ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Griffon Women's Basketball (9-15, 5-10 MIAA) is back home to face Arkansas-Fort Smith (4-20, 3-12 MIAA) on Thursday and Northeastern State (16-8, 8-7 MIAA) on Saturday.
 
Tip-off from MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph is set for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The games will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) with Voice of the Griffons Tommy Rezac on the call alongside former Griffon head women's basketball coach Rob Edmisson. The game is also available to watch on the MIAA Network with a subscription.

Saturday's game will be Senior Day for five Griffon seniors - Meredith Rieker, Mia Morel, Lindsey Kelderman, Ambranette Storr and Tamesha Dozier.
 
Where We Left Off
Griffon Women's Basketball scored an 85-75 win at Missouri Southern on Saturday at Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium inside the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center in Joplin. MoWest, who's now won three of its last four games to stay in the mix for an MIAA tournament bid, started strong right away, leading 10-3 at the 6:41 mark of the first quarter.
 
MoWest was sharp out of halftime, hitting a trio of three-pointers in the third quarter to build a 59-54 lead entering the fourth.
 
The Griffon lead was 66-56 with 8:03 to go, thanks to another three from Nakiya Harris. Southern tried to hang around, getting to within 77-73 with 53 seconds to play, but Sydney Lewis answered with a basket 'and-one' with 45 seconds remaining, pushing the lead back to 80-73.
 
Mia Morel was outstanding with a game-high 30 points, shooting 11-of-18 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three and 3-of-4 at the foul line. She also added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
Lewis scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, shooting 7-of-8 from the field with four rebounds. Ana Oliveira Dias tallied her first double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-best 11 assists. LaNicia Parker also came up big off the bench with 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
 
MoWest shot 53.3% (32-of-60) from the field, including 12-of-25 from three. That's the most three-pointers MoWest has made against an MIAA opponent this season.
 
First Half Hindrances
MoWest has gotten off to some slow starts this season, trailing at halftime 14 different times. MoWest is 3-13 this season when tied or trailing at halftime, but 6-2 when leading at halftime.
 
MoWest has trailed at halftime by 14 points or more seven times this season. The Griffons have often shown the ability to fight back, but at times have come up short, with nine of their 15 losses coming by 10 points or less. Seven of the 15 losses are to ranked opponents.
 
Crunching Numbers
MoWest's schedule is ranked as No. 4 toughest in NCAA Division II, per the Massey Ratings, with four of its first six opponents being ranked 13th or higher. MoWest has played seven ranked opponents this season - all of them ranked No. 20 or higher
 
MoWest will have faced six teams this season that made the NCAA tournament in 2024-25, and five teams that finished last season ranked 13th or higher in the WBCA Coaches' Poll. The Griffons have lost to just one team this season with a losing record - at Nebraska-Kearney (13-14) on Jan. 1.
 
Staying Sharp from Long Range
MoWest continues to be a threat from beyond the arc, ranking No. 2 in the MIAA with 190 made three-pointers for an average of 7.9 makes per game (No. 1 MIAA).
 
The Griffs have sunk 33% of their attempts from deep (No. 2 MIAA). Mia Morel leads the way with 50 made three-pointers (No. 3 MIAA), shooting 34.2% from deep (No. 3 MIAA).
 
Worth Noting
MoWest ranks No. 2 in the MIAA in total steals (232) and No. 1 in steals per game (9.67). Ana Oliveira Dias is No. 2 in the MIAA in steals (54), averaging 2.3 swipes per game. Dias also ranks No. 3 in the MIAA with 4.7 assists per game.
 
Opponents at a Glance
Arkansas-Fort Smith (4-20, 3-12 MIAA) has had its struggles in its second year as members of the MIAA. Starting 1-11, UAFS has mustered conference wins over Missouri Southern, Newman and Nebraska-Kearney - all at home. The Lions are 1-10 in true road games, including 0-8 in MIAA road games.
 
UAFS is a young team with five true freshmen, four sophomores and just one senior. They also added six transfers to the mix. Telisha Brown, one of five UAFS returners from last season, leads the team with 10.9 points per game.

Series History
Thursday is just the third all-time meeting with UAFS. The previous two meetings took place last year. UAFS beat MWSU in Fort Smith last February, 88-80, but MoWest beat the Lions in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals last March, 79-73 in Kansas City. So, this Thursday marks UAFS' first game ever played in St. Joseph.
 
Northeastern State (16-8, 8-7 MIAA) was one of the hottest teams in the league less than a month ago, sitting at 16-3 on the season after an 80-76 win at then No. 11 Pittsburg State on Jan. 28. However, the Riverhawks have since lost five straight games - all five of those losses by 10 points or fewer.
 
The Riverhawks are an excellent free throw shooting team, ranking No. 1 in the MIAA and No. 2 in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage (81.1%). NSU is also No. 1 in the MIAA with a turnover margin of +3.61.
 
Series History
Saturday will be the 21st all-time meeting with Northeastern State. MoWest owns a 13-7 advantage in this series, winning 12 of the last 14 meetings since December 2014. NSU hasn't won in St. Joseph since February 2013.