MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team matured from a baby step in its last game to a teenager step Saturday in its 77-65 loss to No. 13 ranked Washburn at Bearcat Arena.

Junior Tember Schechinger felt that improvement from everybody on the team.

“Like I said in the locker room before coach came in, even though we lost, we are making huge strides,” Schechinger said. “We are cutting back on turnovers. We are playing the entire game. As long as we are not going backwards, forward is all we are looking at.”

Based on how the Bearcats played for most of the game, they are poised to step into victory lane in a MIAA game on Wednesday when they play at home against Southwest Baptist.

“I have just seen a different look in this team the last few days,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “The Oklahoma trip wasn’t fun for anybody. Our kids knew it.

“As a coach, all you can ask for are kids going to battle for you. I am really pleased with this group in general. They had a no-give-up attitude. Win or lose, I will coach that any day of the week. I am very proud of them now.”

It appeared Northwest’s first conference win was going to come Saturday. The Bearcats held a six-point lead at halftime.

With 12:52 left in the game, the Bearcats still had a six-point lead when Schechinger drained her third three-pointer of the game, making it 49-43.

“You have Tember Schechinger who is battling an ankle injury and didn’t even practice yesterday,” Smith said. “She came off the bench and gave us 20 points.”

A minute after her three-pointer, Schechinger made another basket, which made it 51-45 and a minute after that, senior Ariel Easton made a bucket, keeping the Bearcats in front by six at 53-47.

“What I am excited about is Ariel Easton was back tonight because I don’t think she understands what she means to her teammates,” Smith said. “It showed tonight, feeding off her energy. I am proud of her effort.”

After Easton’s basket, the game slipped away from Northwest. Washburn grabbed a 54-53 lead on a three-pointer by Washburn senior Casyn Buchman.

Northwest took its last lead at 55-54 on a basket by freshman Tanya Meyer.

But Buchman struck again with another three-pointer, putting Washburn back in front 57-54. The Ichabods never trailed again. Buchman scored 18 of her 24 points in the second half.

Washburn slowly pulled away from Northwest, but the final score was not indicative of the way the Bearcats played most of the game.

“I am proud of my teammates as well,” said Easton, who finished with 17 points. “As far as me individually, it has been a struggle. I felt tonight, I did the little things like diving on the floor and giving my teammates energy as much as I  could. It was fun tonight.”

In the first half, Northwest played its best half of the season and went into halftime ahead 34-28.

Throughout the first half, the Bearcats played with confidence and energy. And most important, they valued the basketball. There were very few unforced turnovers.

The point where Northwest showed it was in a different mode came when it trailed 14-8. In the past, the deficit would have ballooned to 10 or 15 points by halftime.

Instead, the Bearcats put together a great stretch of offensive basketball. It started with a basket by Schechinger followed by field goal by Shelby Mustain.

Morgan Walker made a basket to tie the game at 14-14 and a three-pointer by Schechinger gave Northwest its first lead at 17-14 with 8:28 remaining in the first half.

The best part was the Bearcats weren’t done. In all, it was a 15-1 run that gave Northwest a 23-15 lead.

“It was really nice seeing that,” Schechinger said. “Everybody played well. You didn’t notice when we subbed. This game was such a different pace for everyone. I am so pleased with everyone who came in to play today. I felt I could trust my teammates.”

Perhaps the biggest moment for Northwest came immediately after Washburn made a three-point play and closed to 25-20. Schechinger answered with her second three-pointer of the half.

It was just about a perfect half for Northwest. The Bearcats shot 54 percent from the field and committed only six turnovers while holding Washburn to 33 percent shooting.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —