
Ashton Feldhaus interview
