Northwest Missouri State’s women’s basketball team pulled out a dogfight win to take home their fifth victory of the season against NAIA No. 8 Rogers State University, 71-68 on Saturday.

The Hillcats’ home-court advantage seemed to overwhelm Northwest in the first half as Rogers State shot 73 percent from the field, jumping out to a 21 point advantage with just under 6 minutes remaining in the first and took a 45-33 lead into the break.

The Bearcats worked defensively, forcing 20 Hillcat turnovers and took advantage of second-chance opportunities to close the gap in the second half, eventually pulling off the come from behind win.

Heading into the second half trailing by twelve, Northwest chipped away at the Hillcats’ shooting 43-percent from the field and outscoring Rogers State 38-23 in the final 20 minutes.

Meridee Scott led four Bearcats in double figures with 17 points and Annie Mathews collected seven rebounds.  Ashleigh Nelson continued her hot shooting, going 4 of 6 from the three point line, while Monique Stevens had a solid outing with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Northwest returns to action on Dec. 5 to open MIAA conference play against Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

— NWMSU Sports Information —