BOYS
Raytown 54
Central 51 (15-3, 2-1 Suburban)
Lafayette 56 (7-9)
Leavenworth (KS) 36
NIXA TOURNAMENT – SEMIFINAL
Ozark 64
Benton 59 (11-5)
CAMERON TOURNAMENT – 5TH PLACE GAME
Bishop LeBlond 52 (7-13)
Smithville 43
GIRLS
Central 47 (11-5, 1-2 Suburban)
Raytown 29
LEBANON TOURNAMENT – CONSOLATION
Benton 35 (10-6)
Belton 28
CAMERON TOURNAMENT – 7TH PLACE GAME
Bishop LeBlond 47 (3-15)
Excelsior Springs 37
ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western softball team, who won the 2016 MIAA regular season and tournament championships, was picked second in the 2017 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Griffons received two first place votes and were picked behind NFCA Preseason No. 19 Central Oklahoma in the poll.
Last year, Jen Bagley Trotter’s squad swept both MIAA titles for the first time in program history and advanced to the NCAA Central Sub-Regional Championship before falling to Southern Arkansas. MWSU finished 43-15 last season and 23-3 in the MIAA.
The 2017 team returns six 2016 All-MIAA selections, highlighted by first team honorees Morgan Rathmann and Katie Klosterman. Both were also named NFCA and D2CCA All-Region last year, and Klosterman was named MIAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
The 2017 season begins Feb. 4 at the Ronnie Hawkins Invitational in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
2017 MIAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Oklahoma (12) – 168
2. Missouri Western (2) – 152
3. Pittsburg State – 151
4. Northwest Missouri – 128
5. Central Missouri – 105
6. Northeastern State – 101
7. Southwest Baptist – 90
8. Emporia State – 86
9. Fort Hays State – 75
10. Missouri Southern – 62
11. Washburn – 55
12. Nebraska-Kearney – 46
13. Lindenwood – 40
14. Lincoln – 13
— MWSU Athletics —
BOYS
CAMERON TOURNAMENT – CONSOLATION
Bishop LeBlond 61 (6-13)
Cameron 38
NIXA TOURNAMENT – 1ST ROUND
Benton 91 2OT (11-4)
Clever 78
GIRLS
LEBANON TOURNAMENT – 1ST ROUND
St. Charles 42 OT
Benton 38 (9-6)
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – MIAA baseball coaches seem to think the plate is set for Missouri Western baseball team to match its record-breaking 2016 season. The team was picked third in the MIAA Preseason Baseball poll as voted on by league coaches, receiving two first place votes.
The Griffons finished tied for third in the 2016 MIAA regular season before finishing as runner-up in the MIAA Tournament and advancing to the program’s third-ever NCAA Regional. The 2016 team won the second most games in program history (38-20) and broke program records for runs (481), RBIs (447) and home runs (67). Head coach Buzz Verduzco also logged his 500th career win last season.
2016 All-Region selections David Glaude and Landon Mason headline a group of eight returning position players and nine pitchers to the 2017 team. The season is right around the corner for the Griffons, who open Feb. 2 at the Air Hogs DII Classic in Grand Prarie, Texas.
2017 MIAA Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Missouri (9) – 140
2. Emporia State (1) – 130
3. Missouri Western (2) – 119
4. Missouri Southern – 101
5. Washburn (1) – 100
6. Central Oklahoma – 90
7. Northeastern State – 75
8. Pittsburg State – 53
9. Northwest Missouri – 49
10. Nebraska-Kearney – 46
11. Lindenwood – 44
12. Fort Hays State – 36
13. Southwest Baptist – 31
— MWSU Athletics —
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced Thursday that Carlton Bragg Jr. has been suspended indefinitely from the team effective immediately.
“Carlton is suspended for a violation of team rules,” Self said. “This violation is not connected to the alleged incident in McCarthy Hall on December 17th.”
No. 2 Kansas travels to No. 4 Kentucky Saturday for a showdown with the Wilcats. The tip off is set for 5:15 from Rupp Arena.
— KU Athletics —
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball extended its winning-streak to four games with a dominant 68-53 win over Auburn at Mizzou Arena on Thursday night. That current winning streak matches Mizzou’s longest in conference play since it joined the SEC.
Sophomore forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) was superb for the Tigers, as she poured in a career high 27 points (10-of-14 FG, 7-of-9 FT), including a 13-point fourth quarter explosion that saw her convert four three-point plays down low. Porter also led Mizzou in rebounding, snaring nine rebounds in the contest, one shy of securing her 10th double-double of the season.
Freshman guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) was efficient and productive off the bench, shooting a career best 85.7 percent while posting 13 points, which was her highest scoring output in conference play and the second highest of her young career.
Redshirt senior Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) added 12 points and five rebounds in 29 effective minutes.
The Tigers came out firing in the opening frame, dissecting Auburn’s defense to the tune of 50 percent shooting. Porter was strong in the period, posting six points and grabbing six rebounds. While Porter was grooving offensively, Mizzou’s defense proved stout, holding Auburn to just three field goals on its first eight attempts. The quarter ended with Mizzou up 16-13.
To start the second quarter, Porter continued her effective play, and Smith added a spark off the bench. As Porter drew attention offensively, Smith found creases in the defense, scoring nine points in the quarter while missing just one shot. Mizzou extended its lead to seven at halftime behind Smith’s outburst and Porter’s continued dominance in the low post.
Points were at a premium in the third quarter as Mizzou held Auburn to just nine-percent shooting in the period. The Cunningham sisters shined in the frame, scoring 10 of the Tigers’ 14 points in the quarter. Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) had a strong frame, as she ripped down four rebounds and had three points, courtesy of a corner three. Lindsey Cunningham consistently earned trips to the free throw line, where she made all five of her attempts. The Tigers ended the quarter up just 10, leading 47-37 heading to the fourth period.
Porter put an exclamation point on the victory with a dominant fourth quarter, scoring 13 consecutive points for Mizzou. Twelve of her 13 points in the frame came off of three-point plays as she muscled through contact and converted. Porter’s strong sequence allowed Mizzou to build an 18-point lead and coast to a win. With the win, Mizzou moves to 15-7 (5-3) on the season and 11-1 at home.
Mizzou continues its two-game homestand when it hosts Kentucky at Mizzou Arena on Monday. Tip off on SEC Network is set for 6 p.m.
— Mizzou Athletics —
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Dererk Pardon dominated with 19 points and a career-high 22 rebounds to lead Northwestern to a 73-61 victory over struggling Nebraska on Thursday night.
Pardon, a sophomore, had the first 20-rebound game for Northwestern since Evan Eschmeyer grabbed 21 against Penn State on Jan. 20, 1999.
Vic Law scored 20, and the Wildcats (17-4, 6-2 Big Ten) won their fifth straight to match their longest streak in conference play since the 1965-66 season.
Tai Webster led Nebraska with 23 points. Glynn Watson Jr. scored 14, but the Cornhuskers (9-11, 3-5) dropped their fifth in a row after a 3-0 start in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats were leading 57-53 when Law hit two free throws with just under five minutes remaining in the game to start a 16-1 run.
Bryant McIntosh stole a pass that hit Nebraska’s Evan Taylor and fed Law for an alley-oop. Cornhuskers coach Tim Miles picked up a technical after pointing to a spot where he thought Pardon stepped out of bounds after grabbing a defensive rebound. That led to two free throws for McIntosh, making it 63-53 with 4:12 remaining.
Northwestern continued to pour it on with Sanjay Lumpkin nailing a 3 and Law getting fouled on a rebound dunk for a 3-point play with 1:17 left, making it 73-54. Pardon then exited to hugs from his teammates and “MVP! MVP!” chants.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: The struggles continue for the Cornhuskers, who have lost five straight after a 3-0 start in conference play.
Northwestern: The program that hosted the first Final Four continues to inch toward its first NCAA appearance.
UP NEXT
Nebraska: Hosts Purdue on Sunday.
Northwestern: Hosts Indiana on Sunday.
— Associated Press —
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Quinndary Weatherspoon had a career-high 29 points Wednesday night to lead Mississippi State to an 89-74 victory over Missouri.
Lamar Peters had 23 points with a 7-of-11 showing on 3-pointers for the Bulldogs (13-6, 4-3 SEC). Mario Kegler added 16 points.
“We needed this win desperately tonight since we’re about to go on the road for two straight,” said Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland. “I thought our second-half defense keyed the comeback. We really dug deep and it really fed our offense. Q (Weatherspoon) did a good job in the first half and really kept us in it.
“Then bottom line, Lamar had a good second half and really got it going there. We’ve already seen that before and seen how he can get it going.”
Weatherspoon was 11 of 17 from the field and also had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. He scored 18 of his 29 points in the first half.
“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” said Weatherspoon. “We know we lost our last two games so I wanted to do what I could to help us tonight. Me and Coach Howland had a meeting about that and he needed me to be more aggressive. So I felt like the old me tonight, just filling up the whole stat sheet.”
Jordan Barnett and Jordan Geist each had 18 points to lead Missouri (5-14, 0-7). The Tigers dropped their 11th straight game.
Mississippi State opened the second half on a 10-3 run to take the lead for good at 49-46. Then Peters went on a hot streak and made five straight 3-pointers to push the Bulldogs’ advantage to 72-59 with less than nine minutes remaining.
Peters’ streak resulted in 15 points in 2:34.
“Obviously it was a tale of two halves,” said Missouri head coach Kim Anderson. “In the first half we did a good job of mixing our defenses and keeping them off-balanced. Then Weatherspoon and Peters took over and we had no answer. We knew coming in that Peters was dangerous off the ball screens. And we knew Weatherspoon was dangerous from anywhere.”
Missouri used a red-hot shooting performance in the first half to lead the entire period. Mississippi State got within one point on several occasions and trailed by as many as nine. Missouri eventually settled in with a 43-39 advantage at the half.
The Tigers shot 61.5 percent in the first half, including 58.3 percent from the 3-point arc.
For the game, Mississippi State shot 57.1 percent and made 12 of 23 beyond the arc. That included an 8 of 12 showing on 3-pointers in the second half.
The Tigers shot 46.3 percent for the game and just 32.1 percent in the second half. Missouri also missed all nine 3-pointer attempts in the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Missouri: The Tigers have now lost 11 straight games and are off to their worst start in SEC action since going 0-9 in the 2013-14 season. The Tigers have lost 27 straight SEC road games.
Mississippi State: After two straight conference losses, the Bulldogs moved above .500 in the SEC again at 4-3.
UP NEXT
Missouri: The Tigers return home to host No. 23 South Carolina on Saturday.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs travel to Alabama on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Alexis Prince got Baylor going and the No. 2 Lady Bears never looked back.
Prince scored a career-high 25 points to help Baylor rout 25th-ranked Kansas State 91-49 on Wednesday night.
“I got off to a good start,” Prince said. “I hit my first couple of shots and then from there I just kept hitting.”
Prince had 17 of her points in the first half, outscoring the Wildcats by three in the opening 20 minutes.
Baylor (20-1, 9-0 Big 12) led 7-5 before scoring the next 21 straight points to blow the game open early in the first quarter. Prince got the run started with a 3-pointer and Lauren Cox capped it.
“The last time they played us, they just pounded us on the glass.” Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie said. “We tried to make them make jumpers early so we could be in better position to rebound. (Alexis) Prince was obviously hot early, our offensive attack was not good.
“We felt like we could’ve been in a 5-6 point game but we couldn’t score and they shot what-66 percent in the first quarter. They cooled off in the second quarter but we just never-I didn’t like the way we competed tonight.”
By the end of the opening half, the Lady Bears led 44-14 as the Wildcats made just five baskets in the first 20 minutes.
Karyla Middlebrook led Kansas State (15-6, 5-4) with 17 points on the night, with 11 of those coming in the 3rd quarter.
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The victory against Kansas State marks the 16th straight season Baylor has won 20 or more games under head coach Kim Mulkey.
Kansas State: The loss by Kansas State pushes the Wildcats record to 5-3 as a ranked team in 2016-17.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: Baylor complied a season high 15 steals against Kansas State on Wednesday night.
UP NEXT
Baylor hosts No. 20 Oklahoma on Sunday.
Kansas State hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
STILLWATER, Okla. – Kansas women’s basketball put forth its best offensive effort during Big 12 Conference and erased an 18-point deficit, but Oklahoma State held on to its lead late in the game to come out on the winning end, 74-70, on Wednesday evening inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington sparked KU’s near come-from-behind win with 23 points in the final half. She connected on 6-of-12 attempts from long range, as the Jayhawks (6-14, 0-9 Big 12) stormed back into the game and gave the Cowgirls (13-6, 3-5 Big 12) a scare for the final 20 minutes. After outscoring OSU, 23-16, in the third quarter, KU’s offense came alive and tied the game twice, but the Jayhawks couldn’t manage to take the lead as the game wore on.
For most of the final period, it was a one-possession ballgame and after trailing by as many as 18 in the opening half, cut the deficit to one with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation. Despite every effort to earn its first league victory of the season, Kansas couldn’t complete the comeback and leave Stillwater with the win.
Washington ended the night with 26 points to lead all scorers for the seventh time in her last nine outings. She shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from the floor for the third time in 2016-17, while also recording a pair of steals and assists. Redshirt sophomore guard McKenzie Calvert added 15, including a 4-of-5 mark from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Kylee Kopatich rounded out the Jayhawks in double figures after netting 10 points, her sixth game this season to reach double digits.
Sophomore guard Karli Wheeler led the Cowgirls with 22 points after connecting on 3-of-5 attempts from long range and converting all seven tries from the free throw line. Junior center Kaylee Jensen registered a double-double after recording 19 points and 13 rebounds. Jensen made 6-of-12 (.500) shots from the floor. Junior forward Mandy Coleman was the final Cowgirl to net double figures after scoring 19 points behind 6-of-10 effort from the field.
After a pair of makes from the 3-point line, Oklahoma State got out in front, 7-4, in the first quarter. After losing Washington, its leading scoring going into the contest, due to foul trouble in the opening minutes, KU was able to keep the game within reach for most of the quarter. It wasn’t until the final minute of the period, that OSU’s advantage reached double-digits. Calvert brought the Jayhawks’ deficit back to single-digit with a jumper from the elbow, but OSU’s Jensen answered with a jumper of her own at the buzzer, sending the Cowgirls into the second period with a 23-12 lead.
Calvert scored first coming out of the break at the end of the quarter, as KU’s defense went on to hold the Cowgirls scoreless for the first four minutes. Kansas forced 11 OSU turnovers in the first 13 minutes of the contest, but was unable to capitalize on Oklahoma State’s miscues and chip away at its deficit. By the end of the game, Kansas has forced a total of 24 turnovers.
Washington reentered the game in the final minutes of the first half and sank her first 3-pointer of the night to end an OSU run and spark five unanswered Kansas points. Despite its slow start to the period, Oklahoma State maintained its double-digit advantage and headed into intermission with a 34-21 lead. Calvert and Kopatich paced KU’s offense in the first 20 minutes of play with six and five points, respectively. The duo combined for three of KU’s five steals.
Junior guard Chayla Cheadle started off the second half with a drive the basket, good for the first points of the half. Cheadle’s layup sparked a 9-0 run coming out of the break, including seven-straight points from Washington, to cut Oklahoma State’s lead, 34-30. After staying within two possessions of the Cowgirls for several minutes, a 6-0 run by Calvert and Washington tied the ballgame, 41-41, with just over two minutes to play in the third period. After tying the game, OSU went on a 9-3 run to end period and headed into the final quarter with a 50-44 lead over KU.
Oklahoma State got on the board first in the final period, but KU quickly stole the momentum with a 9-0 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers from senior guard Timeka O’Neal. Kansas’ nine unanswered points tied the game for the second time of the night, 52-52, with just under eight minutes to play. With each attempt that Kansas made to take the lead, Oklahoma State had an answer and wouldn’t relinquish its advantage. Calvert sank a pair of free throws to make it a two-point contest with 1:30 left on the game clock, but OSU once again found a way to keep the score in its favor as the time ticked off the clock.
With 27 seconds left to play and down by four, Washington made her sixth triple of the night, which brought KU within one of the home team. Following Washington’s trey, the Cowgirls converted 2-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe to extend its lead to three. On the next possession, Washington had two tries to tie the game, but couldn’t get either attempt to fall and Oklahoma State held on to win, 74-70.
UP NEXT
Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse to host its first meeting of the year against Texas Tech on Saturday, Jan. 28. The Jayhawks and Lady Raiders tipoff at 11 a.m.
— KU Athletics —
