Ebonie Williams scored 22 points as the Washburn Lady Blues lived up to their No. 14 ranking, taking an 81-56 win from Northwest Missouri State Wednesday night in MIAA action from Lee Arena.

After winning 2-of-3 Northwest has lost its last three games and fall to 4-15 overall and 2-10 in the MIAA. The 14th-ranked Lady Blues improved to 10-1 in league play and 17-3 overall and have now won eight straight.

The Bearcats would get an early lay-up from Maggie Marnin to start the game; however, the Bearcats would be stifled by the Lady Blues defense as they ran out to an early 11-2 lead. Ebonie Williams would knock down a three-pointer at the 16:46 mark, the first of four three-pointers for her to pace Washburn.

From there Washburn would go on to build a 23 point and take a 46-23 lead into the break.

Freshman guard, Ashleigh Nelson, helped the Bearcats cut the lead under 20 as she knocked down the first five points of the second half. She would go on to lead Northwest in scoring with 13 points, all coming in the second half.

The Lady Blues knocked down 9 three-pointers as Northwest only managed four. However, Washburn was able to pull out-rebound the Bearcats 55-35 as the physical game played in their favor.

Abby Henry also finished in double figures for Northwest with 11 points and three steals.

Northwest returns to action on Saturday as they host Fort Hays State in the MIAA TV Game of the Week. Tipoff from Bearcat Arena is slated for 1 p.m. More information on how to view the game can be found here.

— NWMSU Sports Information —