By RAEGAN NEUFELD
Photos by REBEKAH REED
Missouri Western State University’s women’s basketball team hit a bump in the road at the end of the regular season.
The rough ending didn’t faze the Griffons, though.
Despite losing six of their final nine games entering the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament in Hays, the Griffons earned the No. 7 seed as an at-large bid.
Now, Missouri Western is one of the hottest teams in the country with back-to-back upsets.
On Saturday, the Griffons continued their Cinderella run with a 72-59 win over No. 6 seed University of Nebraska-Kearney.
“I’m just so proud of this bunch,” said MWSU head coach Candi Whitaker, whose team dominated No. 2 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State University 111-77 in the opening round Friday before another victory Saturday. “They had the ability to stick together and handle some adversity, particularly in the first quarter, and come back and string together play after play. We had so many people step up and make big plays and have just great courage to go get it. This time of year, no one’s going to give you anything. You have to attack it.”
The first quarter was all Lopers as they shot 60 percent from the field and 75 percent from beyond the arc, putting them ahead 22-14. However, the Griffons quickly found their rhythm and went on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter. The game became more back-and-forth after that, but Missouri Western was able to keep the lead at halftime, 35-30.
The battle continued in the third quarter, but the Griffons managed to maintain a three-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes. Aided by a double bonus in the last half of the fourth quarter, Missouri Western outscored the Lopers 23-13 to seal the game.
The win Friday for Missouri Western proved to be an additional boost of confidence for the semifinal, especially since the Griffons were 2-8 in their last ten meetings with Nebraska-Kearney and had lost six in a row.
“We didn’t end our regular season with wins, but we were playing great basketball,” Whitaker said. “Going into the conference tournament, that was the message from me. That’s the most important thing this time of year. We went to the conference tournament, played great basketball, and our confidence has continued to grow. When they execute and play together, they’re really good. We’ve stayed in that mindset since coming to Fort Hays.”
“These are tough ones,” said Nebraska-Kearney head coach Carrie Eighmey. “We had a long season with a lot of adversity, and we had a couple of opportunities to maybe pack it in and end some stretches where we were struggling, but our kids are just too high-character. They just kept battling. We got some things turned around and made a good late run in the season to find our way into the regional tournament. Super proud of our kid. I thought we competed really, really hard tonight, but Missouri Western played really well.”
Haley Simental led Nebraska-Kearney in scoring with 13 points. The next Loper in double digits was Elisa Backes, who scored 12. Following her was Klaire Kirsch with eight points and 13 rebounds.
Scoring was balanced on the Missouri Western side. Leading the Griffons for the second game in a row was Brionna Budgetts. The sophomore guard finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Following her and coming off of the bench was Josie Weishaar with 15 points, going 3-6 on 3-pointers. It was one shy of her career-high.
Rounding out the attack was Alyssa Bonilla with 14 points and Corbyn Cunningham with 12. Cunningham was also the leading rebounder for the team with nine.
Out of the top four scorers for Missouri Western, Cunningham is the only upperclassman.
“I think it’s very mature of them,” she said of her teammates’ abilities. “They are really young players, and I think they’ve stepped up to the challenge that coach has presented to them.”
Missouri Western will move on to the championship game, where they will play Fort Hays State for a chance to advance to the Elite 8. The game will be at 7 p.m. Monday, with coverage from Tiger Media Network and a live broadcast on the MIAA Network.
UNK’s Brooke Carlson plays defense on Missouri Western’s Corbyn Cunningham during Saturday night’s semifinals of the NCAA DII Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
UNK’s Haley Simental drives in for a shot against the Missouri Western defense during Saturday night’s semifinals of the NCAA DII Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
UNK’s Maegan Holt drives around a Missouri Western defender during Saturday night’s semifinals of the NCAA DII Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
UNK’s Maegan Holt looks for the ball against Missouri Western during Saturday night’s semifinals of the NCAA DII Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
Missouri Western’s Jordan Cunningham passes in front of UNK’s Klaire Kirsch during Saturday night’s semifinals of the NCAA DII Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
UNK’s Haley Simental tries to break down the Missouri Western defense during Saturday night’s semifinals of the NCAA DII Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
A Missouri Western player goes up for a shot against the UNK defense during Saturday night’s NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
Missouri Western’s Mychaell Gray grabs a rebound in front of UNK’s Trinity Law during Saturday night’s NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
Missouri Western’s Mychaell Gray and UNK’s Klaire Kirsch watch the ball go through the hoop during Saturday night’s NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
UNK’s Haley Simental drives against Missouri Western’s Alyssa Bonilla during Saturday night’s NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
Missouri Western players celebrate their win over UNK during Saturday night’s NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
Missouri Western players celebrate their win over UNK during Saturday night’s NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament in Hays. 
Missouri Western and UNK players go through a postgame handshake line during Saturday night’s NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament in Hays.