By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Western women's basketball team (7-0, 3-0 MIAA) held Lincoln to 1-of-12 shooting to start the game, and then exploded for 23 second quarter points on their way to an 88-52 win at Jason Gym on Thursday.
After winning the opening tip, Lincoln (4-4, 0-2 MIAA) hit a three-pointer on its first possession, but the Griffons held Lincoln scoreless for the next five minutes, reeling off a 10-0 run and rolling to a 19-9 first quarter lead.
"Our post defense was excellent," Missouri Western head coach Candi Whitaker said. "I mean, they love to really pound it in and we were very, very physical. Meeting people and keeping them out of the paint and helping where we needed to, so our awareness was great. I mean, I thought that was the best defensively we guarded in the first half."
Leading 42-19 at halftime, the Griffons used a 30-15 fourth quarter to further pad their lead and score their season-high in points and also earn their largest margin of victory so far this season.
"I was happy we won the fourth," Whitaker said. "We talked about how we lost the third quarter, and we can't have quarters like that."
Corbyn Cunningham had 21 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, while Connie Clarke logged her fourth double-double this year with 14 points and 12 boards.
Alyssa Bonilla scored a career-high 14 points including two made threes. Jaelyn Haggard and Brionna Budgets each dropped 13 points. The Griffons outrebounded Lincoln 42-28 on the night.
Missouri Western turned Lincoln over 24 times, nabbing 13 steals. The Griffons also outscored the Blue Tigers in the paint 46-18.
Lincoln misses tying shot in final seconds, Griffons win 5th straight
Caleb Bennett led four Griffons in double figures with 19 points, as Missouri Western (7-4, 3-0 MIAA) won its fifth straight game with a 78-76 victory at Lincoln.
The Blue Tigers had the ball, down two with 10 seconds left, but a deep two by Ni'Sean Rigmaiden from the left base line missed, and the Griffons held on for their first win at Jason Gym since February 2018.
"I'm glad we found a way to win obviously," Missouri Western coach Will Martin said. "There's a lot of things we're going to have to look at in film and correct. I thought defensively, we weren't nearly as good as we needed to be. We knocked down some shots in big moments, but I feel like we didn't shoot it as well as were capable of."
Reese Glover, who finished with 18 points, knocked down a three-pointer less than three minutes in to give the Griffons their first lead at 3-2. A few possessions later, a Q Mays jumper sparked a 15-0 run to put the Griffons ahead 20-6 with 12:43 to go in the first half.
Western took a 46-38 lead into the locker room, but Lincoln started getting closer to the lead, staying within single digits for the entire second half.
The Blue Tigers (1-6, 0-2 MIAA) tied the game at 59 with 10:03 to go, but a Glover three 18 seconds later put Western back in front. Glover ended up making five threes, while Western was 10-for-25 from three as a team.
The Griffons had a 71-61 lead with 6:57 left, but once again, Lincoln would make it closer, hitting a three with 44 seconds left, making it 78-75.
Lincoln then went 1-for-2 on free throws with 26 seconds left, and Bennett had a one-and-one for Western with 11 seconds left, but he missed the front end, which set Lincoln up for the final shot.
It came down to the final possession, but Missouri Western found a way, overcoming a 35.1 percent shooting effort in the second half.
"I told the guys, good teams find ways to win," Martin said. "This was an ugly one. We found a way to win. I told them, 'Get your stuff, hit the bus and get out of Dodge, man.'"
Q Mays wound up with 15 points, while JaRon Thames came off the bench to score 10.
Missouri Western comes home Saturday to face Central Missouri. The women tip off at 1:30 and the men will follow at 3:30. Both games will be carried on KFEQ Radio (680, 95.3) with coverage starting at 1 p.m.
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