Coming off an emotional overtime win the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball desperately needed a win to keep hopes of a third consecutive MIAA tournament appearance alive, however, Truman State Bulldogs dealt the Bearcats a 79-52 loss Wednesday night.

The Bearcats fell to 5-20 on the year and 3-14 in league play while the Bulldogs improved to 14-9 overall and 8-9 in the MIAA. The Bearcats fall to TSU, who debut at No. 4 in the first South Central Region Rankings, will return home Saturday to try and avenge a road loss to Central Missouri.

Shelly Martin would score the game’s first points with a mid-range jumper, but the Bearcat lead would be short lived. Truman State would go on to score the next seven points, building a 7-2 lead and never look back.

The Bulldogs took a 36-23 lead into the locker room at halftime and shot nearly 50 percent in the second half to close out the 27-point win.

Northwest struggled offensively going 0-for-10 from behind the three-point line and only shooting 28 percent from the field as a team.

Senior Abby Henry scored a game high 16 points in the loss while Alexis Boeh chipped in 13 points off the bench.

Breanna Daniels shared game high honors with Henry adding 16 points of her own.

With losses from Missouri Western and Missouri Southern, the loss by Northwest does not mathematically eliminate them from the postseason play as they remain one game back of the eighth and final spot.

With the win Truman State clinched its ticket to Kansas City earning what could likely be the fifth seed.

— NWMSU Sports Information —