After a home opening victory, Griffon Women's Basketball rode that momentum for a quarter but couldn't sustain in falling to #21 Central Missouri 67-48.
The first quarter was a defensive struggle as both teams shot a cool 21% from the field as UCM scored the game's first six points. However, the Griffs found their range and battled as a Josie Weishaar three point make put the Griffs ahead to which they lead 11-9 at the quarters' conclusion.
Central Missouri went on a 13-2 run to begin the second quarter to take control of the game and lead 32-21 at the halftime break. After a three point make in the first quarter, Weishaar hit two more in the second quarter which accounted for the only makes from the behind the arc in the first half for the Griffs.
After being outscored by eight in the third quarter, the Griffs made a run in the fourth quarter and pulled within 10 with 4:00 to go but could not come all the way back before being defeated by the final margin.
After having the hot hand in the first half, freshman Josie Weishaar led the Griffons finishing with a career 16 points and pulled down four rebounds. Freshman Camille Evans posted double figures for the third time in four games with 10 points while freshman guard Brooke Brown dished out a career high three assists.
The Griffons even their record at 2-2 while Central Missouri moves to 4-0 on the season. This is just the second home loss under Candi Whitaker as her record on Tom Smith Court is now 15-2.
Missouri Western's men improved to 3-0 on the season under first year head coach Will Martin with a 100-81 victory to wrap up the doubleheader.
The last time the Missouri Western men were 3-0 in the MIAA, most of the current team wasn't even born yet. With the Griffons win on Saturday night the team is off to their best conference start since the 1998-99 season.
Taking the floor without injured All-MIAA First Team point guard Tyrell Carroll, the Griffons didn't skip a beat, leading wire-to-wire. MWSU nailed 15 three-pointers going 15 for 35 from beyond the arc, and were paced by five Griffons in double figures.
Reece Glover scored a team-high 20 points , with Q Mays, Will Eames and JaRon Thames adding 16 points each. St. Joseph native and Lehigh transfer Caleb Bennett added 12 points. Mays had five of the team's 20 assists from the point guard position. Sam Siganos had three steals in six minutes.
Twelve Griffons scored in the game and all 16 eligible players played in the contest. The game was also littered in fouls and free throws. The two teams went to the line a combined 79 times. UCM went 35-45 and MWSU went 25-34 from the charity stripe.
Missouri Western's men will be back in action on Thursday as they makeup a postponed game against Northeastern State, traveling to Tahlequah, NE. Missouri Western will then return to action on Saturday, December 12th in the fieldhouse as they host rival Northwest Missouri State in a new game time of 1:30 PM with the men tipping off at 3:30.