By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western women's basketball team saw four players finish in double figures, led by Jordan Cunningham's 14, as the Griffons outpaced Livin' The Dream, 81-59, on Wednesday night in their second and final exhibition of the season at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
Cunningham scored 12 of her 14 points from three, while Corbyn Cunningham and Connie Clarke each added 11 points, and Trinity Knapp chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Leading 41-30 at the break, Western turned it on in the 3rd quarter, opening the second half on a 14-2 run and scoring Livin' the Dream 25-10 in the third quarter.
"I thought we played much better in the third quarter," Missouri Western head coach Candi Whitaker said. "Our energy was better, our bench was better. That's what we focused on at halftime. I thought we were pretty flat coming out of the gate."
Missouri Western turned in a solid shooting performance on the night, finishing at a 46.7 percent from the floor, but were just 5-of-23 from three. The Griffons were also called on 22 fouls Wednesday compared to just nine on Livin' the Dream.
"We have to be better," Whitaker said. "It was a tough environment. It was pretty dead to start, but you have to make your own energy. It shouldn't matter what the venue is like at the time. You have to come to play."
Western was again solid in the lane, outscoring LTD in the paint 54-20 and shooting 57.6 percent on two-point field goals. The Griffons also had 26 points in transition compared to just three by their opponent.
"It was good to have a little bit of a different feel," Whitaker said of playing a second exhibition, after seeing her team beat Peru State 108-43 last Thursday. "We'll have one more scrimmage before we start for real."
The Griffons open up the regular season with the first weekend of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic, hosting University of Sioux Falls on Friday, Nov. 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. That game will be carried on JoeTown 107.5 FM and 1550 AM.
The Griffons then host Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3:30 p.m. That game will be heard on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3 FM).
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