New era for Griffons: Missouri Western seeks early regional wins in St. Joseph
By Calvin Silvers
As temperatures continue to drop, indoor sports are heating up, and this weekend, all eyes will be on the city of St. Joseph, where the Civic Arena will host the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Central Region Showcase.
The two-day event will feature eight teams battling it out, with four games per day, marking the opening weekend of the Division II basketball season. The Griffons, last year’s MIAA regular-season champions, will kick off the 2024-25 season in their backyard, facing regional rivals Sioux Falls and Augustana.
However, this year’s squad looks a little different. Former head coach Candi Whitaker left to take the reins at North Alabama, and the Griffons will also be without six seniors who graduated from last season’s championship-caliber team.
“I haven’t slept a whole lot, so it’s been nothing but exciting, but I think it’s been nonstop, so you take over a new program and there’s so many like components to it,” head coach Ashton Feldhaus said. “People think is just basketball, you’re recruiting, then you’re scheduling and then, you know, you’re learning everything new with the new university but it’s been exceptional.”
This won’t be the Griffons’ first action of the season, though, as they’re coming off a tough 110-55 loss to division I powerhouse, the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Despite the lopsided score, Western showed some flashes of brilliance, especially from one of their four returning players, Alyssa Bonilla, who scored 19 points against the Hawkeyes.
“It’s a really big role that I’m taking on this year,” Bonilla said. “I mean, being a senior, being my last year, I feel like I’m going to come out here and show these girls that I can be a leader for them and to trust me on the court.”
Last season, Bonilla primarily came off the bench but earned starting experience in nine games. The point guard position always comes with pressure, but her new head coach has complete confidence in Bonilla to run the offense when the ball is in her hands.
“Alyssa will be our catalyst all season long. She is dominant and I’m excited for the role that she’s about to play because she’s never experienced it before,” Feldhaus said. “To have our entire team and she’s steering the ships she’s so ready for it, she doesn’t even know.”
As defending MIAA regular-season champions, the Griffons also grabbed the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament last season.
With significant turnover, Western was picked to finish seventh in the conference by coaches and fifth by the media. While the coaching staff doesn’t put much stock in preseason rankings, the players are eager to prove the doubters wrong.
“I feel like we have a chip on our shoulder for sure,” Bonilla said. “I feel like these teams don’t expect us to be one of the top three, but I feel like we are.”
This weekend carries significant weight, with the potential to secure two crucial regional wins early in the season. Given the current Division II postseason format, every regional victory counts toward postseason positioning, making these early games vital to the Griffons’ playoff hopes.
“These early games are key, to get two regional wins this early in the season when no one is as good as they’re going to be in March, it’s key,” Feldhaus said. “We’re still putting the pieces together, but we have to be locked in from the jump.”
As Feldhaus enters her first year as head coach, she knows the road ahead will have its challenges, but she’s confident in the talent and foundation she’s inherited.
“We have the right 12 on our roster, they’re just exceptional,” Feldhaus said. “They get along well, they are completely bought in.”
The central regional showcase will take place at the Civic Arena Nov. 8-9, as Western will face Sioux Falls at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Augustana at the same time on Saturday.
