Missouri Western sweeps doubleheader: women’s blowout, men’s overtime magic
By Calvin Silvers
On Tuesday, Missouri Western State University’s campus was eerily silent as students departed for Thanksgiving break, but inside the MWSU Fieldhouse, the atmosphere was electric for a basketball doubleheader featuring the Griffon women and men.
The evening tipped off with the Missouri Western women hosting former MIAA rival Lincoln in a non-conference showdown. Despite the Blue Tigers’ efforts to upset their old league foe, the Griffons surged above .500 with a commanding 94-52 victory.
The game opened with Lincoln sophomore guard Hanne Nybo drilling a three-pointer to strike first. Griffon senior Alyssa Bonilla, stepping into a bigger role this season, immediately responded with a triple of her own to even the score.
Both teams traded blows early, with neither establishing a sizeable lead through the first eight minutes. Western found success attacking the paint, while Bonilla added another three-pointer to her tally in the first quarter. After Nybo’s buzzer-beating jumper, the Griffons clung to a 21-15 advantage.
The tide shifted decisively in the second quarter, as Western moved back beyond the arc. Bonilla and Meredith Rieker drained back-to-back threes to push the Griffons to a 27-15 lead. After building a 30-15 margin, Lincoln finally broke their scoring drought at the 7:50 mark with a Nybo layup. From there, the Griffons maintained a double-digit lead, punctuated by a Jadyn Schomp layup at the buzzer to send Western into halftime up 42-27.
Lincoln’s momentum completely unraveled in the second half, as Western exploded for 20 unanswered points to start the third quarter. Bonilla led all scorers with 19 points, shooting an efficient 4-for-5 from three-point range. Schomp added 11 points, while Matilda Soderlund and Marie Sepp chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Griffon men followed up with a nail-biting contest against William Jewell that wasn’t decided until the final seconds of overtime.
The Cardinals started fast, piecing together a 14-2 run after Western’s Justin Bubak sank three free throws from a shooting foul. William Jewell extended the gap with strong postplay and timely shooting to take a 24-14 lead midway through the first half.
Western found a spark late in the half, as Julius Dixon buried a three-pointer to cut the deficit to five. The Griffons’ momentum carried into the final moments, with Zion Swader hitting a jumper at the buzzer to trim the Cardinals’ lead to 40-31 at halftime.
The Griffons clawed their way back throughout the second half, setting up a dramatic final two minutes. Swader’s pair of free throws brought Western within five, and his layup on the next possession narrowed the deficit to three.
After a defensive stop, Western’s Zane Nelson drilled a game-tying three-pointer. Moments later, he scored on a fast-break layup to give the Griffons their first lead of the night, 68-66. However, the Cardinals responded with a Bradley Lightbourne jumper at the buzzer to force overtime.
In the extra period, Dixon sank two clutch free throws with 43 seconds left to put Western up 76-74. But William Jewell’s Jordan Jermain answered with a three-pointer to reclaim the lead at 77-76. On the ensuing possession, Ethan Killgore delivered the game-winning basket with just four seconds left, securing a thrilling 78-77 Griffon victory.
Five different Griffons would score in double digits, with Swader leading the way with 17 points. Julius Dixon was not too far behind with 16 points. Zane Nelson added 15, and Kiani Saxon and Justin Bubak scored 13 and 11, respectively.
