By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western women's basketball team let the Lincoln Blue Tigers hang around for three quarters, but a 28-6 barrage in the fourth led to an 84-53 win for the No. 25 Griffons at the MWSU Fieldhouse Saturday.
After beating Lincoln by 36 points on Dec. 9 in Jefferson City, the Griffons (16-3, 10-3 MIAA) struggled to create separation early, as Lincoln (5-15, 1-13 MIAA) made seven threes in the first half and led it briefly in the first quarter, but the Griffons ended the second quarter on an 8-0 run to go up 41-31 at the break.
"I was not real happy first half," Missouri Western women's coach Candi Whitaker admitted. "I just did not feel like we were locked in. Making really bad decisions defensively. Not chasing a shooter. Not in a stance. Not ready to navigate a ball screen."
The third quarter was still a back-and-forth affair, as the Blue Tigers outscored the Griffons 16-15 in the third and Missouri Western led 56-47 entering the fourth.
The Griffons then started the fourth quarter on a 20-2 run and led 76-49 with 3:36 to go. Missouri Western shot 11-of-15 from the field in the fourth quarter, while Lincoln was 3-of-14 in that same span.
"Really proud of how they finished," Whitaker said. "I mean, they figured it out and got better in the fourth quarter. But, it took us awhile."
Corbyn Cunningham, who had a double-double against Lincoln in the last meeting, finished with a game-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds Saturday. Connie Clarke finished with 15 points, seven boards, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Brionna Budgets had 14 points - all in the second half. Mary Fultz came off the bench to score 12 points to go with three rebounds.
"It started off kind of slow," Fultz said of Saturday's game after having her best scoring output against a conference opponent this season. "It was really hard for us to find a rhythm, but it really showed us how much grit we have that we can come back and pull through and win by a good amount. Showed the depth we have and showed what we can do."
The win is Missouri Western's fourth straight, and it gives them regular season series sweeps against both UCM and now Lincoln.
The Griffon women head to Washburn (9-9, 7-5 MIAA) Tuesday for a makeup game that was originally scheduled for Jan. 8. Tip-off from Lee Arena in Topeka Tuesday is set for 5:30. The game will be carried on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3).
The Ichabod women won their fourth straight Saturday, knocking off Central Oklahoma 98-93 in overtime in Topeka.
MWSU men break losing skid, outlast Lincoln late
The Missouri Western men had to survive a late charge from Lincoln the last time the two teams met in Jefferson City on Dec. 9, and the Griffons escaped with a 78-76 win.
Missouri Western (9-11, 5-7 MIAA) was caught in another back-and-forth affair with the Blue Tigers, but used a 9-2 run late in the second half and made 10-of-13 free throws in the final 20 minutes to beat Lincoln, 65-58, Saturday at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
The win is Missouri Western's first in the 2022 calendar year and snapped a seven-game losing streak that dated back to Dec. 18.
"This team just continues and continues and continues to fight," head coach Will Martin said. "It may not look that pretty on the court, but when you look at it objectively and see what these guys are battling through, it's pretty impressive."
Western got off to a rocky start, trailing 13-4 with 13:44 left in the first half. Starter Caleb Bennett went to the bench in that time with three early fouls, including a technical.
The Griffons, despite shooting 9-for-29 in the first half, scored 19 points off of 15 Lincoln turnovers in the first half alone to tie the game at 27 at halftime.
The first 12 minutes of the second half was very back-and-forth, as the game featured eight ties and 15 lead changes in all. The Griffons reclaimed the lead at 49-46 with 7:05 to go, thanks to a three-pointer from freshman Zion Swader.
Missouri Western would not lose the lead after that.
"When you drop a few games, you start to feel like you're never going to win again," Martin said. "I'm proud of our guys for not giving into the narrative and giving into that mindset and having a victor's mentality instead of a victim's mentality."
The Griffons outrebounded the Blue Tigers 36-30, and turned 22 Lincoln turnovers into 19 points. Missouri Western also made 17-of-22 free throws to secure the win.
Will Eames had a game-high 18 points to go with five rebounds. JaRon Thames had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double this season. The 10 rebounds also tie a career-high for Thames.
In his first career start, Swader finished with nine points and two steals. Taye Fields had four points and seven rebounds. Q Mays came off the bench Saturday for nine points, two rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.
"I love that our freshmen and young guys are stepping up," Martin said. "We need our upperclassmen to step up as well. I thought Will (Eames) did a really good job, I thought JaRon did a really good job. And I thought in the minutes he played, Q was really good as well."
The Griffon men now prepare to battle No. 5 Northwest Missouri State (19-2, 12-1 MIAA) in a rematch Saturday. Tip-off in that game is set for 7 p.m.
The Bearcats, who beat Missouri Western 101-63 in Maryville on Dec. 18, thumped Central Missouri 89-49 at Bearcat Arena Saturday.
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