FORT SMITH, Ark. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Women's Basketball will make its MIAA Tournament debut Friday as the Lions take on No. 3 seed Missouri Western in the quarterfinals at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.
The Lions and Griffons will take to the court at 8:15 p.m. Friday following the conclusion of No. 4 seed Nebraska-Kearney and No. 5 seed Washburn.
The game will be streamed on the MIAA Network with live stats available at uafortsmithlions.com.
Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the Municipal Auditorium box office. Single-Session tickets are $25 and All-Session Tournament Passes are $85. Student Single-Session tickets will also be sold for $10. Children six and under are admitted at no charge.
NOTES:
LAST TIME OUT: UAFS split its final road trip of the regular season, falling 83-55 to Central Oklahoma before concluding the regular season with a 69-63 win at Rogers State.
BEST SINCE: The 18 wins this season are the most for the Lions since they went 20-11 in the 2017-18 season.
IN THE LEAGUE: Guard Anna Trusty ranks 10th in the MIAA in scoring at 14.5 points per game while guard Zyniah Thomas ranks 11th in assists at 3.1 per game. Forwards Sinetra Jones and Layne Kirkendoll are tied for seventh with 1.3 blocks per game.
RAISING THE BAR: UAFS is fourth in the MIAA in scoring at 73.4 points per game, up from 63.7 points per game last season.
FOY: Trusty was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year as the only first-year student-athlete to rank in the league's top 10 in multiple categories. She led the MIAA newcomers this season with 14.5 points per game while shooting .448 (137-of-306) from the floor. Trusty also added 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game with six double-doubles and six 20-point games with a season high of 27 twice.
POSTSEASON AWARDS: Trusty was also named to the All-MIAA Third Team while guard Morgan Browning was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention.
RECORD WATCH: Guard Hannah Boyett became the first Lion in the NCAA II era to score 1,000 career points this season. Forward Sinetra Jones ranks fifth with 74 career blocks while guard Zyniah Thomas ranks seventh with 168 career assists.
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: UAFS was picked to finish 12th in this season's MIAA Preseason Poll by the league's head coaches but earned the No. 6 seed in this week's MIAA Tournament.
THE FIRST TIME: The Lions defeated Missouri Western, 88-80, at the Stubblefield Center on February 20. Guard Anna Trusty tied her season high with 27 points while the Lions received 16 points from guard Zyniah Thomas and 13 from guard Morgan Browning. Guard Alyssa Bonilla tallied 21 points for the Griffons.
THE SERIES: UAFS is 1-0 all-time against Missouri Western after winning the inaugural meeting 88-80 at the Stubblefield Center on February 20.
SCOUTING MWSU: The Griffons finished the regular season 19-8, 14-5 MIAA to earn the No. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament. MWSU leads the MIAA with 10.0 made threes per game and boast the league's second leading scorer in guard Alyssa Bonilla at 17.5 points per game. Bonilla is second in the MIAA with 5.9 assists per game.
