ST. JOSEPH, MO -- The SBU Lady ‘Cats went on the road to Missouri Western to face the #2 team in the nation, along with their 18-0 record. The Lady ‘Cats played a tough game, but fell to the Lady Griffons 75-89.

Livia Brito battled Inga Buzoka of MWSU. Brito finished with 20 points.

SBU's 75 points came against Western’s good defense, ranked #3 in the MIAA, which had been allowing an average of only 59.3 points per game.

Coach Jim Middleton agreed that SBU’s offense is improving each game, and offered some general thoughts on tonight’s game.

“We were good enough tonight enough offensively. But we’ve got to get going defensively. If we can just get passionate about our defense – we’ll be in good shape.

Cortney Shewmaker drives by a Missouri Western defender.

Our bench – in general – was good. I thought overall that we got some good play from several players. Livia (Brito) has had a great week. It was good to see Rachel (Graves) shoot the ball well again. But it comes back to defense. If our defense gets better – we’ll surprise some people. I hope we can get to the free throw line more. The players are generally excited right now. The loss against Truman the other night didn’t get them down. They know they are doing better. I like their mindset right now. We’ll take a day off tomorrow – then come back against Northwest Missouri on Saturday.”

The Lady ‘Cats were behind by only 2 (36-38) at the half. In the second half, Amber Wheeler made a 3-pointer with 13:20 left, which tied the score 55-55. But from that point, Western took control of the game, outscoring the Lady ‘Cats 34-20.

SBU was led in scoring by Livia Brito, with 20 points. Rachel Graves was 4-7 from three-point range, which accounted for all of her 12 points.

Missouri Western was led by Inga Buzoka, with 27 points. Tera Peterson scored 20.

SBU shot 44.6% from the field, and shot an impressive 40.9% from the three-point line.

The Lady ‘Cats are on the road next this Saturday, January 27, traveling to Northwest Missouri State. Earlier this season, the Lady ‘Cats fell to Northwest at home in an overtime thriller. Tipoff is scheduled at 5:30.

Final Stats