By David Boyce, Northwest Athletics
MARYVILLE, Mo. – For nearly the entire game, the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team prevented Lindenwood junior Kassidy Gengenbacher from easy baskets Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.
Because of that success and good offense, Northwest held double-digit leads at the end of each of the first three quarters. But it looked like Gengenbacher finally had an answer to the Northwest puzzle.
With 2 minutes remaining in the game, Gengenbacher stepped five feet beyond the three-point line and nailed a trey that gave Lindenwood its first lead of the game.
But Northwest simply refused to lose a heartbreaker in its Pink Zone game in which funds raised will go to help an individual in Maryville who is battling cancer. Thirty seconds after the three-pointer, sophomore Tanya Meyer calmly made two free throws.
Those free throws started a positive trend for the Bearcats. Junior Jasmin Howe followed with two free throws with 40 seconds left that gave Northwest a three-point lead.
Meyer wound up making six straight free throws in the final 90 seconds to help Northwest win 66-60, in what turned out to be a wild and thrilling second half.
“A lot of people would say there was a lot of pressure on me, but my teammates have trust in me and they know I can knock them down,” said Meyer, who finished with 14 points. “When the crowd gets into it, it makes it that much better of a feeling when you hit those shots.”
Afterwards, the Bearcats were all smiles. They battled through game adversity the way people diagnosed with cancer fight to beat that horrible disease.
“To have all the fans out here and giving them a good game like this, it feels great,” said senior Tember Schechinger of the Pink Zone game. “Supporting everybody and they come out and support us, it is a win-win for everybody.”
The Bearcats have now won two straight. All 10 players who saw action in the game contributed in some manner in the victory.
Howe, who finished with 19 points, was nearly perfect shooting the basketball. Schechinger scored 17 points in the third quarter when Northwest needed an offensive spark.
“It felt like I was actually playing,” said Schechinger, who finished with 19 points. “In the first half, I couldn’t buy a basket. My team kept pushing me. They had confidence in me.”
But what the box score won’t show was the stellar defense Taylor Shull played on Gengenbacher, one of the top scorers in the conference.
Shull only scored three points in the game, but without her defense on Gengenbacher, who knows what might have happened.
“She made me work,” Shull said. “It was not easy. To see that flicker of frustration gave me motivation to not take the next one off and keep pushing at her and not let her get what she wants.”
When the two teams met on Dec. 20 at Lindenwood, Gengenbacher made 8-of-13 shots and scored 24 points in the Lions’ 74-70 victory. And the last time the two teams played in the 2014-15 season, Gengenbacher scored 24 in a 73-67 win.
Shull made sure Gengenbacher never found a consistent offensive rhythm and that was a good thing because the Lions made a couple runs in the second half that significantly cut into double digit leads held by Northwest.
“She (Shull) was locked in today just like she was on Thursday,” Northwest coach Buck Scheel said. “She understood how we wanted to guard certain situations and she did a heck of a job all day. She made her work. She finished with 14, but we really made her work for those 14.”
The Bearcats started the third quarter with a 28-13 lead and then saw Lindenwood score 10 straight, closing to 28-23. Schechinger changed the momentum with two straight baskets. Northwest was back in control as its lead expanded to 47-32 when Howe made a three-pointer.
Northwest closed out the third quarter with a 51-39 lead. Once again, the Lions made it interesting. They scored the first 10 points to start the fourth quarter, closing to 51-49.
Schechinger came to the rescue again. Two free throws by her with 6 minutes left pushed Northwest’s lead to 53-49. Sophomore Bailey Smith followed with a smooth, driving layup, giving Northwest a six point lead.
Lindenwood fought back again and closed to 55-54 with 4 minutes left. Two minutes later, Gengenbacher finally hit a three-pointer that gave Lindenwood its only lead.
Northwest had the answer and won its second-straight MIAA game for the first time this season.
“To get these two at home before we go on a road trip was huge,” Scheel said. “They weathered the storm and powered through possession by possession. They locked in when they had to and stuck together and finished the game strong.”
The first quarter started with Northwest excelling in every phase. The defense held Lindenwood scoreless the first 4 minutes. The offense executed on an equally high level.
Meyer scored six of the first 12 points for the Bearcats, who opened the game with a 12-0 lead. Howe also hit a couple of buckets for Northwest.
Northwest finished the first quarter ahead 19-6. The Bearcats didn’t have as much success offensively in the second quarter, but the still played stellar defense. Junior Carlie Wilhelmi came off the bench and had a block, as did Shelby Mustain, who became the third Bearcat all-time to reach 100 career blocks.
Despite a few struggles on offense, Northwest still won the quarter, outscoring Lindenwood 9-7 and taking a 28-13 lead into halftime.
Lindenwood made only four field goals in the first half and shot a woeful 13.8 percent from the field (4-for-29).
— Northwest Athletics —