ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Women's Basketball (5-10, 1-5 MIAA) kept it close with Central Missouri the entire way, but the Jennies (11-4, 5-1 MIAA) held on for a 58-55 win over the Griffons on Saturday at MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph.

MoWest held a lead for just over a minute in the first quarter, but never had a lead from the second quarter on. Trailing 29-21 at halftime, MoWest hung around and cut the deficit to 56-55 with 1:05 to go, thanks to a free throw by Ana Oliveira Dias.

MoWest had chances to tie or take the lead in the final minute, but turnovers on two of their last three possessions nullified that chance. The Griffons had the ball last, and Mia Morel had a strong look at a tying three-pointer on the right wing with about two seconds left, but the shot was just off line.

Dias led MoWest with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She was 2-for-3 from three and 4-of-6 at the foul line. Morel finished with 11 points. LaNicia Parker had 7, and Tamesha Dozier scored 6.

MoWest shot 21-of-50 (42%) from the field, including 4-of-14 (28.6%) from three. The Griffs hit 9-of-11 (81.8%) at the foul line. UCM was limited to a shooting percentage of 31.3% (20-of-64) and 20.5% from three (8-of-39). The Jennies, however, outrebounded MWSU on the offensive glass 15-1, leading to 14 second chance points for the Jennies, who have now won five games in a row.

MoWest stays home this coming Thursday, January 15, to host No. 6 Fort Hays State. Tip-off in that game is set for 5:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to stream on the MIAA Network.