By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western women's basketball team got off to a 15-0 start in Thursday's exhibition against NAIA school Peru State, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game.
The Griffons never let the Bobcats get even close, as they rolled to a 108-43 win at the MWSU Fieldhouse in front of 407 fans.
Missouri Western led 50-13 at the break, and had a terrific night all around, shooting 56 percent from the floor and forcing 33 turnovers.
"I thought we did a really good job early of being active," said Griffons head coach Candi Whitaker. "We were much more active early. Loved the energy and the effort."
The Griffons dominated in practically every category. They outscored Peru State 64-14 in the paint, forced 20 steals, blocked nine shots and doled out 32 assists to just 10 turnovers.
"The assist-to-turnover ratio says everything," Whitaker said. "When you can share the basketball like that, it's what you want offensively. I thought we were extremely unselfish, finding open players and really sharing it. Got a great inside out attack. Everyone who came in really contributed. I was excited that all of them got some good minutes and all did well."
Fourteen different Griffons cracked the scoring column Thursday. Senior Corbyn Cunningham led the way with a game-high 16 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting night. Sophomore and Missouri State transfer Trinity Knapp had 11 points along with a game-high six rebounds.
Freshman Alissa Bonilla and sophomore Brianna Budgets each had 10. Bonilla, a true freshman from El Paso, also had a game-high seven assists and three steals.
"There was good energy in the building and it was a lot of fun," Whitaker said. "I enjoyed watching our team get up and down and play fast and share the ball."
Peru State got their scoring going a bit in the third quarter, scoring 18 points in that frame. Still, the Bobcats (0-2) shot just 20.8 percent from the field all night, including 3-of-17 from three.
The Griffons were slow to start from three, making just 2-of-12 in the first half, but they sunk five triples in the second half. Bonilla and freshman Jordan Cunningham each made a couple.
On a night where Western scored 64 points in the paint, a 7-of-25 clip from beyond the arc isn't the worst thing in the world.
"I feel good about our ability to shoot the three," Whitaker said. "I think when you combine that in the mix and are still getting paint touches, which is important to us, we have a super balanced attack offensively.
Missouri Western stays home to host the Livin' the Dream Women's Exhibition Team in a Wednesday scrimmage at 6:30. The LTD Women's Team is comprised of former college and current professional players that travel to compete against top-level NCAA, NAIA, JUCO and International Professional teams.
"This is going to be a different-style game, this is going to be a different level of competition," Whitaker said. "I think it will be really good for us."
After that, the Griffons have their first official game at home on Friday, November 12 against Sioux Falls. Tip-off in that game is set for 7:30.
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