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#17 MISSOURI WESTERN STATE SLIPS BY TWU 86-82
Box Score
 EMPORIA, Kansas (November 16) - Missouri Western State University senior forward Jill Johnson scored 19 of her game-high 30 points in the second half to help the Griffons to an 86-82 come-from-behind win over the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers on Friday night at the Candlewood Suites/Mix 104.9FM Classic in Emporia, Kansas.
The Griffons, who came into the game ranked seventeenth in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Preseason Coaches Poll, needed every bit of Johnson’s second-half surge to overcome the upset-minded Pioneers.
Sparked by sophomore guard Jessica Durr’s 11 points in the first half, TWU held a 36-33 lead at halftime of their 2007-08 season-opener. The Pioneers then outscored the Griffons 8-2 in the first 2:35 of the second half to take their largest lead of the game, 44-35.
The Griffons, however, responded immediately, answering the Pioneers’ push with a 12-3 run of their own to tie the game at 47. MWSU would then capitalize on a handful of TWU turnovers to jump out to an eight-point advantage, 72-64, with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. TWU refused to fold, and after a free-throw by the Pioneers’ Renee Renz, the game was tied again with only 3:02 left on the clock. The deadlock would not last long, as MWSU took the lead for good when senior guard Yanique Javois drilled a three-point shot (her fifth of the game) on the Griffons next possession. The Pioneers failed on their final chance to tie the game when freshman guard Jessica Hanna missed a three-point shot with 14 seconds left to play.
TWU head coach Beth Jillson said the difference in the game was the Griffons offensive execution in the second half.
“When they needed a basket, they got it,” said Jillson. “We didn’t have an answer for Johnson, and she really hurt us in the paint as the game went along. I thought we played hard, but we just couldn’t get the big basket when it counted.”
Durr (pictured) led the Pioneers with 22 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior forward Savannah Thompson added 20 points for TWU while Renz finished with 14.
Javois (25 points) and freshman forward Jessica Koch (13 points) joined Johnson in double-figures for the Griffons (1-0). Johnson also led MWSU with nine rebounds in the game.
The Pioneers (0-1) will stay in Emporia and play the host team of the tournament, Emporia State University, on Saturday, November 17, at 7:30 p.m.
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