Kearney, Neb. – Win number 26 couldn't come at a better time for the 27th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball as it faces Missouri Western State Friday afternoon in an MIAA Tournament quarterfinal game in Kansas City.

The contest between third-seeded Lopers (25-5) and sixth-seeded Griffons (21-7) not only has implications on this year's 10-team MIAA event, held in Municipal Auditorium, but also the NCAA Tournament. UNK is ninth in the latest Central Region rankings; the 64-team NCAA field is announced Sunday at 9 p.m. Central on www.ncaa.com. The top eight teams in each of Division II's eight regions qualify.

The second matchup between Kearney and Mo West this year is scheduled for a 2:15 p.m. tip; check the Loper schedule page for media links. After a hard fought 60-57 win in St. Joe back in January UNK now trails the all-time series 24-18.

These squads have meet in this event in three of the last four years with MWSU taking all three; 64-53 in 2016 (K.C.), 60-57 in 2018 (Kearney) and 55-47 in 2019 (K.C.). To hand Mo West one of its three home losses this year the Lopers were plus six on the glass and held the Griffs to 34% shooting from the field. They come into Friday averaging 72 points on 45% shooting.

A one-two punch in the lane is made up of 6-0 junior Corbyn Cunningham (15.7 points & 8.5 rebounds per game) and 5-10 senior Chris Wilson (13.5 points & 7.6 rebounds per game). Wilson, a one-year transfer from D2 Flagler College in Florida, didn't play the first battle with the Lopers. Both shoot over 52% from the field and have combined for 68 steals.

An experienced back-court features 5-6 senior Katrina Roenfeldt (10.4 points, 3.6 assists & 2.6 steals pg) and 5-8 senior Anastascia Johnson (9.5 points, 2.9 assists & 2.2 steals pg). Roefeldt has sunk a team-best 63 threes with Johnson fourth in the MIAA in steals. Johnson managed 20 points, six boards, and three steals over 27 minutes in the first game vs. UNK. The Lopers led for most of the afternoon but never more than eight points.
 
Aiming to pick up its second all-time MIAA Tournament win, UNK is 3-0 on a neutral court in 2019-20. The Blue and Gold continues to dominate the league stats, leading in eight categories including field goal percentage (46.3), opponent field goal percentage (35.8) and free throw attempts per game (19.8).
 
UNK's entire starting five, who are all slated to return for the 2020-21 season, was named All-MIAA on Tuesday. Crofton junior guard Kelsey Sanger is the program's first three-time All-MIAA pick, sophomore Brooke Carlson made the second-team after a big end-of-the-year scoring surge, sophomore guard Klaire Kirsch 45 more defensive rebounds than any other MIAA player, sophomore forward Maegan Holt is averaging 10.5 points per game with graduate transfer point guard Haley Simental named to the third-team after leading UNK in several categories.  
 
The DU transfer was big in the win at MWSU Fieldhouse, going for 17 points on 5-9 of 9 (3 of 4 threes) shooting. Carlson (16 & 7) had a big effort as well with Iowa freshman Madison Dreckman supplying 11 points and three defensive rebounds in 16 minutes.
 
The UNK-MWSU winner will face either Emporia State or Northwest Missouri State on Saturday afternoon.