Dave Riggert – Page 58 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Missouri women fall at home to Tennessee 62-60

Posted on February 17, 2019

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (19-8, 8-5 SEC) fell just short against the Tennessee (17-8, 6-6 SEC) on Sunday at Mizzou Arena, falling 62-60. In front of a season-high 8,559 fans, Mizzou and Tennessee had a back-and-forth battle for the full 40 minutes, as both squads shot close to 40 percent from the field, but the Lady Vols pulled out the victory with a pair of free throws with 52 seconds remaining in the game.

Senior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) scored 13 points and shot a remarkable 86 percent from the field (6-for-7) while snagging nine rebounds to lead the Tigers’ offensive effort. Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) and junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) poured in 13 and 14 points, respectively.

TURNING POINT

With 52 seconds remaining in the game, Mizzou and Tennessee were tied 60-60. Tennessee sophomore Rennia Davis was fouled by Porter on a shooting attempt within the restricted area and headed to the line for a pair of free throws. Davis sunk both shots from the charity stripe free throws to give the Lady Vols a two-point lead. The two made free throws ended up being the game-winning points, as the Tigers were unable to score in the contest’s final seconds.

TOP TIGERS

Porter filled the stat sheet, finishing with 13 points, a season-high nine rebounds and four assists, along with a block and a steal. Porter has now scored in double-digits three times this season.
Smith also turned in an impressive performance with 14 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes of action. The junior guard has scored in double-digits in six of the Tigers’ last eight contests.
Following her dominant 24-point performance against Mississippi State on Thursday, Cunningham turned in another double-digit scoring effort on Sunday. The senior guard contributed 13 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.

NOTES

This home contest was one of the Tigers’ most neck-and-neck games of the season, as the two team’s combined for 17 lead changes and nine ties game.
With an attendance of 8,559, Sunday’s crowd was a season-high and the fifth-largest in program history.
After shooting 41.8 percent from the field (23-for-55), Mizzou has now shot 40 percent or better from the field in 13 of its last 15 games.
Mizzou forced 10 Tennessee turnovers, marking the 20^th time in 27 games Mizzou has forced at least 10 turnovers.
Porter produced season-highs in rebounds (nine) and assists (four) in the game.

UP NEXT

Next, Mizzou travels to Auburn, Ala. next Sunday to face Auburn on Feb. 24. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State softball splits two games Sunday

Posted on February 17, 2019

CONWAY, Arkansas – The Northwest Missouri State University softball team spilt a pair of games Sunday by defeating Parkside, 6-0, and losing to Rogers State, 7-4.

Game One vs. Parkside
Regan Thompson tossed a four-hit shutout and took advantage of a Bearcat offense that generated six runs. Thompson struck out four and walked one while facing 29 batters.

The Bearcats started the game strong offensively by putting up a three-spot in the first inning. Sydne Brashear led off with a double to left center. Jaedra Moses reached on a single to the pitcher. Kaitlyn Weis came through with two-RBI triple down the left field line. Weis would score on an RBI groundout by Erin Keeney.

Northwest added another run in the second on a sacrifice fly from Sydne Brashear plated Karli Allen.

Northwest made it 5-0 in the third when Kiana Baderdeen came through with a two-out double to score Weis, who had doubled with one out.

In the fourth, Kenzi Sutton doubled to left field to put Allen on third and two Bearcats in scoring position. Brashear tallied a sacrifice fly that scored Allen and gave the Bearcats a 6-0 cushion.

Game Two vs. Rogers State
Northwest started game two strong offensively with Kaitlyn Weis hitting a two-run home run to open the scoring in the top of the first.

Grace Ruehle doubled to left field at the start of the second. Jaedra Moses singled to center field to bring Ruehle home and advance the Northwest lead to 3-0.

Rogers State answered in the bottom of the second with a bases loaded walk to cut the lead 3-1.

In the third inning, Karli Allen hit a double to right center to reach scoring position. Next up, Ruehle ripped an RBI single to left field allowing Allen to score and give the Bearcats a 4-1 advantage.

Rogers State responded with a home run by Danelle Day in the third to cut the lead 4-2. Rogers State drew one run closer with another single score in the bottom of the fourth.

Rogers State completed its rally with a four-run sixth to post a 7-4 triumph.

Northwest starter Rachel Smith went 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on five hits and struck out seven. Logan Wenzel came on in relief in the fifth and gave up four runs (one earned) in 1 2/3 innings of work. Wenzel suffered the defeat in the circle.

The squad will be back in action this weekend in Emporia, Kansas, with a three-day tournament.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri State wins at Loyola to grab share of MVC lead

Posted on February 17, 2019

CHICAGO (AP) — Tulio Da Silva had 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as Missouri State narrowly beat Loyola of Chicago 65-61 on Sunday.

Jarred Dixon had 10 points for Missouri State (15-12, 9-5 Missouri Valley Conference), which earned its fourth straight win. Josh Webster added seven points and 10 assists.

Cameron Krutwig scored a career-high 24 points for the Ramblers (16-11, 9-5). Marques Townes added 23 points and six rebounds.

The Bears improve to 2-0 against the Ramblers for the season. Missouri State defeated Loyola of Chicago 70-35 on Jan. 23. Missouri State plays Northern Iowa at home on Wednesday. Loyola of Chicago matches up against Evansville at home on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Griffons stunned by Central Missouri on three-pointer at the buzzer

Posted on February 16, 2019

ST. JOSEPH – After Bryan Hudson’s coast-to-coast layup tied the game at 56 a piece with four seconds left, Central Missouri’s Jafar Kinsey took the inbound pass, drove the length of the court, and banked in the game-winning three at the buzzer, lifting Central Missouri (13-11, 6-9 MIAA) over the Griffons (13-11, 5-10) on Saturday 59-56 inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

NOTABLES

The Mules shot out to an 11-2 lead out of the opening tip forcing Missouri Western to call a timeout.
The Griffons settled in following the timeout, using a, 11-2 run of their own to tie the game at 13.
Tyrell Carroll led the Griffons in a low-scoring first half with 11 points as the Griffons trailed 31-26 at the intermission.
After falling behind by as many as nine points in the second half, Lavon Hightower’s three-pointer tied the game at 49-49 with 3:40 to play.
The Mules would get those three points back on the next possession and then used two free throws to offset Hudson’s mid-range jumper, holding a two-point lead over the Griffons with under two minutes remaining.
Hudson answered the call again on the next Missouri Western possession, driving to the basket for two.
Central Missouri big man Jakob Lowrance then gave the Mules the lead on a layup with just 10 seconds left.
Hudson then went coast-to-coast, elevating over the outstretched arms of Lowrance to even the score at 56 with just four seconds remaining.
The Mules then managed to get the ball across the court and launch a 25-footer off the glass for the game-winning buzzer-beater.
After an official review, the call was confirmed, giving Central Missouri the 59-56 win over the Griffons on Senior Day.
The 59 points allowed by Missouri Western is its second-best defensive performance of the season.

LEADERS

Hudson led the Griffons in scoring with 17 points on 50 percent shooting.
Carroll finished with 15 points.
Hightower added 11 points to go with his game-high nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

Missouri Western will hit the road for a matchup with Southwest Baptist (12-12, 6-9 MIAA) on Thursday.
The Griffons fell 79-71 to the Bearcats last Wednesday in the teams’ first meeting.

— MWSU Athletics —

No. 1 Bearcats stay unbeaten with big win over Southwest Baptist

Posted on February 16, 2019

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team inched closer to its sixth straight MIAA regular season title with an 84-61 win over visiting Southwest Baptist University Saturday in Bearcat Arena.

Northwest shot 53.1 percent from the field and drained 13 three-pointers to extend the nation’s longest active win streak to 25 in a row. Southwest Baptist shot 43.4 percent from the field and only 29.4 percent from beyond the three-point arc. SBU drops to 12-12 overall and 6-9 in MIAA play.

Redshirt freshmen Trevor Hudgins reached the 20-point mark for the 14th time this season as he drained a career-high four three-pointers. Sophomore Ryan Hawkins chipped in with 15 points and sank 3-of-7 from three-point range to go along with four steals. Junior Brett Dougherty came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes of action. A trio of Bearcats dished out five assists as Diego Bernard, Xavier Rhodes and Joey Witthus helped others get in scoring column.

Northwest used a 17-4 run to turn a 23-19 game into a 40-23 advantage with 1:23 left in the half. Northwest would lead 40-26 at the break.

Northwest put together a 13-0 spurt early in the second half to a 47-32 contest into a commanding 60-32 lead. Northwest would lead by as many as 33 en route to its 11th consecutive win over SBU.

Northwest can lock up a share of its sixth straight MIAA title on Thursday against Central Missouri. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. in Warrensburg, Missouri.

NOTES: Northwest has won 20 consecutive MIAA games, which is also the longest active current streak in NCAA Div. II basketball for conference games … Northwest is 13-0 at home … Northwest is 87-5 overall in the past three seasons … Northwest is 77-7 in its last 84 MIAA games, including a mark of 41-1 in Bearcat Arena … Northwest has won 16 straight games by double figures.

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri Western women come up short against No. 24 UCM 74-68

Posted on February 16, 2019

ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Women’s Basketball (12-12, 7-8 MIAA) went toe-to-toe with defending national champion Central Missouri (18-5, 11-4 MIAA), but lost 74-68 to the Jennies on Senior Day.

NOTABLES

The Central Missouri offense struggled to get going in the first half. The Griffons held the Jennies to just 35 percent shooting and five turnovers to grab a 16-14 lead.
Brittany Atkins gave the Griffons their largest lead of the game at 26-21 with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Central Missouri closed the half on a 15-7 capped off by a three-pointer right before the buzzer, taking a 36-33 lead at the half.
Katrina Roenfeldt led the Griffons with 14 points on just nine shot attempts in the first half.
Roenfeldt and Atkins combined for 15 of Missouri Western’s 19 points in the fourth quarter, keeping the Griffons within four going into the final quarter.

LEADERS

Katrina Roenfeldt matched a career-high with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added a team-high eight rebounds
Brittany Atkins was the only other Griff in double-figures, scoring 13 points
KeShara Scott had eight points and six rebounds
Jessica Davies scored six points and added six rebounds

UP NEXT

Missouri Western plays its final four games on the road beginning with a trip to Southwest Baptist (7-17, 3-12) on Thursday.

— MWSU Athletics —

Northwest women fall to SBU for seventh straight loss

Posted on February 16, 2019

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team fell to Southwest Baptist 73-54 at Bearcat Arena Saturday.

Northwest was down only one point at half, then allowed 30 points in the third quarter to lead toward the eventual 19 point loss. Poor shooting was another key factor in the loss for Northwest. They shot 36.7% from the field and only 11.8% from the three point line.

Kendey Eaton led the Bearcats with 20 points and Mallory McConkey added 14. Kaylani Maiava led the team with 9 rebounds. They went 16-18 from the charity stripe, including 9-10 from Eaton. They outscored Southwest Baptist in the paint 28-26.

Caylee Richardson led Southwest Baptist in scoring with 22. Laura Vierkant added 13 and Regan Tibbits had 10 points. Richardson also led Southwest in rebounds with 11 to give her a double-double. The team shot 50 percent from the field and went 11-19 from the three-point line, including 8-10, in their 30 point third quarter.

Northwest will be back in action on the road this Thursday, to take on Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo., at 5:30.

— Northwest Athletics —

Mizzou falls at Ole Miss 75-65

Posted on February 16, 2019

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi keeps finding big-time contributors on its roster as it continues to make an unexpected push up the Southeastern Conference standings.

Bruce Stevens came off the bench to score 17 points, tying a season-high, to lead Ole Miss over Missouri 75-65 on Saturday for the team’s fourth straight win. The Rebels’ (18-7, 8-4) winning streak comes after a four-game losing skid that threated to derail the season.

KJ Buffen and Breein Tyree added 14 points apiece and Devontae Shuler scored 12.

“It just makes us more of a worthy SEC team,” Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis said of Stevens’ elevated play. “That can help us play better in March because he’s got a physical presence, but he can stretch it and go out and make a three. There’s a lot of conventional (centers) out there and he’s a hard matchup.”

Stevens made three 3-pointers and shot 5 of 11 from the field.

The Rebels never trailed after the opening minute despite a dominant rebounding effort from Missouri, which owned a 37-21 advantage on the glass.

The Tigers managed to stay close despite a rough night on offense, but the turnovers and poor first-half shooting were too much to overcome.

Missouri (12-12, 3-9) cut the lead to seven with less than three minutes remaining. The Rebels scored on their next three possessions to end the comeback threat.

“When (the lead) got to 19 we kind of let our guard down and they never stopped,” Davis said. “The biggest thing was we went to our 1-3-1 (zone defense) late just to kind of get time off the clock.”

The Rebels shot 23 of 50 from the field (46 percent) and Missouri went 24 of 51 (47 percent). Ole Miss scored 32 points off of 25 Missouri turnovers.

Jordan Geist led the Tigers with a game-high 23 points. Xavier Pinson added 11 points and nine rebounds.

“It just came down to the twenty-five turnovers,” Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “Twenty-five turnovers, it’s hard to win a ballgame like that. . If you got a big a guy that can make shots on the perimeter it opens everything up and you’re hard to defend. That’s the difference in (Ole Miss). When (Stevens) is making shots like that from the perimeter they are a different team.”

BIG PICTURE

Ole Miss: The Rebels’ four-game winning streak has pushed the team back into the top half of the SEC standings. Ole Miss has a chance to solidify its NCAA Tournament resume with games against South Carolina and Georgia next week.

Missouri: Missouri couldn’t build off the momentum of Tuesday’s win against Arkansas. The Tigers did some good things, but the 25 turnovers were a huge problem. Things won’t get any easier over the next three games when they face Kentucky, Florida and Mississippi State.

TRAVEL ISSUES

Missouri had an unconventional road trip to Mississippi, flying to Oxford on Saturday morning instead of Friday. The Tigers tried to leave early Friday to beat the winter weather that was coming to mid-Missouri but couldn’t because of issues with the flight crew. They arrived in Oxford just hours before Saturday’s game.

UP NEXT

Ole Miss: At South Carolina on Tuesday

Missouri: Hosts No. 5 Kentucky on Tuesday

— Associated Press —

MWSU softball drops two games Saturday in Arkansas

Posted on February 16, 2019

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Griffon Softball (6-4) saw leads erased in both its games, Saturday, at Henderson State. The Griffons lost 8-2 to Henderson State (5-5) and 4-3 to Arkansas at Monticello (4-1).

The Griffon offense that produced more than two dozen hits in Arkadelphia on Friday was held relatively quiet on Saturday, totaling 13 hits in the two losses.

GAME 1
Henderson State 8, Missouri Western 2

Missouri Western jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings
Henderson State took the lead with a three-run third then added to it with a four-run fourth
The Reddies hit three home runs in the game
Five Griffons had one hit each
Lexi Kinnaird (1-2) allowed eight earned runs on 13 hits over 4 2/3 innings

GAME 2
Arkansas at Monticello 4, Missouri Western 3

The Griffons led 2-1 after two innings, but UAM took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth
MWSU tied the game at three with a Lauren Houston RBI-single in the sixth
The Blossoms ended the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh
Missouri Western committed four errors in the game
The Griffons had eight hits, stranding six on base
Emma Hoffart went 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles
Taylor Hoelscher was 2-for-3 with two RBIs
Kenzie Hilzer allowed one earned run on five hits. She walked seven and struck out six

NEXT UP

Six more regional games for the Griffons in the Emporia State Classic
Missouri Western is scheduled for two games a day, Feb. 22-24 in Emporia, Kansas.

— MWSU Athletics —

Dotson, Lawson brothers lead No. 14 Kansas’ rout of WVU

Posted on February 16, 2019

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Devon Dotson drove through a crowd of West Virginia players, stopped in his tracks and passed the ball across the key, finding K.J. Lawson alone in the corner. Without hesitation, Lawson sunk his third 3-pointer of the game before running down the court celebrating with his brother, Dedric.

K.J. Lawson scored a season-high 15 points in 24 minutes, the first time he’s played more than 20 minutes since transferring from Memphis, and No. 14 Kansas beat the Mountaineers 78-53 on Saturday.

“I’m real happy for him, and it’s nice to see guys hang in there, and when their number is called they’re ready, and he’s been ready,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

Dotson also scored 15 points and Dedric Lawson had 14 for the Jayhawks (20-6, 9-4 Big 12), who won their third straight as they continue to start four freshmen.

Lamont West and Chase Harler scored 11 points apiece for West Virginia (10-15, 2-10), which struggled without former starters Esa Ahmed and Wesley Harris, who were dismissed from the team earlier in the week for violating athletic department policies.

“One of the biggest things is those two guys rebounded it for us,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said.

Ahmed was averaging 12 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while Harris was putting up 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds. With the early-season injury to Sagaba Konate, the Mountaineers are now without three of their top four rebounders.

Kansas held West Virginia to a season-low 16 points at halftime, and the Mountaineers shot 33.9 percent for the game, including 3 of 23 from 3-point range. West Virginia didn’t reach double-digit scoring until 5:52 remained in the first half.

The Mountaineers finished with 24 turnovers. In West Virginia’s 65-64 win over Kansas in Morgantown on Jan. 19, the Mountaineers turned it over just 13 times.

“Just keeping a man in front, pressuring the ball, making it hard for making entry passes, make them pass the ball side to side,” Dotson said. “We put the pressure on them and I thought the bigs did a great job on cover today.”

Kansas held an opponent to 53 points or fewer for just the third time this season, and it was the first time the Jayhawks have kept a Big 12 opponent under 60 points.

The Jayhawks got the crowd excited with several flashy plays in the second half, including a fierce one-handed dunk by Ochai Agbaji. Fans at Allen Fieldhouse were also pleased to learn of No. 18 Kansas State’s 78-64 loss to No. 23 Iowa State as Kansas cruised through the final minutes.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN

In addition to Dotson and Agbaji, Kansas started freshmen Quentin Grimes and David McCormack, who played a career-high 24 minutes. Agbaji (10 points) has scored in double figures in five of his last six games.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia: The Mountaineers sit last in the Big 12 standings. West Virginia has not finished conference play outside the top five since 2014, when it ended the season in seventh place.

Kansas: The Jayhawks remain in contention for the Big 12 title. After Kansas State’s loss to Iowa State, Kansas lurks a half-game behind the Wildcats, tied with No. 15 Texas Tech. The Sunflower Showdown in Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 25 could end up deciding the conference championship.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: Hosts Kansas State on Monday.

Kansas: Visits Texas Tech next Saturday in another critical game in the upper tier of the Big 12.

— Associated Press —