The latest chapter in the what-else-can-go-wrong season for the 2009-10 Griffons (7-15 overall, 5-10 MIAA) is unfolding Wednesday when Lauren Nolke goes into the MRI tube.

Nolke, Missouri Western’s leading scorer at 8.9 points per game, made a cut near the baseline early in the second half against Missouri Southern and felt her right leg give out.

Western coach Lynn Plett couldn’t comment on the extent of the injury until the MRI results come back later this week, but he said he thought it looked like the junior shooting guard may have a season-ending knee injury.

“She’s been the most consistent 3-point shooter we’ve had this year,” Plett said. “She’d started to develop more of her game as the year progressed, so it’s a significant loss.”

The chapters so far: Tierra Ford’s foot stress fracture, Rachel Luteyn’s palm fracture, Jessica Koch’s near-broken nose, Kallie Schoonover’s virus, Tierra Ford’s suspension and Nolke’s potentially serious knee injury. And these all came after Plett’s would-be starting point guard, sophomore Alicia Bell, suffered her second ACL tear and became pregnant in 2009.

Do these consistent occurrences instill a thoughts of paranoia with the third-year coach?

“Constantly,” Plett joked. “I told some people that if you start seeing boils building up on my back and arms and stuff like that, keep your distance because I’m probably not good to be around, cursed or whatever.”

Saline steps up

To counteract the unexpected twists of the year, Plett’s received help in unexpected places.

Kayla Vice became a solid third scoring option midway through the MIAA slate and now Plett may have plucked a defensive stopper out of nowhere.

Plett placed reserve guard Brenna Saline in charge of stopping Fort Hays State’s Naomi Bancroft and Southern’s Jasmine Lovejoy — the second- and sixth-highest scorers in the MIAA — last week and the Southern Illinois transfer contained both. Saline held Bancroft to 12 points — on 4-for-17 shooting — while limiting the top-scoring Lion to three points (1-for-4 from the field) in 16 minutes. Saline also scored a career-high 12 points (9-for-11 from the free-throw line).

Saline usually splits time with Brittany Casady but Casady’s back injury and some increased practice intensity opened the door for the sophomore.

“I have to be honest, I’m not sure I thought she’d do as good of job as she did defensively in particular because that hasn’t been her strength in the past,” Plett said. “It was really good to see her raise her level on the court.”

Supporting cast shines

Not everyone can play a lead role like Jack Bauer or Vinnie Chase, but without the Tony Almeidas and Johnny Dramas of the world, “24” and “Entourage” fall apart.

Basketball works the same way.

The Western men (14-8, 9-6 MIAA) have their Vince-level scorers in Marcus Rhodes and Dominique Thuston — both average more than 13 points per game and are expected to carry the load offensively most nights.

But forwards James Bush and Quentin Noblin and guards Martin Nolan, Justin Taylor and Mike DeWalt delivered in key spots in the last three games, triggering perhaps the Griffons’ best stretch of basketball all season.

Rhodes and Thuston were the only players in double figures in Western’s low-point loss to Emporia State on Jan. 27, but the two got help in the next three games, including a home upset of No. 8 Fort Hays State.

Bush (who averages 8.5 points a game) totaled 30 points and 15 rebounds against the Tigers and Lions with Noblin netting 27 and draining seven 3-pointers. Western lost 79-75 to Southern (13-8, 7-7 MIAA) on Saturday but committed just nine turnovers against the Lions’ full-court press and dished out a season-high 22 assists — Noblin had seven.

“I think James has been absolutely terrific over the last couple of games, and if Q (Noblin) continues to play the way he’s playing right now, then we’re going to be a pretty tough team to beat,” Western coach Tom Smith said.

Thuston and Rhodes scored 21 and 18 points, respectively, against the Lions, dishing out seven total assists in the process.

“I think Dom and Marcus are looking at the other guys, and they’re helping more,” Smith said. “They have more confidence in everybody, and I think as a team we have a lot of confidence in all our abilities now and not just that we need Dom and Rhodes to play well all the time. I think we’ve been able to win some games where those guys have not particularly given us a lot of points.”