Western women’s season ends in NCAA Tournament

By Jacob Meikel

The trip to Bethany, Oklahoma was short lived for Missouri Western women’s basketball, as it fell in the first round of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament on Friday.

The No. 2 seed in Western got its shot in the Big Dance after missing out in 2023. Even though the Griffs excited early in the MIAA Tournament by falling to eventual champion Pittsburg State, the extra time off wouldn’t prove to benefit the Griffs when they faced a hot No. 7 seed in Minnesota State, who had won 24 of its last 25 games heading into the first round of the regional tournament.

Western would have a hard time getting the metaphorical lid off of the rim to start the game as its first points wouldn’t come until the 6:36 mark of the first quarter on a Tiani Ellison layup.

It wasn’t the hottest start for Minnesota State either out the gate, but once Western saw its first points on the scoreboard, Minnesota State would kick it into high gear by out scoring the Griffs 20-4 in the opening quarter.

The Mavericks would keep their foot on the pedal, extending their lead to as much as 26 late in the third quarter and wouldn’t give Western any chance of making a comeback.

Turnovers and a rough night shooting from deep would be the ultimate pitfalls for Western in the opening round contest. The team that was No. 1 in turnover margin and assist/turnover in the MIAA this season had 25 turnovers and just 10 assists for the game. The Griffs also had the second most three-point field goals in the conference this season but shot just 2-22 from deep on Friday.

Alyssa Bonilla led Western with 15 points against Minnesota State. Bonilla also had the most minutes of any player on Western with 27 minutes played.

The Griffon women end their season at 25-6 and claim the MIAA regular season title.