The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team clawed its way to a 63-59 victory over Lincoln Saturday afternoon in Bearcat Arena.

The win improves the Bearcats’ record to 8-15 on the year and 4-10 in the MIAA, while the Blue Tigers fell to 10-10 overall and 5-9 in the conference.

Tanya Meyer led Northwest with 17 points, a new career high for the freshman.

Meyer scored her 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. The Sioux City, Iowa native was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. She added four rebounds and one block.

Tember Schechinger scored the final four points for Northwest to seal the victory. The junior guard finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist.

Sophomore Shelby Mustain added 14 points, hitting 6-of-11 attempts in the contest. She came away with six boards and added one block on defense.

After Kate Frazier hit her second straight layup for the Blue Tigers, the Bearcats found themselves behind, 56-52, with just over four minutes to play. Ariel Easton knocked down her only three-pointer of the day to close the gap to one followed by a quick timeout by coach Michael Smith. After the defense forced a shot clock violation on the next possession, Shelby Mustain knocked down two free throws to give the Bearcats a one point lead.

Lincoln answered with two free throws of their own, making the score 58-57 with 1:47 remaining. Taylor Shull helped the Bearcats regain the lead on their next possession, knocking down a 10-foot jumper. Tember Schechinger added a short range jumper after a defensive stop to increse the Northwest lead to three. After Kelsey Williams hit one of two free throws for the Blue Tigers, Schechinger hit two of her own from the charity stripe to seal the victory for Northwest.

Northwest will host Missouri Southern on Wednesday (Feb. 11). The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Sports Information —