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Whitaker Leads the Lady Lions

FLORENCE – UNA Director of Athletics, Dr. Josh Looney, last week announced the hiring of Candi Whitaker as the new women’s head basketball coach. Whitaker and the University agreed to

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Candi Whitaker named UNA Women's Basketball Head Coach

The search for the new Women's Basketball Coach at the University of North Alabama is over.

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Whitaker to MWSU community: 'I want people to know how grateful we are'

Whitaker to MWSU community: 'I want people to know how grateful we are'
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Whitaker to MWSU community: 'I want people to know how grateful we are'

Whitaker to MWSU community: 'I want people to know how grateful we are'
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Whitaker to MWSU community: 'I want people to know how grateful we are'

Whitaker to MWSU community: 'I want people to know how grateful we are'
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Whitaker leaving Western for North Alabama job

Missouri Western head coach Candi Whitaker will leave the women's basketball program after a five-year run, officials announced Monday.

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Missouri Western's Candi Whitaker wins inaugural Woman of Impact Award

Missouri Western's Candi Whitaker wins inaugural Woman of Impact Award
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Kansas , United-states , Missouri , Joseph-post , Theresa-grosbach , Bill-snyder , Joseph-sports-commission-woman-of-impact , Conference-center , Joseph-sports-commission , Stoney-creek-hotel , Missouri-western , Candi-whitaker

Missouri Western women playing with confidence entering Sweet 16 matchup

Missouri Western players gather at midcourt during a practice at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kansas on Sunday. Photo by Tommy Rezac. By TOMMY REZACSt. Joseph PostHAYS, KS - Who thought Missouri Western would be here this season?A Griffon team that won six games the season prior, was picked eighth in the preseason conference poll and lost five of their last seven regular season games."Going from winning six games to 23 is insane," said freshman Jordan Cunningham, who was on last year's roster. "I think we know how good we are and how good we can be and I think that pushes us to work had every day."A 9-0 start caught people's attention. Being 18-3 in early February also turned some heads. A win over Central Missouri in the MIAA tournament helped, but a loss to Missouri Southern in the semifinals the following day left things in question.Would Missouri Western, at 21-9, the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament, get into the big dance? And how would they fare if they did?Getting in as the No. 7 seed in the Central Region bracket, Missouri Western (23-9) has put it all on the line in Hays these last few days, and it's paid off beyond the Griffons' wildest dreams."I don't think any of us expected to be here," guard and St. Joseph native Jaelyn Haggard admitted. "But, obviously that's kind of the goal. So, I think we kind of set a standard for the program. But, we're really excited to compete and make a run for this thing."An astounding 111-77 win over No. 2 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State in the first round and a 72-59 victory over No. 6 seed and MIAA foe Nebraska-Kearney in the semifinals has put Missouri Western women's basketball back into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997."I think we know how hard we work," third-year head coach Candi Whitaker said. "I think we know what we're capable of and we're also very accountable when we don't perform. We've learned from all of those outings where we weren't very good. I think this group has always wanted to learn and get better."Awaiting the Griffons now is another familiar adversary - No. 1 seed and regional host Fort Hays State (30-3). The two teams meet for a third time this season on Monday night at 7 p.m.The Tigers, MIAA regular season and tournament champions, have won 11 straight games. They also beat Missouri Western twice in the regular season - 74-61 in St. Joseph on January 15 and again on February 23 in Hays, 78-69 in overtime.There's something about Hays' arena, Gross Memorial Coliseum, where the Central Region tournament has been held.The Griffons have played well there as of late. They took sixth-ranked Hays to overtime there in late February on their senior night. On Friday, they scored a school-record 111 points while making 15 three-pointers against SWOSU.On Saturday, Missouri Western beat Nebraska-Kearney for the first time in seven meetings with the Lopers and had four players finish in double figures."We like this gym," Cunningham said of Hays' home court. "Regular season, we shot well, and all of these games we have. So, it gives us a little confidence knowing the ball is going in and that helps us."The strong team effort hasn't just been happening Hays. Missouri Western's depth, its bench, has been an advantage all season long.Of the 32 games the Griffons have played so far this season, their bench has scored 20 or more points in 22 different games.Missouri Western is 18-4 this season when their bench scores 20 or more, 9-2 when they score 30 or more and 3-0 when scoring 50 or more.They had a whopping 57 bench points in Friday's win over Southwestern Oklahoma State."The ability to go to your bench and sub and not have drop-offs is wonderful to have for a coach," Whitaker said. "You have to be able to try different things when things aren't going your way.""We are so good because we have so much depth," Cunningham added. "The fact we can play 15-16 (players) per game and some teams are stuck with their top six. It's why we get to run and score and have a good time."Missouri Western now aims for its first regional championship since 1995.With nine total players back from last year's 6-16 team, combined with four new freshmen and three transfers, Missouri Western defied expectations this season, getting back into the Big Dance for the first time in six years.Now one win away from their first Elite Eight berth in 27 years, this Missouri Western team is not preoccupied with whether or not they should be here. Or how they got here. Or how they compare to other teams around the country.The facts are that this Missouri Western team is talented, deep, connected and they want to keep this season going for as long as they possibly can."I've had the most fun playing with this team and these coaches," said Haggard, a fifth-year player who transferred in from Northwest Missouri State. "Hopefully, we can keep running with that for a little while."You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

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Missouri Western stuns Fort Hays State in Central Region title, Griffons Elite 8 bound

Missouri Western women's basketball - 2022 Central Region champions. Photo by Ryan Menley. By TOMMY REZACSt. Joseph PostHAYS, KS - Missouri Western did the unexpected on Thursday and Friday, routing No. 2 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State and then beating No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney in the semifinals after losing to the Lopers twice earlier this season.On Monday, the Griffons did the unthinkable.Missouri Western (24-9), down 20-7 at the end of one, and down 38-17 with two minutes left until halftime, slowly chipped away, took their first lead with 3:04 remaining in the game and held on for a 70-69 win over No. 1 seed and No. 4 ranked Fort Hays State (30-4) in the Central Region championship at Gross Memorial Coliseum on Monday night.The Griffons are Elite Eight bound for just the third time in program history and for the first time since 1995."I mean, it was just unbelievable," coach Candi Whitaker said of the comeback victory. "I don't even know how it happened, to be honest. Other than our team is so gutsy and I'm so proud of their fight."Down 38-23 at the break, Western slowly chipped away at their deficit, outscoring Hays 22-11 in the third quarter and only trailing 49-46 entering the fourth.Hays, who's now 0-3 in regional final games all time, did all they could to stay ahead, hitting 12-of-15 free throws in the fourth quarter alone, but Western shot 8-of-14 from the field in the fourth and made 7-of-9 free throws themselves to continue closing the gap.A big key to closing that gap was Jaelyn Haggard. The graduate student guard, Northwest Missouri State transfer and St. Joseph native scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter alone on two huge three-pointers.She was also 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter. After Haggard's jumper tied the game at 60 with 3:43 left, she had the ball again on the next possession, and got fouled hard on a shot attempt by Hays' Lauren West.After the foul was called, West spiked the ball hard on the floor, resulting in a technical foul. Haggard shot two free throws for the shooting foul, and got to shoot two more due to the technical.Haggard made all four of those shots, and Western led 64-60 with 3:04 left."Every possession at that point was extremely critical," she said. "So, we knew once we had the lead, they're an extremely tough team as well, so you can't let up at any moment. We just tried to run with it as long as we could and continue to be tough."Haggard came up big again with 1:18 remaining, hitting an NBA-range three to put the Griffons up 67-64.Just over a minute later, Hays' Katie Wagner got a basket and one coming out of a Tiger timeout. Wagner's free throw put Hays ahead 69-68 with 14 seconds remaining.Coach Whitaker immediately called timeout after that, giving the Griffons the ball in the half-court. Brionna Budgets, the Central Region tournament MVP, who had been scoreless for the first 39:52 of Monday's game, drove the baseline and put up a fairly open layup with eight seconds left, giving the Griffons a 70-69 lead.Hays called a timeout themselves, got the ball to freshman guard Kate Dilsaver on the left baseline in the closing five seconds. Dilsaver's floater was well off the mark, Western's Trinity Knapp rebounded as time expired, giving the Griffons another historic win in an unforgettable week."Really just down the stretch, we did a great job of executing," Whitaker said. "Bri (Budgets') bucket obviously wins the game for us, but we got a defensive stop at the end to win it."Just, just...kind of lost for words, but just super proud and quite emotional with the swing we had in that game."Budgets was named the tournament's most outstanding player, scoring a combined 38 points in the three games in Hays. Haggard and senior Corbyn Cunningham were named to the all-Central Region team.Cunningham had 15 points for Western on Monday after scoring 12 in each of the first two games of the tournament.Whitaker gave her seniors a ton of credit after Monday's win, including Mychaell Gray, who had six points and three boards off the bench against the Tigers."You just love to watch kids play like it is their last," Whitaker said, "and those three (seniors) played like it. Couldn't be more proud of them."Missouri Western advances to the Elite Eight for the first time in 27 years, and they'll play next Monday in at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Their opponent and game time is still to be determined.The teams who advance to the Elite Eight will be assigned new seeds.But, what a week. It's Western's first win against Fort Hays State in Hays since 2007, their first win over a top five team since 2016 and their first over a top 10 since 2020.Missouri Western's last three wins over top 10 teams have all been against Fort Hays State.Again, this current run is incredible. Six wins last year - Elite Eight this year. A roster with 14 underclassmen, including four true freshmen. A team that lost five of its last seven in the regular season.It's a Griffon team that went 1-6 against the top three teams in the MIAA in the regular season and conference tournament combined.Now, here they are, representing the MIAA in the Elite Eight - one win away from their second ever Final Four appearance and two wins away from their first ever national championship game appearance.Special. Historic. Real. In some ways unimaginable. And pretty fun to witness."We are really playing great basketball and it's the most important thing this time of year," Whitaker said. "This team is really having a ton of fun. I mean, they are just having a lot of fun. So, excited we get to spend another week together and that we still have the opportunity to play basketball." "That's a statement for the kind of team that we are," Haggard added. "We came to compete, and right now, we're peaking. If I'm other teams, I'd be scared to play us. I've said that all week. So, we're going to go to Alabama and keep fighting and keep playing tough and see how long we can make the season go."!!!!!!! PAINT ME A BIRMINGHAM !!!!!@GriffonWBB is Elite 8️⃣ bound!!!!FINAL:MWSU 70 (24-9)FHSU 69 (30-4)First W over Hays in Hays since 07. First Elite 8 since '95.@theinstaballer a game-high 19. Corbyn Cunningham 17. @br1dagoat with the go-ahead bucket with 17 left. pic.twitter.com/nrQlZ5wQV4— Tommy Rezac (@TommyKFEQ) March 15, 2022 RING THE BELL!!!!!!!!Final @GriffonWBB 70Ft Hays - 69ELITE 8 Bound!!! pic.twitter.com/vkcmlsoDis— Missouri Western Athletics (@MWSUGriffons) March 15, 2022 You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.

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Griffons march on to sweet 16

Western gets revenge and beats Nebraska Kearney 72- 59 in third rematch to advance to the Sweet 16.

Missouri , United-states , Josie-weishaar , Alyssa-bonilla , Brionna-budgetts , Corbyn-cunningham , Jefferson-county-north-high-school , Division-ii-sweet , Nebraska-kearney-lopers , Central-regional , Jaelyn-haggard , Head-coach-candi-whitaker