By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. – For a half, Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team played exceptional and took a 14-point lead into halftime. Unfortunately, the Bearcats failed to sustain that level of play.

Despite fighting hard to regain the momentum, Northwest never could, falling to Central Missouri 74-64 Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

It was the final game for seniors Ariel Easton, Maggie Marnin and Alexandra Blaurock. The seniors and the rest of the Bearcats went down fighting.

When the second half started, it definitely looked like the Bearcats were going to win and advance to the MIAA Tournament. But the double-digit lead rapidly evaporated. The Jennies started the second half on a 9-0 run, slicing their deficit to 36-33.

“I felt we came out in the second half and played not to lose,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “We were very timid. You could see it in their faces.”

Northwest hung on to its slender lead over the next 4 minutes until Central took its first lead of game at 45-44 on two free throws by 6-foot-3 forward Revonnia Howard.

Howard really hurt the Bearcats the rest of the game. Northwest, though, managed to recapture one last lead at 48-47 on a three-point play by Easton.

Over the next 4 minutes, there were four ties, the last coming on a three-pointer by Easton to make it 57-57 with 4:07 left.

The dagger that ended Northwest season came 2 minutes later. The Bearcats trailed 62-59. They were playing great defense on Central’s possession. The shot clock was winding down when Shelby Winkelmann drained a three-pointer with 2:19 left.

The Bearcats never recovered, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort, especially from Easton. She finished with a game-high 30 points.

“Win or lose, I was going to come out here today and leave it all on the court, not only for myself, but for the fans, my family and Northwest,” Easton said. “They showed so much love to me. I felt like this was my night to show them all the reasons that I am here.

“Having my family here, it was more of an opportunity to show them what Northwest is all about.”

Northwest ended its season with a strong, positive effort. If the Bearcats can take the first half into next year, the 2015-16 season should be a lot of fun.

“It was electric in Bearcat Arena,” Smith said of the first half. “We knew it was going to be a tremendous atmosphere. I knew going in our kids were going to play as hard as they could.”

Northwest came out fired up against the hottest team in the MIAA and stunned the Jennies by going into halftime ahead 36-22.

Fueled on the emotion of senior day, the Bearcats exploded to a 6-0 lead. Each senior made a play that contributed to the early points. Easton scored the first four points. Alexandria Blaurock pulled down a rebound and Maggie Marnin scored the sixth point.

Central showed why it has won six straight by tying the game at 10-10. The Bearcats were faced with a challenge. The initial emotion was gone and now it was all about basketball.

Northwest turned in its best half of basketball. Easton scored the next five points, giving the Bearcats a 15-10 lead.

Defensively, the Bearcats frustrated Central throughout the first 20 minutes and that allowed Northwest to take control of the game.

Leading 23-16, Northwest scored the next 10 points. Freshman Tanya Meyer came off the bench and scored six straight points during the run. Sophomore Shelby Mustain had a basket and Easton capped the run with a bucket.

All nine players that reached the court for the Bearcats contributed. When the first half buzzer sounded, Northwest walked off the court with a sparkling 47 percent shooting from the field. Northwest held the Jennies to 24 percent from the field.
Easton scored 15 in the first half.

“I would give anything to have her here another year or two because of the strides she has made as a player,” Smith said. “The thing I am most proud of is the strides she made as a young woman.

“She never visited. She showed up on campus and took a chance on me and I took a chance on her. I feel like she is one of my daughters. I don’t say that often.”

— Northwest Sports Information —