JACKSON, Miss. - The W women's basketball team's loss, 85-70, to NCAA Division I foe Jackson State on Monday evening may be making the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) coaches look like geniuses. The contest counted as an exhibition game for the NCAA Division III Owls and was the first win of the season for the D1 Tigers (1-2).
In three seasons as SLIAC members, MUW has never even qualified for the league's 6-team post-season tournament. But in the 2026-27 SLIAC coaches' poll, The W was picked to finish second, even after graduating a pair of all-conference players (
Mia Bowen and
Conley Langford). The lofty prognostication may have had a few folks scratching their heads.
That is, until MUW's first look at this 2026-27 seasons squad, versus the upper-division opponent on the road.
On paper, the non-athletic scholarship Owls team should have been no problem for its NCAA I basketball sisters in hoops, all things considered between the different divisions (i.e.- budget, facilities, scholarships, NIL, etc.). Even in recent history, JSU has clobbered MUW in each of its two previous meetings, a fact not lost on The W head coach
Eric Vaughn in evaluating his team's performance.
"We lost (to Jackson State) by 50 in my first year and we lost by 70 last year," Vaughn, who even spent some of his 30-years of coaching experience on the JSU sideline as an assistant coach, reflected. "Tonight, to actually have a chance to win the game against a quality D1 opponent and only lose by 15 was impressive. I'm really not into moral victories but I'm extremely proud of our effort."
What Vaughn was referring to was the fact MUW not only competed hard all 40 minutes, but stayed within striking distance of a possible upset the entire time. In the end, the Tigers' size advantage made the difference, scoring 48 of its points (56 percent) in the paint, But the hosts still endured some Owl-induced angst along the way.
Midway through the first quarter, The W enjoyed what would be its largest lead of the night, a nine-point cushion, when the games' leading scorer,
Madison O'Dell, buried a three-ball that made it 14-5.
O'Dell, a junior transfer to MUW from NCAA I Robert Morris University, finished the game with 22 points. O'Dell was 9-for-17 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. She also had a pair of rebounds.
The Tigers eventually took a 20-18 lead by the end of the opening stanza. With 6:45 left until halftime, The W trailed by just three points, 29-26, after another O'Dell jumper. But JSU flexed its muscle to close out the second quarter on a 14-5 run, leading by as many as 17 points during the span, and carried a 43-31 advantage in the locker room.
Unlike 2025-26, when the third quarter was MUW's "Achilles' Heel" and the team was outscored by an average of 3.0 points per game during the year, the visiting Owls came out of halftime and chipped away at JSU's lead. Down by 13 (47-34) at the 8:27 minute mark, MUW went on a 13-1 scoring spree of its own over the next 3:42 minutes, to cut the deficit to a single point, 48-47, on a pair of
Addison Howell free throws at the 4:51 mark. JSU would eventually push its lead back up to a still manageable 59-49 entering the final quarter.
But the fourth quarter was basically a push, as the Tigers maintained a double-digit lead throughout. JSU had its largest cushion, 21 points (76-55), with 4:19 to play. But the never-say-die Owls whittled that down to as little as 12 points with 1:58 left in regulation, on another trey by O'Dell, but could get no closer in the waning minutes.
In addition to O'Dell's quality effort versus JSU, teammates A'tiya Allen and Howell also finished in double-figure scoring. Allen was 5-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free throw stripe, good for 15 points. Allen also booked five rebounds, two assists, and a block.
Howell would register 11 points, buoyed by a 7-for-10 night at the charity line. Howell pulled down six boards, to go along with four assists and three steals.
Senior guard
Fantasia Wilson, listed at five-foot-eight inches, topped all rebounders by hauling in 10 caroms. She led the Owls with five assists and three steals on her ledger, chipping in four points, as well.
Cora Causey narrowly missed joining the double-digit scoring parade, tallying nine points, going 3-for-8 from beyond the arc. Destiny Trice came off the MUW bench and was 2-for-2 from long range for her six points.
The W will continue to test the waters versus NCAA Division I teams with another exhibition bout on Thursday (Nov. 11/6 p.m.), when it travels to Alcorn State. Vaughn hopes to use the opportunity to eliminate a few of its mistakes before its official season-opening game at Millsaps College on Saturday (Nov. 13/2 p.m.).
"We have to clean up our turnovers," Vaughn said. "We had 29 of them against Jackson State. But if we stay healthy and continue to improve the little things, I believe we will have a pretty good year."
