The Washburn Lady Blues scored on the opening possession and never looked back last Saturday, Jan. 30, when they beat Missouri Western 74-44.

Missouri Western was beat in every category of the game and didn’t seem to come to life until it was too late in the second half.

Forward Jessica Koch led the Griffons with 13 points, followed by freshman Kayla Vice with 10.

It was the tale of two halves for the Griffons, who went into halftime down by 25 points and seemed to have no rhythm on either side of the ball.

Head coach Lynn Plett tried to adjust with a new strategy for the second half, but nothing seemed to be working for Western.

“We played mostly man-to-man most of the first half and switched to a 2-3 zone in the second half,” Plett said.

Sophomore Kayla Vice blows by a Washburn guard for a quick two points. Vice has 10 points in the losing effort Saturday night at the Looney Arena Photo by Dave Hon

But it was too little too late for the Griffons, who were simply outplayed by a more talented Washburn team.

Perimeter defense was lacking from the Griffons frontcourt for the majority of the first half, which helped Washburn jump out to their big lead.

The Griffons also lost the battle of the boards, being out-rebounded 56 to 32 in the game. Much of this was due to Washburn’s Dayna Rodriguez and Hope Gregory, who had 20 rebounds combined. Meanwhile, on the other side Koch lead the Griffons with eight rebounds, seven of them coming on the defensive end.

The Griffons are now on the outside, looking to make the MIAA tournament with seven games to go. They are currently five games behind Missouri Southern. Plett is staying positive with Missouri Western. He believes there is an opportunity for his team to climb back into the top six.

The Griffons take on the Missouri Southern Lions next in Joplin, Mo, this Saturday, Feb. 6 at 5:30 p.m.