Missouri Western women's basketball looks to extend winning streak against rival Northwest Missouri State
Jan. 5—The buzz surrounding Saturday's matchup between rivals Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western is continuing to build as we inch closer and closer to the weekend.
Missouri Western women's basketball will enter its contest against Northwest on an impressive five game win streak, outscoring opponents 403-287 in that time span. It's no surprise this team is on an offensive rampage right now, as the Griffons average the most points in the MIAA at 79 a game.
"When we get away from our offense to get away from our execution, typically we have poor possessions, but when we continue to work and play out of concepts and make people guard different concepts, we have more opportunity for them to make more mistakes," head coach Candi Whitaker said. "We have a lot of great inside out players, you know, we have great post players and we have great shooters."
The Griffons 12-4 overall record is impressive when looking at the opponents on the schedule. Western has faced four teams ranked or receiving votes in the top-25. All four contests were played before Dec. 10, meaning the team was quickly exposed to tough competition.
With Fort Hays State being the last team to beat the Griffons, and the last ranked team Western has faced, it opened the eyes of both the coaches and players. As mentioned, the team has since rattled off five straight wins and are feeling confident about their identity.
"I feel like that game taught us a lot, actually showed us who we were there. Yes I understand that we are capable of beating anybody, but I mean, like the loss, it helped us for the future," junior guard Connie Clarke said. "I think they gave us momentum as well. To like, know that when we watch film, we learned from our mistakes. We learned what we did wrong."
When looking at the Griffons overall, the team has a deep bench that thrives around Clarke and junior guard Brionna Budgetts. Both athletes secured are top-10 scorers in the MIAA.
When looking at what these two can contribute offensively, Budgetts is No. 2 in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (45.7%) and Clarke is No. 2 in the MIAA in field goal percentage (56.5%). Clarke believes what she learned last year has propelled her to more success this year.
"I should say it started over the year, last year. It was a pretty good (season). It was good, but I think this year that I have my confidence, I gained my confidence from last season," Clarke said. "Coach, she gave me a lot of confidence. I mean, I couldn't have confidence without my coach and my teammates believing in me."
This Bearcat team should not be overlooked, as they've won three of the last four matchups against Western, although the Griffons won the last contest 68-52. The Bearcats will look to grab their third straight conference win in Bearcat Arena.
Northwest hasn't had the best success offensively, as they are ranked 12th out of 14 teams in the MIAA, averaging 61.5 points per game. The defense, however, is holding opponents to 62 points a game.
Sophomore point guard Molly Hartnett and sophomore guard Peyton Kelderman will be two players on the scouting report for Western.
Kelderman ranks fourth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (39.1%) and seventh in the MIAA in three-pointers per game at two. Hartnett ranks seventh in assist to turnover ratio (1.8) and has handed out a team-high 46 assists on the year. She has dished out five or more assists in five games so far this season.
"I mean, all games are big games for us, but you know, obviously I think the rivalry means a lot to a lot of people in this area," Whitaker said. "Northwest is a good program and they play a unique style, they're very different than we are. They have good players. Coach Meyer does a great job, and, you know, I don't think they're concerned."
Calvin Silvers can be reached at calvin.silvers@newspressnow.com.
