Griffon Women Open Three Game Road Swing at #3 Emporia State

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St. Joseph, Mo. - The Missouri Western women's basketball open up a three game road swing with a tough MIAA contest on Wednesday, January 8 against #3 Emporia State. The Griffons will then travel to Pittsburg, Kan. on Saturday, January 11 for an afternoon game against the Pittsburg State Gorillas. Wednesday's game will tip at 5:30 pm in Emporia, Kan. at White Auditorium while Saturday's contest will tip at 1:30 pm in John Lance Arena.

Griffon Notes
• This marks the 38th season of Griffons women's basketball
• The Griffons will be under 2nd year head coach Rob Edmisson who guided the Griffons to a 16-12 overall record and 8-10 in MIAA play. The Griffons went 1-1 in the MIAA tournament a year ago defeating Pittsburg State 71-67 and falling to #13 Central Missouri 54-53.
• Edmisson is 12-4 in non-conference games under the Griffons with six of those victories coming against GLVC teams. He is 1-2 against MIAA opponents in non-conference games falling to Truman and Central Missouri and defeating Pittsburg State.
• Edmisson won a NAIA National Championship at Oklahoma State University in 2011-12.
• This marks the 82nd meeting with the Emporia State Hornets. The Griffons fell last season against the Lady Hornets in Emporia, Kan.
• This marks the 68th meeting Pittsburg State Gorillas. The Griffons won both meeting last season including in the MIAA conference tournament.
• With their victory over Chadron State to open the season in the fieldhouse the Griffons improved to 18-7 since 1988-89 in season openers. The Griffons are now 11-3 at home, 6-4 on a neutral floor and 1-0 on the road. Last season the Griffons defeated the University of Missouri - Kansas City by a score of 68-51 on November 9, 2012 in Kansas City, Mo. The Griffons had to vacate their 79-60 victory on November 17, 2006 vs. Lincoln University due to NCAA violations.
• In MIAA home openers since the 1989-1990 season the Griffons are 16-8 with one victory vacated in 2006-07 due to NCAA violations.
• The Griffons are 12-12 since joining the MIAA in season openers with one victory vacated in 2006 due to NCAA violations...The Griffons are 6-8 overall on the road and 6-4 at home in MIAA openers (since 1989-1990).
• Since joining the MIAA in 1989-90 the Griffons are 11-13 in road MIAA openers. They had to vacate one victory in 2005-06 due to NCAA violations. The Griffons are won last season 78-76 in their MIAA road opener on January 3, 2013 against Central Oklahoma but lost this season 57-42 against Northeastern State.
• The Griffons have struggled on the road this season falling in three of their four games including two MIAA games. Their only road victory was against the Rockhurst Hawks back in November.
• Since 1988-89 the Griffons are 4-4 on January 8. They are 0-2 at home and 4-2 on the road. They have played Emporia State twice on January 8 falling 78-68 in St. Joseph in 2001 and falling in 2003 in St. Joseph by a score of 63-55.
• Since 1988-89 the Griffons are 2-4 on January 11. They are 1-1 at home with and 1-3 on the road. The last game on January 11 in 2012 when they defeated Truman State 65-64 in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
• This season the Griffons return eight players from a season ago and bring in nine new players which include six junior college transfers and three freshman.
• The Griffons were picked to finish 8th in both the Coaches and Media MIAA Preseason polls.

Coaches vs. Each Program - ESU:
Coach Edmisson is 0-1 against the Emporia State Hornets falling last season in Emporia. Jory Collins is currently 4-1 against the Griffons since being at ESU. Collins is 3-0 in Emporia and 1-1 in St. Joseph.

Series vs. the Lady Hornets:
Emporia State and Missouri Western have met 8 times on the hardwood since their inaugural meeting during the 1976-77 season, an 83-64 Griffon victory. Since then, the Lady Hornets have held the upper edge on Missouri Western, as they hold a 48-33 record through the 35 years. The Griffons are 17-17 against ESU in the Fieldouse and 12-26 in White Auditorium in Emporia. The Griffons and Lady Hornets have matched up 10 times in post season play with Emporia State holding onto a 7-4 advantage. ESU has won 17 of the last 21 games and 12 of the last 13.

Coaches vs. Each Program - PSU:
Griffon head coach Rob Edmisson is 2-0 against the Gorillas at MWSU. Edmisson went 1-0 in St. Joseph and 1-0 in Pittsburg last season. He is also 1-0 against the Gorillas in the MIAA Tournament. PSU's, Lane Lord is currently 7-5 against the Griffons since being at PSU. Lord is 5-1 in Pittsburg and 2-4 in St. Joseph. MWSU has won four of the last seven games.

Series vs. the Gorillas:
Pitt State and Missouri Western have met almost regularly twice a year since the 1976-77 season. Missouri Western leads the overall series 46-21, including a 17-16 record in Pittsburg, a 27-5 mark in St. Joseph and a 2-0 record a neutral sites. The largest margin of victory in the series was a 29-point win (94-65) by the Griffons on Feb. 23, 1985 in St. Joseph. Pitt State's biggest win was a 82-57 win in Pittsburg on Nov. 30, 2011. The most points scored by a team in the series was 101 by the Gorillas in a 101-82 win on Jan. 24, 1996 in Pittsburg. The last time the Griffons defeated the Gorillas on the road was on 3/5/13 by a score of 71-67 in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. The last home victory was on January 30, 2013 when the Griffons won 70-65.

Struggles at the Free Throw Line
The Griffons have struggled at the free throw line shooting just 57.8-percent (163-282) on the season. Just two Griffons are shooting better than 70-percent on the season. In their victory against Nebraska-Kearney the Griffons made 17-of-27 free throws which included 12-of-17 in the second half.

Balanced Attack
The Griffons have three active players who average 6.0 points per game or more and have seven active players who play 13 or more minutes a game. The Griffons do not have one player scoring in double figures.

Rebounding Success
The Griffons have had success rebounding the ball this season averaging nearly 2.4 more rebounds per game than their opponents. They have 35 more offensive rebounds on the season. Tiara Hall and Quenisha Lockett lead the way with 7.0 and 5.9 rebounds per game respectively.

Up Next
The Griffons will hit the road next week on January 15 to take on the University of Central Missouri Jennies. The game will tip at 5:30 pm in the UCM Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

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Griffon Women Open Three Game Road Swing at #3 Emporia State