KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Missouri Western women's basketball (20-8) jumped out a big lead early, and then overcame a deficit of their own to score a 79-73 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith (18-11) on Friday night at Municipal Auditorium in MIAA tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City.

Missouri Western raced out to an 11-0 start in the first 2:13 of the game and led 17-5 with 5:49 left in the first quarter.

UAFS would have the answer, ending the first quarter on a 12-6 run and then scoring 19 second quarter points to go up 36-35 at halftime.

Missouri Western's largest deficit came at 46-38 with 5:59 to go in the third quarter. After making just four three-pointers in the first half, Missouri Western had consecutive triples from Marie Sepp, Meredith Rieker and Kassandra Caron to nab a 53-52 lead with 36 seconds left in the third.

The Griffons hit three more triples in the fourth quarter and hit 13-of-18 at the free throw line over the final 10 minutes to get some separation late.

Caron had another monster game, this time going for 32 points and a career-best 13 rebounds in her second double-double of the season and the third of her career. Caron also had two assists and two blocked shots.

Rieker hit a career-best five three-pointers to finish with a career-best 16 points. Alyssa Bonilla scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half, and she finished 9-of-10 at the foul line.

Sepp recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 10 boards. Missouri Western was an impressive 24-of-30 on the free throw line, compared to 10-of-12 by UAFS.

The Griffons shot 22-of-60 (36.7%) from the field and 11-of-37 from three (29.7%). Western nabbed 41 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive end.

Missouri Western moves onto MIAA tournament semifinals for the third time in four years, taking on No. 2 Fort Hays State (26-3) on Saturday night at 8:15. The game will be broadcast on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and will be available to stream on the MIAA Network.