By David Boyce
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team put itself in a tough spot to reach the MIAA Tournament by falling 73-67 to Lindenwood Wednesday evening at Hyland Arena.
The Bearcats, which beat Lindenwood earlier this season, could have all but knocked the Lions out of contention for the final spot in the MIAA Tournament by winning.
Instead, Northwest, 8-17 overall and 4-12 in the MIAA, needs to win two of its next three games to have an opportunity to secure a place in the conference tournament. Lindenwood, which improved to 11-13 and 4-13, still has hope.
The Bearcats started the second half with a one-point lead, but saw it evaporate on Lindenwood’s first possession. The Lady Lions knocked down a three-pointer for a 35-33 lead and never trailed again.
It was a bad sign for the Bearcats. Lindenwood knocked down six three-pointers in the second half and that went a long way in determining the outcome.
Northwest, though, did manage to tie the game at 35-35 on a basket by Taylor Shull. But when Lindenwood sophomore Kassidy Gengenbacher drilled a three-point to give the Lady Lions a 42-36 lead, Northwest was playing catch-up the rest of the way.
With just over 10 minutes left, it looked bleak for the Bearcats, who stared at a 54-46 deficit. Northwest battled back and closed to 56-53 on two free throws by Morgan Walker with 8:52 left.
Lindenwood put together another spurt fueled by a three-pointer by Gengenbacher that pushed the Lady Lions’ lead to 63-55.
Once again, Northwest fought back and closed to 63-60 with 4:55 left on a basket by Tember Schechinger, and when Northwest trailed 69-62, Schechinger made a three-point play to pull the Bearcats to within four.
With 20 seconds left, a basket by Shull pulled Northwest to within three at 70-67. It was a one-possession game. The Bearcats got that possession 5 seconds later.
But the one bug that has pestered the Bearcats all season bit them once again. Northwest turned the ball over and was then forced to foul, hoping Lindenwood would miss free throws. The Lady Lions didn’t, dashing the comeback bid by Northwest.
Still, Northwest had several notable performances. Senior Ariel Easton finished with a team-high 20 points and Tanya Meyer continued to show improvement in her freshman season. She was the Bearcats most versatile scorer, hitting outside shots and in the paint. Meyer finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Sophomore Shelby Mustain, who was hampered with foul trouble, made all four of her field goal attempts and finished with eight points.
During long stretches in the first half, Northwest offense hummed like a well-oiled machine. The outsides shots were falling and when the Lions guarded the perimeter, Northwest dumped the ball inside.
The efficient offense allowed the Bearcats to shoot 48 percent from the field. The main reason Northwest went into halftime with a slim 33-32 lead was because of some unforced turnovers.
Early on, Northwest took a 14-9 lead. Sparking them to the quick advantage was Meyer, who scored all seven on her first-half points in the opening four minutes.
Lindenwood fought back and briefly took a 17-16 lead. It lasted less than a minute. The Bearcats went back ahead on a jumper by Shull and they solidified the lead with a bucket by Easton.
Easton hit a hot streak and helped Northwest increase its lead to 28-21 with less than 5 minutes left in the first half. Lindenwood slowly closed ground.
It appeared all the momentum was with Northwest when Shull drilled a high-arching three-pointer that made it 33-29.
Unfortunately, Gengenbacher found an open spot and answered Shull’s three-pointer with a trey. The sharp-shooting sophomore finished with a game-high 24 points.
— Northwest Athletics —