By David Boyce
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A 16-2 spurt to start the third quarter sparked Northwest Missouri State’s women’s basketball team to a 70-60 victory over Lincoln University Thursday evening at Jason Gym.
“We needed that big push to get that lead,” said junior Tanya Meyer, who finished with a career-high 34 points.
The Bearcats have now won three of their last five MIAA games, two of them coming on the road. Last year Northwest never won a conference road game.
Northwest coach Buck Scheel was happy the way the Bearcats played for over three quarters but was disappointed how the team finished the last four minutes. Northwest held a 61-45 lead and then sputtered down the stretch.
“At the end of the game, I told our players that I don’t feel like we won,” Scheel said. “Granted it was a win, but we can’t give up. I thought with 3 or 4 minutes left, we stopped playing. You can’t do that in this conference.”
Northwest showed its mental toughness right away in the third quarter. A long three-pointer by senior Jasmin Howe tied the game at 35-35 and got the Bearcats rolling.
“I think that was big,” Howe said. “It was big to come out strong in the third quarter. We need to do that consistently the whole game.”
The Bearcats wasted little time grabbing the lead for good on a basket by sophomore Maria Dentlinger and then solidified the lead at 39-35 on a basket by Meyer.
Meyer’s field goal signaled that Lincoln was in trouble. Two quick fouls by Meyer in the first half limited her to only 6 minutes. She was well-rested and ready to go in the second half. Meyer quickly followed her two-point field goal with a three-pointer, pushing Northwest’s lead to 42-35.
After the Tigers scored a basket, Northwest got consecutive three-pointers from Howe and sophomore Mallory McAndrews that gave Northwest its first double-digit lead at 48-37.
“I was really pleased the way we came out in the second half,” Scheel said. “The third quarter and midway through the fourth quarter is what we have to feed off. When we are playing like that and firing on all cylinders, we are pretty good.”
Northwest ended the third quarter with a 50-32 lead. Meyer basically put the game away in the opening two minutes in the final quarter by making consecutive three-pointers that gave Northwest a 56-42 lead with 8:09 left.
“It was the same as coming out at halftime,” Meyer said. “We have to come out every quarter like that. I think we are improving on that. We have to keep it going. We can’t have the mental breakdowns on one end of the court.”
The Bearcats scored three more points for a 9-0 start to the fourth quarter and a commanding 59-42 lead.
In the first half, Northwest played the entire second quarter without its leading scorer and managed to go into halftime down only 35-32.
Meyer got off to a blistering start. She scored the first 12 points for Northwest, staking the Bearcats to a 12-7 lead. The advantage expanded to 15-8 when McAndrews hit a three-pointer.
The momentum shifted when Meyer picked up her second foul with a minute remaining in the first quarter. Lincoln took advantage. The Tigers scored the last seven points in the first quarter and tied the game.
“It was frustrating,” Meyer said of the early foul trouble. “It was the second game that has happened. I try to do as much as I can, talking to the players.”
Lincoln increased its lead to 21-17 early in the second quarter before Northwest regained its rhythm on offense. The Bearcats scored the next eight points and held a 25-21 lead.
The Tigers answered with a 10-0 run and moved back ahead 31-25. A three-pointer by Arbrie Benson ended the drought by Northwest. Lincoln maintained its three-point lead the rest of the second quarter.
“We definitely kept it close,” Howe said. “You never know how the game is going to go with foul trouble. You have to adapt. I think we did a good job of keeping it close with Tanya out.”
— Northwest Athletics —