Box score | Season stats

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The SBU Bearcat women got the result they needed in the afternoon games, with Pittsburg State defeating Nebraska-Omaha. When their game with Missouri Western started, SBU's postseason chances rested solely in their control. The Bearcats took care of business, winning 68-55 over the Griffons, to earn a trip to the MIAA Tournament.

"I'm grateful to be able to coach this team," said head coach J.C. Carter. "Many people thought it was coach-speak, but I believed they were real close (at mid-season). They worked hard and stayed optimistic and upbeat. We made some adjustments and they all bought into it."

SBU started the conference season with a 1-10 record. Despite the record, Carter's team didn't give up, knowing they were close after a string of close losses. The Bearcats went on win seven of their final nine regular season contests, with their two losses being road setbacks at nationally-ranked clubs. "There's no team in the country that wants to climb the mountain like this team does," said Carter, after his team's late season surge.

Rachel Graves led the Bearcats (10-17, 8-12 MIAA) with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists while playing the entire game. "Her minutes show how valuable she is," added Carter. "She prides herself on defense. When your best player focuses on defense, everyone else does as well."

Freddie Sims had 11 points while Courtney Heady added 10 points. Whitney Malone had seven rebounds while Jasmine Sanford and Chasity Prince each had six boards. SBU had 16 offensive rebounds during the game.

The Bearcats led by as much as 11 at several points in the first half before the Griffons would cut into the lead. SBU led 33-30 at the break. After a trey from Western's Jessica Koch cut the lead to one point, SBU used two threes from Malone and another from Heady to extend the lead to 12. The Griffons would close to within four points with 12:38 left, but SBU pushed back ahead down the stretch, with their biggest lead of 15 points coming in the final minute.

Koch led the Griffons (7-20, 5-15 MIAA) with 16 points. Brenna Saline led MWSU with 10 rebounds.

SBU will take on top-seeded and nationally-ranked Washburn at noon on Thursday, March 4 in the opening game of the 2010 MIAA Basketball Championships in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium. Washburn took both games against SBU during the season, with the game in Topeka one of two SBU losses in their final nine games.