By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
WICHITA, KS - The Missouri Western women's basketball team used a big second quarter to pull away from Newman and ultimately secure a 74-52 win over the Jets at Fugate Gymnasium in Wichita Thursday.
Leading 18-7 at the end of the first, the Griffons (14-4, 8-2) put up 22 second quarter points to go up 40-19 at halftime.
Newman kept pace with Missouri Western in the second half, but the Jets (6-9, 3-7 MIAA) never really chipped away at their large deficit.
Fourteen Griffons played and 11 of them scored Thursday. Junior Brionna Budgets led the way with a game-high 21 points. She was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line.
Freshman Cleao Murray had 13 points on a pair of made threes. Junior Connie Clarke had a team-high nine rebounds to go with six points.
The Griffons totaled 33 bench points and were a solid 17-of-20 from the foul line as a team.
Missouri Western also outrebounded Newman 42-30, and shot 44.1 percent from the field.
The Griffons have now won seven straight games, and they improve to 8-0 against Newman all-time.
Candi Whitaker postgame
MWSU men get down early, rally comes up short against Newman
Thursday's game reflected an all too similar pattern for Missouri Western men's basketball this season. The Griffons got down early, fought back, but came up short.
Missouri Western, trailing 36-17 with 1:50 to go until halftime, got to within 54-49 with 7:43 left in the game, but the Griffons never got closer, as Newman ended the game on a 12-2 run over the final 3:59 to beat Missouri Western 71-55 Thursday.
Missouri Western (8-7, 4-5 MIAA) struggled to make baskets throughout the night, shooting 32.8 percent from the field, including 6-of-26 from three.
The Griffons were 2-of-11 from three in the second half, and they hit just one of their last nine attempts from long range as they attempted to rally.
Conversely, Newman (6-10, 2-8 MIAA) shot well throughout, making 54.5 percent of their baskets, including 8-of-18 from deep. The Jets were also a solid 15-of-20 at the free throw line. The Griffons were 11-of-18 at the stripe.
Sophomore Taye Fields led Missouri Western with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Julius Dixon logged 12 points and four boards.
Junior Reese Glover finished with six points on a pair of made threes. He's now the all-time leader in career three-pointers at Missouri Western with 235, surpassing Cole Clearman's previous record of 233.
Sophomore Stevie Strong led four Jets in double figures with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Griffons were without starting forward Will Eames (hand injury) and starting center Matt Nunez (stomach bug) Thursday. Missouri Western has now dropped four of their last five games.
Both Griffon teams head to Edmond, Oklahoma Saturday to face Central Oklahoma. The women's game starts at 1:30 p.m. The men's game will follow at 3:30 p.m. Both are on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3, 680kfeq.com).
The Broncho men, ranked No. 7 in the country, are now 16-1 following their 69-58 win over No. 4 Northwest Missouri State in Edmond Thursday. The Bearcats fall to 14-2.
Will Martin postgame
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