The Highway Patrol has has been busy with accidents across the region due to poor road conditions, Slow down, drive carefully.
Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball junior Annie Mathews recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds and 11 points to lead the Bearcats to a 78-72 victory over Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena. The win moves Northwest to 4-7 overall and 1-3 in MIAA play. Central Oklahoma drops to 7-5 overall and 2-3 in conference action.
Mathews was one of five Bearcats to reach double-figures in a balanced offensive attack. Monique Stevens added 15, Tember Schechinger had 14, Ariel Easton had 12 and Ashleigh Nelson had 11. Stevens helped fuel the attack with a game-best eight assists.
Central Oklahoma was paced by Jill Bryan, who had a game-high 28 points in 33 minutes of action. She also had four steals. UCO was unable to get on track from beyond the arc, going just 4-for-28 from deep. Northwest’s defense held UCO to 38.1 percent shooing. Conversely, Northwest hit 28-of-47 shots to shoot 59.6 percent for the game.
The Bearcats will host Northeastern State on Monday, Jan. 6, at 5:30 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.
— Northwest Sports Information —
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Thomas Gipson likened the game to a ”bar fight,” the sort of description that is certain to make the senior-level folks in the Kansas State athletic department shake their head in exasperation.
Of course, Wildcats coach Bruce Weber used the exact same term to describe a 74-71 victory over No. 6 Oklahoma State on Saturday – the kind of rough-and-tumble affair both teams were expecting as they opened Big 12 play harboring championship aspirations.
”What else can you say?” Weber said. ”They’re a potential Final Four team. I don’t think there’s any doubt. And we were able to compete with them and find a way to win.”
Marcus Foster had 17 points for the Wildcats (11-3), and Nino Williams scored 15, none bigger than the two free throws he made with 5.7 seconds left to give Kansas State a three-point lead.
The Cowboys’ Marcus Smart raced up court and threw up a running 3-point try as the final buzzer sounded, but it clanked harmlessly off the rim. By the time it fell to the court, Kansas State was well into celebrating its ninth consecutive victory.
”We felt like that was one of the toughest games we’ve played so far,” said Gipson, who added 10 points and 11 rebounds. ”For us to be young and come out and get a huge win against the No. 6 team in the nation, that feels real good.”
Le’Bryan Nash scored 20 points, Markel Brown finished with 16 and Smart added 15 for the Cowboys (12-2, 0-1), who were plagued by foul trouble after already missing two of their key players.
Michael Cobbins, their best big man, sustained a season-ending Achilles injury on Monday, and freshman guard Stevie Clark – their second-leading scorer off the bench – did not play after he was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession on Wednesday.
”This was going to be an adjustment game,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. ”It’s been a tough week. We lost a major part of our team. We have to adjust.”
The Wildcats, who’ve made a habit of pummeling opponents during their win streak, tried to wear down the short-handed Cowboys in the first half. They pawed and pressed and got physical with Smart and Nash as much as possible, and both of them were clearly frustrated.
Both of them also picked up two fouls late in the first half.
Kansas State was unable to take advantage of the brief stretch in which both sat on the bench, though. Foster scored in the waning seconds of the half to put the Wildcats in front, but the Cowboys raced up court and Brown managed to curl in a layup at the buzzer for a 38-37 lead.
The senior dished a bit of attitude at the Kansas State student section as he left the floor.
Oklahoma State tried to extend the lead early in the second half, and Smart’s dunk and foul with about 13 1/2 minutes left provided a cushion. But Smart decided to do a chin-up on the rim and slap the backboard after his slam, and he was hit with a technical – his fourth foul of the game.
While he took a seat, the Wildcats started to gather momentum.
Shane Southwell hit a 3 from in front of his own bench to knot the game 52-all with just over 9 minutes left, his first points of the game. A few minutes later, Nash picked up his fourth foul, and Cowboys coach Travis Ford put Smart back in the game.
”It’s always hard to sit for that long and come in and try to get into a rhythm,” Smart said.
The Wildcats went right at him, and Smart wisely backed down on a couple of occasions to avoid picking up his fifth foul. That allowed the Wildcats to surge ahead, taking a 65-60 lead when Foster slashed through the lane and curled in a layup with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
That matched the biggest lead of the game, and the gritty Wildcats managed to hit just enough free throws – and make just enough stops – to hold on at the end.
”They just outplayed us,” Nash said. ”They played hard every time. They don’t care what the situation is, they just play. That’s what we need to do. We played tentative and we need to play hard every game. That’s what I’m going to do from now on. Play 100 percent and give 100 percent to this team because that’s what they need.”
— Associated Press —
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
447 PM CST SAT JAN 4 2014
…ACCUMULATING SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW TONIGHT THROUGH MID SUNDAY
MORNING FOLLOWED BY LIFE-THREATENING WIND CHILLS SUNDAY NIGHT INTO
TUESDAY MORNING…
.SNOW DEVELOPING OVER NORTHERN MISSOURI LATE THIS AFTERNOON WITH
INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND SPREAD SOUTHWARD WHILE A SECOND AREA OF SNOW
FORMS OVER WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MISSOURI LATER THIS EVENING. THE
SNOW IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN INTENSITY AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS PARTS
OF WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MISSOURI. MUCH OF THE AREA SOUTH OF THE
MISSOURI RIVER WILL RECEIVE BETWEEN 2 AND 4 INCHES OF SNOW WITH
AROUND 5 INCHES LIKELY OVER PARTS OF CENTRAL MISSOURI. NORTH OF A
KANSAS CITY TO KIRKSVILLE LINE BETWEEN 1 AND 3 INCHES OF SNOW IS
EXPECTED. THE SNOW WILL END SUNDAY MORNING FROM WEST TO EAST.
A COLD FRONT HAD MOVED THROUGH MOST OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON WITH
THE FIRST SURGE OF COLD AIR SWEEPING THROUGH. IN ADDITION STRONG
NORTHERLY WINDS GUSTING TO 25 MPH WILL CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING AND
DRIFTING SNOW.
THE SECOND AND MUCH COLDER SURGE OF ARCTIC AIR WILL BEGIN ARRIVING
SUNDAY NIGHT. THE COMBINATION OF A STIFF NORTHWESTERLY WIND AND A
BONE CHILLING AIRMASS WILL RESULT IN LIFE-THREATENING WIND CHILLS
FROM 25 BELOW OVER EAST CENTRAL KANSAS AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI TO
NEAR 40 BELOW ZERO ALONG THE MISSOURI AND IOWA BORDER BY MONDAY MORNING.
DE KALB-DAVIESS-BUCHANAN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…CAMERON…GALLATIN…JAMESPORT…
ST. JOSEPH
447 PM CST SAT JAN 4 2014
…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST
SUNDAY…
…WIND CHILL WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM SUNDAY TO 6 PM CST
MONDAY…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL HAS
ISSUED A WIND CHILL WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM SUNDAY
TO 6 PM CST MONDAY. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING
SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST SUNDAY.
* TIMING…A BAND OF SNOW OVER NORTHERN MISSOURI AND NORTHEAST KANSAS
WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND SAG SOUTHWARD THIS EVENING.
THE SNOW SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF BEFORE SUNRISE SUNDAY. THE
HIGHEST SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN 6 PM THIS
EVENING AND MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS…1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED FROM ST. JOSEPH TO
GALLATIN.
* WIND CHILLS…LIFE THREATENING WIND CHILLS BETWEEN 25 AND 35 BELOW
ZERO ARE EXPECTED FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY.
* IMPACTS…SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES AND CAUSE ROADS AND OTHER
EXPOSED SURFACES TO BECOME SNOWPACKED. A STIFF NORTHERLY WIND
GUSTING TO 25 MPH WILL CREATE MINOR BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW…SLEET…OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES…AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.
(AP) — A Kansas lawmaker says her proposed rules governing the appearance of legislative interns is the result of complaints she has received
House Speaker Pro Tem Peggy Mast’s suggested guidelines have gotten mixed reviews, including a suggestion that they raise First Amendment issues.
Under the Emporia Republican’s plan, female interns would be allowed to wear one earring in each ear, while male interns would not be allowed to wear earrings at all. Tennis shoes and strapless tops also would be forbidden. Anyone who violates the rules could be dismissed from the internship program.
Mast’s proposal also bans interns from posting unflattering photographs on social media sites or saying anything derogatory about people with whom they come into contact.
(AP) — One man is dead after a house fire on Kansas City’s northeast side.
Firefighters were called to a house fire around 7 a.m. Saturday and encountered large amounts of smoke coming from the residence when they arrived. They found the unresponsive man in a bedroom in the back of the home. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died.
Firefighters say there were no smoking detectors in the home.
(AP)
Missouri county prosecutors are working together to improve their crime-fighting efforts by sharing best practices for obtaining convictions while also protecting people’s rights.
The Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys recently created committees to discuss several areas of criminal investigations.
The various subcommittees will look at such issues as how county prosecutors can better handle forensic evidence, eyewitness testimony, the use of jailhouse informants, recorded interrogations and how to pursue death penalty cases. Other subcommittees will offer recommendations on cases involving children, the elderly, drunken driving, child-support collection, domestic abuse and sex crimes.
The effort was prompted in part by two recent criminal cases, Zahnd said.
In November, the Missouri attorney general’s office decided not to retry 29-year-old Ryan Ferguson, who was released after serving nearly eight years in prison for the slaying of a Columbia newspaper sports editor. And in October, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker was appointed special prosecutor to review sexual assault allegations in Maryville, after a public uproar occurred when Nodaway County prosecutors dismissed charges.
Zahnd also cited the case of Ali. M. Mahamud, who was convicted four years ago of second-degree murder after he stabbed and cut his victim 54 times and then dumped the body in a creek. The foreman later told Zahnd the jury might have returned a first-degree verdict if jurors had seen the defendant’s entire police interrogation. Police videotaped only a portion of their interview with Mahamud.
That and other criminal cases prompted prosecutors to lobby state lawmakers to adopt a law that would require investigators to record entire interviews of suspects in dangerous crimes.
The practice of drawing blood from suspected drunken drivers and the use of DWI courts are examples of how prosecutors should share ideas to tackle certain crimes, said Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley, who leads the association’s DWI and traffic-safety practices committee.
“If someone is doing something completely different that is better than what we are doing, then I am open to that,” Hensley said. “That is our goal, and it ought to be the goal of all prosecutors across the state.”
(AP) A southwest Missouri sheriff’s department is offering two viewing days next week for burglary victims to claim their stolen items.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s office has recovered a large amount of stolen goods from thefts of storage units and vehicles in the Carthage, Joplin, Webb City and Carl Junction areas. The thefts occurred between June and December 2013.
Crime victims must bring a copy of their police report listing the items stolen from them.
(AP) — A Nebraska waitress received far more than just a tip when she served two inquisitive customers last week.
Abigail Sailors was given a $5,000 college tuition check and $1,000 for personal use, on top of a $100 tip that she split with another server.
The men walked into a Lincoln Cracker Barrel restaurant on Thursday and asked the 18-year-old about her life. Sailors told them about her mother’s brain injury, her youth spent in foster homes and her efforts to put herself through Trinity Bible College in North Dakota. But she says she still felt blessed.
When the men were finished eating, one of them opened his checkbook. Sailors says she thanked the men, and they replied: “Thank God.”
WICHITA (AP) — The subzero cold being predicted for the Plains next week threatens to damage winter wheat across Nebraska and Kansas in places with little snow cover to protect crops.
Low temperatures of minus 5 to minus 15 are forecast for the region by Monday.
The Maryland-based commodity risk firm MDA Weather Services said some freeze damage is likely to hit about 15 to 20 percent of the Plains wheat belt. The crop is especially vulnerable in much of Nebraska and north-central Kansas where there is little snow on the ground.
Generally, a couple of inches of snow are sufficient to protect winter wheat when temperatures dip as low as minus 4 degrees. But wheat needs at least 4 inches of snow cover to protect it when temperatures get much lower.
