The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team dropped its conference home opener to Pittsburg State Sunday afternoon in Bearcat Arena, 72-56.
The Bearcats are now 2-8 this season and 0-4 in conference play, while the Gorillas improve to 7-1 overall and 3-1 against MIAA opponents.
Three Northwest student-athletes scored in double-digits, including 16 from senior Tember Schechinger.
Schechinger hit six of her eight shots from the field, including a 5-for-5 effort from inside the arc. The senior blocked four shots in the contest, the most in a game for a Bearcat this season. Freshman Macy Williams dished out six assists, the most in a game for a Bearcat since last season (Taylor Shull, 7 vs. UCM, 2/28/15).
Trailing by 17 to close the third quarter, Northwest scored nine of the first 11 points in the final period to close the gap to 10, 59-49. Macy Williams opened the quarter with a triple off a pass from Shelby Mustain. After the Gorillas put in a layup, Taylor Shull and Tember Schechinger made layups on consecutive possessions, forcing Pittsburg State to burn a timeout. Following a defensive stop, Schechinger dropped in another layup on a pass from Williams to complete the Bearcat run. The Gorillas were able to stave off the Northwest rally after that point, not allowing the lead to dip into single digits.
The Bearcats will hit the road next weekend for a pair of MIAA contests to wrap up the 2015 portion of their schedule. First up, Northwest will face off with Lincoln on Friday, Dec. 18 at 5:30 in Jefferson City, Mo.
— Northwest Athletics —