Dave Riggert – Page 793 – St. Joseph Post Archive

All-Big 12 men’s basketball awards announced

Posted on March 9, 2014March 10, 2014

For the first time since 2001, an Iowa State Cyclone is the Big 12 Player of the Year as Melvin Ejim has earned the honor to lead the 2014 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball awards. Joel Embiid of Kansas was picked as the Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate Andrew Wiggins is the Freshman of the Year. ISU guard DeAndre Kane was chosen as Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, while Tyler Neal (Oklahoma) and Phil Forte (Oklahoma State) shared the Sixth Man Award. Rick Barnes of Texas was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time.

Ejim ranked second in the Big 12 in both scoring (18.2 ppg) and rebounding (8.6) while placing third in field goal percentage (.513). The senior forward became the fourth player in Big 12 history and the second Cyclone to reach the 1,500-point mark and 1,000-rebound mark for his career. The highlight of the year came on February 8, when he scored a Big 12-record 48 points en route to breaking or tying 10 different conference single-game records. A top student, Ejim has also been named to the Academic All-America First Team.

Embiid is the fifth Jayhawk in the past six seasons to capture the defensive award and the first freshman in league history. The center recorded 72 blocked shots, the third-best single-season total by a freshman in Big 12 history. He tied for fourth in the conference in rebounding (8.1) with eight double-doubles in 2013-14.

For the third time in head coach Fred Hoiberg’s four-year tenure, an Iowa State student-athlete has been named Newcomer of the Year. Kane ranked among the Big 12 leaders in scoring (sixth), rebounding (11th), field goal percentage (fourth), assists (second), steals (sixth) and minutes played (fourth). He is one of only two players nationally averaging at least 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

Wiggins is the first Kansas player since 2005-06 to be chosen as top freshman. A finalist for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and Oscar Robertson Player of the Year, he leads all league freshman in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He ranks 10th in the conference in field goal percentage (.452) and is also ninth in free throw shooting (.765). Wiggins scored 41 points against West Virginia on March 8, the second-best single-game scoring total in Big 12 history.

Neal and Forte are the first players from their schools to win the Sixth Man Award. Neal came off the bench in all 30 Sooner contests, averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds, scoring in double digits eight times. Forte is one of the league’s top long-distance threats, ranking second in 3-point field goal percentage (.452). He also led the Big 12 in free throw shooting, making 85-of-98 (.867) from the stripe.

Barnes ties Bill Self of Kansas for the most Coach of the Year accolades (4) in Big 12 history. The Longhorn mentor led a team that had lost its top four scorers from a year ago to a 22-9 overall record, including an 11-7 mark in Big 12 play. Texas will be the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship and is expected to earn its 15th NCAA bid in 16 seasons under Barnes.

The All-Big 12 First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention teams were also announced, while conference coaches also selected All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams. Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State was a repeat selection on the first team and the all-defensive team, while Wiggins becomes the seventh freshman in Big 12 history named to the first team.

The official All-Big 12 awards are selected by the league’s head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

2013-14 PHILLIPS 66 ALL-BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Melvin Ejim, Iowa State, F, 6-6, 220, Sr., Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Brewster Academy [N.H.]

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joel Embiid, Kansas, C, 7-0, 250, Fr., Yaounde, Cameroon/The Rock School [Fla.]

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
DeAndre Kane, Iowa State, G, 6-4, 200, Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa./The Patterson School/Marshall

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Andrew Wiggins, Kansas, G, 6-8, 200, Fr., Vaughan, Ontario, Canada/Huntington Prep [W. Va.]

SIXTH MAN AWARD
Tyler Neal, Oklahoma, F, 6-7, 234, Sr., Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City West
Phil Forte, Oklahoma State, G, 5-11, 185, So., Flower Mound, Texas/Marcus

COACH OF THE YEAR
Rick Barnes, Texas [Career: 582-298, 27th season; At UT: 380-164, 16th season]

All-Big 12 First Team    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Cl.    Hometown/Previous School(s)
Melvin Ejim, Iowa State**    F    6-6    220    Sr.    Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Brewster Academy [N.H.]
DeAndre Kane, Iowa State    G    6-4    200    Sr.    Pittsburgh, Pa./The Patterson School/Marshall
Andrew Wiggins, Kansas**    G    6-8    200    Fr.    Vaughan, Ontario, Canada/Huntington Prep [W. Va.]
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State    G    6-4    220    So.    Flower Mound, Texas/Marcus
Juwan Staten, West Virginia    G    6-1    190    Jr.    Dayton, Ohio/Oak Hill Academy/Dayton

All-Big 12 Second Team    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Cl.    Hometown/Previous School(s)
Joel Embiid, Kansas    C    7-0    250    Fr.    Yaounde, Cameroon/The Rock School [Fla.]
Marcus Foster, Kansas State    G    6-2    200    Fr.    Wichita Fallas, Texas/Hirschi
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma    G    6-4    208    So.    Freeport, Bahamas/Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State    G    6-3    190    Sr.    Alexandria, La./Peabody
Jonathan Holmes, Texas    F    6-8    240    Jr.    San Antonio, Texas/Antonian College Prep

All-Big 12 Third Team    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Cl.    Hometown/Previous School(s)
Cory Jefferson, Baylor    F    6-9    220    Sr.    Killeen, Texas/Killeen
Georges Niang, Iowa State    F    6-7    240    So.    Methuen, Mass./The Tilton School
Perry Ellis, Kansas    F    6-8    225    So.    Wichita, Kan./Wichita Heights
Cameron Clark, Oklahoma    F    6-7    211    Sr.    Sherman, Texas/Sherman
Jaye Crockett, Texas Tech    F    6-7    210    Sr.    Clovis, N.M./Clovis

All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (Listed alphabetically by school)
Isaiah Austin (Baylor), Wayne Selden Jr. (Kansas), Naadir Tharpe (Kansas), Thomas Gipson (Kansas State), Will Spradling (Kansas State), Ryan Spangler (Oklahoma), Le’Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State), Kyan Anderson (TCU), Javan Felix (Texas), Cameron Ridley (Texas), Isaiah Taylor (Texas), Eron Harris (West Virginia).

Big 12 All-Defensive Team    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Cl.    Hometown/Previous School(s)
Isaiah Austin, Baylor    C    7-1    225    So.    Arlington, Texas/Grace Preparatory Academy
Joel Embiid, Kansas**    C    7-0    250    Fr.    Yaounde, Cameroon/The Rock School [Fla.]
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State**    G    6-4    220    So.    Flower Mound, Texas/Marcus
Demarcus Holland, Texas    G    6-2    185    So.    Garland, Texas/Naaman Forest
Cameron Ridley, Texas    C    6-9    285    So.    Richmond, Texas/Bush
Juwan Staten, West Virginia    G    6-1    190    Jr.    Dayton, Ohio/Oak Hill Academy/Dayton

Big 12 All-Newcomer Team    Pos.    Ht.    Wt.    Cl.    Hometown/Previous School(s)
DeAndre Kane, Iowa State    G    6-4    200    Sr.    Pittsburgh, Pa./The Patterson School/Marshall
Joel Embiid, Kansas**    C    7-0    250    Fr.    Yaounde, Cameroon/The Rock School [Fla.]
Andrew Wiggins, Kansas**    G    6-8    200    Fr.    Vaughan, Ontario, Canada/Huntington Prep [W. Va.]
Marcus Foster, Kansas State    G    6-2    200    Fr.    Wichita Fallas, Texas/Hirschi
Isaiah Taylor, Texas    G    6-1    170    Fr.    Hayward, Calif./The Village School [Texas]
** – Unanimous Selection
Ties in the voting created an additional spot for the Sixth Man Award and on the All-Defensive Team

— Big 12 Press Release —

Bearcats fall to Missouri Southern in MIAA semifinals, 70-67

Posted on March 8, 2014March 8, 2014

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team fell to Missouri Southern State on Saturday evening in the MIAA Tournament semifinal round at Municipal Auditorium, 70-67. Northwest falls to 22-8 overall while Missouri Southern improves to 23-5 and will advance to play Central Oklahoma in the finals on Sunday.

Dillon Starzl had a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds, going 6-for-11 from the field. DeShaun Cooper scored 16 point on 5-of-11 shooting. Conner Crooker had 11 points to go along with six rebounds. Northwest outrebounded the Lions, 34-27, but committed six more turnovers, 16-10.

Northwest shot 48 percent from the field (24-for-50) and hit 15-of-20 from the charity stripe. The Bearcats also held a 21-9 bench scoring advantage and had 36 points in the paint.

For Missouri Southern, Marquis Addison had a game-high 22 points while Cameron Cornelius had 18.

Northwest will now await NCAA Tournament selection. There will be a selection show watch party on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. at Carson’s Sports Grille in downtown Maryville. The selections will also be available on NCAA.com.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Mizzou gets destroyed at Tennessee, 72-45

Posted on March 8, 2014

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Antonio Barton scored 16 points and Jarnell Stokes had a double-double Saturday as Tennessee trounced Missouri 72-45 to win its fourth straight game and boost its NCAA tournament hopes.

Tennessee (20-11, 11-7 SEC) hasn’t trailed at any point during its winning streak. Its last three games have been decided by an average margin of 31 points.

Barton shot 4 of 7 from 3-point range against Missouri and has now gone 13 of 22 from behind the arc over his last three games. Stokes had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan McRae added 11 points.

Jordan Clarkson had 13 points for Missouri (21-10, 9-9).

Both Tennessee and Missouri are perceived to be on the NCAA tournament bubble, raising the stakes in this regular-season finale for both teams. Missouri had beaten Tennessee 75-70 on Feb. 15 in Columbia, but Saturday’s rematch bore no resemblance to that game.

The Tigers shot 56.5 percent in their victory over Tennessee last month. Missouri shot 32 percent (15 of 47) overall and was 2 of 17 from 3-point range Saturday while recording its lowest point total of the season.

Missouri’s Jabari Brown, who entered the day leading the SEC with 20.1 points per game, shot 1 of 10 and was held to eight points. His only basket came with 1:19 left in the game. Brown scored 24 points against Tennessee last month.

Tennessee grabbed a 37-19 halftime lead by crushing Missouri on the boards and from 3-point range.

At the start of the day, Tennessee was second in the SEC and Missouri third in rebound margin. But their matchup Saturday turned into a mismatch. In the first half, Stokes nearly outrebounded Missouri by himself. Stokes had 10 boards in the first half to give Tennessee a 23-12 rebounding edge. Tennessee ended up outrebounding Missouri 45-28.

Tennessee also shot 6 of 16 from 3-point range in the first half while Missouri was just 1 of 6. Tennessee got some long-range contributions from unlikely sources. Armani Moore, who entered the day 8 of 32 from 3-point range in his college career, made both his first-half attempts from behind the arc. The Vols cooled off from long range in the second half — going 1 of 8 — but the game already was pretty much out of reach by then.

While Tennessee was on fire early, Missouri had nearly had as many first-half turnovers (six) as baskets (seven).

Missouri briefly threatened to make a game of it early in the second half.

McRae picked up his third foul on a Ryan Rosburg three-point play that cut Tennessee’s lead to 39-25 with 17:25 left. With McRae on the bench in foul trouble and plenty of time remaining, Missouri had a chance to rally.

Tennessee instead responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away. The Vols’ lead never dipped below 22 points the rest of the way as they delighted the partisan crowd with five second-half dunks, including a reverse jam from McRae that resulted in a three-point play with 3:58 remaining.

— Associated Press —

Wiggins’ 41 not enough as No. 8 Kansas falls at West Virginia

Posted on March 8, 2014March 8, 2014

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Its NCAA chances all but gone, West Virginia showed it still has some fight left in a lackluster season.

West Virginia built a 25-point lead and had to withstand 41 points by freshman Andrew Wiggins and a furious comeback by No. 8 Kansas to upset the Jayhawks 92-86 in their Big 12 regular-season finale Saturday.

“We just had to stay composed, not get too down, don’t say, ‘dang, they’re going to come back,” said Eron Harris, who led West Virginia with 28 points. “You’ve got to always have confidence in your team that you’re going to win.”

The Mountaineers (17-14, 9-9 Big 12) could have finished with a thud like they had in losing four of their five previous games that reduced them to playing for a spot in the NIT.

The young Mountaineers, who have no seniors, watched Kansas tear into the deficit behind Wiggins, who set a season high for scoring and a freshman record for the Jayhawks before fouling out in the final seconds. He also eight rebounds, four blocks and five steals, to go along with 12-of-18 shooting from the field. Ben McLemore has the Kansas single-game freshman scoring record with 36 last season.

West Virginia made some clutch free throws in the final minute to thwart the comeback and keep coach Bob Huggins’ sanity intact.

“When we get a little more experience, we’ll handle those things a little better,” said Huggins, who earned $25,000 for beating Kansas in the regular season, one of the bonus clauses in a 2012 contract extension.

Juwan Staten added 24 points and Devin Williams, WVU’s star freshman, had a season-high 22 points along with 13 rebounds. It marked the first time this season that Kansas had allowed three opposing players to score 20 points.

“I thought Staten controlled the game,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Harris was terrific and Williams was by far the best big in the game.

“They were terrific and then we didn’t guard at all. We’ve gone through stretches this year where we haven’t guarded well, but that’s probably as poor as we’ve been. But give them credit, they were a lot better than us offensively than we were defensively.”

West Virginia shot 53 percent from the floor and outrebounded Kansas 37-31.

Perry Ellis added 14 points for Kansas (23-8, 14-4), which clinched its 10th straight regular-season title a week ago and had little riding on this game. The Jayhawks will have a first-round bye in the conference tournament that begins Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas was without 7-foot freshman Joel Embiid, who sat out his second straight game to rest a lower back strain. Tarik Black, starting in Embiid’s place, went to the bench with his second foul four minutes into the game.

The Mountaineers led nearly the entire game but fell apart down the stretch. Still, West Virginia managed to beat a ranked team for the third time in seven tries over the past month.

Kansas went more than seven minutes without a field goal spanning the halves and found itself with its biggest deficit of the season, 64-39, with 16:43 left in the game after a Harris 3-pointer.

But the Mountaineers have had trouble holding double-digit leads this season, and Kansas — especially Wiggins — was hardly done.

West Virginia struggled against Kansas’ full-court press, and Wiggins followed Landen Lucas’ three-point play with four free throws and a 3-pointer over a 47-second span to pull Kansas within 78-68 with 6:13 remaining. Wiggins scored 14 straight points at one point for the Jayhawks.

Frank Mason’s 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to 85-80 with 1:24 left. But West Virginia made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to hang on.

Backups Lucas and Jamari Traylor couldn’t keep up with Williams, who scored 10 straight points for the Mountaineers at one point. He had 18 in the first half to give the Mountaineers a 50-38 halftime lead — the most points given up by the Jayhawks in the first half this season.

“I thought Devin played really well,” Huggins said. “(He) scored it through contact and made open shots, which he does in practice. And then he rebounds the ball for us. He’s the one guy who can really go rebound it in a crowd.”

West Virginia had its second sellout of the season, thanks to hundreds of Kansas fans who made the 900-mile trek east and those especially coming to see Wiggins, who played his high school ball on the other side of the state at Huntington Prep.

“I’ve never seen him play like that,” Huggins said. “When he makes shots he’s really difficult to defend.”

— Associated Press —

K-State gets upset at home by Baylor, 76-74

Posted on March 8, 2014March 8, 2014

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kenny Chery kept stepping to the free-throw line and kept knocking them down.

Ten times in a row.

The stretch of perfection came in the midst of 17 straight made free throws for Baylor, and was part of a 29-point outpouring by the junior guard that helped the streaking Bears hold on for a tense 76-74 victory over Kansas State on Saturday.

“Our senior leadership got us together and said, `We need to make free throws,” said Chery, who finished 13 of 14 from the line. “We made them.”

Kansas State had the ball with three-tenths of a second left, but Will Spradling’s full-court inbound pass was picked off by Cory Jefferson, allowing time to run out.

“They made plays. You have to give them credit,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.

Jefferson added 16 points for the Bears (21-10, 9-9 Big 12), who erased a 12-point second-half deficit to win for the seventh time in their last eight games. They also beat the Wildcats (20-11, 10-8) twice in the same season for the first time in school history.

Baylor’s winning stretch coincides with the return of Chery to the starting lineup. He had been struggling with turf toe earlier in the season, when the Bears were slip-sliding through the conference schedule and in danger of being eliminated from NCAA tournament contention.

Now, they’re riding a wave of momentum into next week’s Big 12 tournament.

“I wouldn’t pick against us right now,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “I think our guys have showed we have some resiliency, we have some toughness and we have some heart.”

Marcus Foster scored 29 points while Thomas Gipson added 16 and Nino Williams 15 for the Wildcats, who had their school-record 15-game winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum come to an end.

“I don’t know what our chances are in March Madness,” Gipson said, “but we want to win the Big 12 tournament so that we have a chance.”

At least, be assured of a chance. Kansas State and Baylor have both done enough to warrant strong consideration as at-large picks when Selection Sunday rolls around.

That’s a far cry from where they started the season — the Wildcats lost their opener at home to Northern Colorado, while the Bears at one point lost five straight Big 12 games. Both of them managed to pick up some marquee wins, though, taking some of the pressure off next week.

“We’ve still got games left,” Weber said, “and I hope they’re ready to play in Kansas City and they can make amends for today’s loss.”

The Wildcats would have felt even better about their chances if they would have protected a 33-25 halftime lead that eventually grew to 12 points early in the second half.

That’s when the Wildcats went cold from the field, making two field goals in an 8-minute stretch, and seemed to stop defending the Bears altogether.

“Once they got rolling,” Gipson said, “it was hard for us to stop.”

Brady Heslip’s 3-pointer with about 10 minutes remaining gave Baylor its first lead, but it was still 46-all with about 8 minutes left when the Wildcats started to miss free throws. They clanked out five of six at one point, and the Bears slowly crept out to a 56-49 lead.

Every time the Wildcats threatened to get close, the Bears had an answer.

Foster hit a 3-pointer to make it 66-62, and Royce O’Neale was fouled and made two free throws. Foster hit another 3, Chery made two free throws. Gipson scored with 31 seconds left to make it 70-67, and Chery again stepped to the foul line and made two free throws.

“Kenny was huge,” Drew said. “He’s been great from the free-throw line.”

Gary Franklin added two more free throws with 14.4 seconds left, and after Foster’s final 3-pointer, Chery finished off the incredible display of foul shooting with two more to wrap it up.

“Free-throw shooting is kind of like field-goal kicking. You just never really know,” Drew said. “We’ve worked hard on free-throw shooting, and I’m glad the guys who have shot it well. The close games, you got to make free throws. That’s been critical to getting wins down the stretch.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest softball drops two games at Washburn

Posted on March 8, 2014March 8, 2014

The Northwest Missouri State softball team out hit Washburn Saturday, but fell in both games of the double header losing 7-6 in game one, then falling 11-4 in game two.

WU scored early in game one as they put up two runs in each of the first two innings to take a 4-0 lead.

The Bearcats got on the board and took the lead in the top of the third inning as they were able to plate across five runs with RBI’s from Jordan Ereth, Stephanie Mark, Baylee Scarbrough and Chantel Adams.

A home run and an RBI single gave the Ichabods the lead back in the fourth. Northwest was able to answer with a run in the top of the sixth to tie up the game at 6-6.

Scarbrough was stranded on the base path in the top half of the seventh and the Bearcats would have to push the game into extra innings to have a chance to go home with the victory.

Washburn was able to get their leadoff hitter on and with two outs, hit a single up the middle to score the runner from second and claim the 7-6 victory in game one.

Paige Blythe was tagged with the loss, moving her record to 0-2 on the season.

Northwest was able to score first in game two when Taszia Roseberry hit her, team leading, fifth home run of the season in the top of the second. Three more Bearcats were able to cross the plate to take a 4-0 lead.

WU answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie it up. They added one run in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth to take a an 11-4 lead.

The Bearcats were unable to recover as they stranded nine runners on base in the contest.

Abbie Vitosh received the loss in the 11-4 defeat, moving her record to 1-4 on the season.

Northwest’s record moves to 3-8, 0-2 on the season. Head Coach Ryan Anderson’s team will continue conference play Sunday as they take on Emporia State in a double header with first pitch in game one scheduled for noon.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Fighting Irish use big second half to defeat Savannah and win district title

Posted on March 7, 2014

The Lafayette boys basketball team won its second consecutive district championship Friday night as they defeated Savannah in the Class 4 District 16 title at Lafayette high school, 48-35.

The Fighting Irish improve to 22-4 this season and they’ll play a Class 4 sectional game Wednesday at Staley high school against either Liberty North or Lincoln Prep.

Savannah jumped out to a 10-0 lead Friday night as they played well early, but Lafayette answered with their own 10-0 run to end the first quarter and the game was tied after one.

The Irish extended their run in the second quarter as it grew to a 19-2 run before Savannah scored the final six points of the half and LHS led 19-18 at halftime.

After the break, it was all Lafayette.

The Fighting Irish opened the third quarter on a 17-0 run and they were threaten by Savannah in the second half as they cruised to the district title.

Billy Cook, Xavier Kurth and Gary Wilkinson each scored 11 points for Lafayette.

Bert Ernst led the Savages with 17 as Savannah ends its season 16-11.

Benton girls hold off Lafayette to win district championship

Posted on March 7, 2014March 7, 2014

The Benton girls basketball team won its first district title in four years as the Cardinals beat their cross-town rival Lafayette, 37-31, in the Class 4 District 16 championship at Lafayette High School.

Benton improves to 18-8 and they’ll play either Liberty North or Lincoln Prep in a Class 4 Sectional game at Staley High School on Wednesday.

The Cardinals led the Irish after one quarter, 8-4, and then extended their lead to seven points in the second before Lafayette scored the final five points of the half and BHS led 15-13 at the break.

Lafayette took a 21-19 lead late in the third quarter before Benton scored five straight points to close the quarter, including a three-pointer at the buzzer from Maleah Lankford.

The Cardinals never trailed again.

Benton extended its lead to ten points in the fourth quarter and Lafayette never got closer than six the rest of the way.

The Cards’ Mallory McAndrews led all scorers with 13 points, while Lindsay Doolan added 10.

Lafayette ends its season 17-9 and they were led by Ashlyn Dotson’s eight points.

Missouri Western softball gets swept at Washburn

Posted on March 7, 2014

The Missouri Western softball team fell in two close MIAA contests against the Washburn Ichabods. The Griffons fell in eight innings on a walk off grand slam 7-4 before falling 2-1 in the nightcap. The Griffons fall to 10-6 overall and 0-2 in MIAA play. The Griffons games against Emporia State that were scheduled to be played tomorrow, March 8 have been moved to Monday, March 10 with first pitch scheduled for 2 pm in Emporia, Kan.

Game 1
WU 7
MWSU 4 8 innings

The Griffons lost a heartbreaker in game one against the Ichabods falling 7-4 in eight innings on a walk-off grand slam by Bre Hixon. The Griffons had nine hits in the game with Taylor Anding leading the way going 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Things looked good for the Griffons early taking a 3-0 lead after three and a half innings of play. Sydney Washington hit her second homer of her career in the top of the third and then Anding blasted a two run bomb in the top of the fourth giving the Griffons the 3-0 lead.

The next inning and a half belonged to the Ichabods as they scored two runs on three hits in the fourth and then tied it at 3 in the 5th when Samantha Carson blasted a lead off home run.

The Griffons got lead off singles in both the 6th and 7th inning but stranded both on second base. The Ichabods also got runners on base but solid defense by the Griffons helped them get out of both jams.

In the top of the 8th Tiffany Gillaspy got hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She then forced the issue on the bases scoring a throwing error by the Hixon.

Janie Smith who replaced Jackie Bishp in the seventh got back-to-back ground outs by the Ichabods opening the 8th. With two outs Washburn got two singles and a walk to set up the homer by Hixon.

Bishop went six innings giving up six hits with seven strikeouts. She also walked three and gave up three earned runs. Smith falls to 4-3 going 1.2 innings giving up three hits and four earned runs with one walk.

The Ichabods had nine hits with Marina Quimny going 2-for-3. Kaylee Erickson started on the mound for the Ichabods going 3.1 innings giving up four hits and three earned runs with two walks and a strikeout. Lauren Thimmesch picked up the victory improving to 2-1 overall. She went 4.2 innings giving up five hits and one earned run.

Game 2
WU 2
MWSU 1

In game two the Griffons four hits off the Ichabods. Washburn scored one run in the first and the go ahead in the bottom of the fourth off a throwing error by the Griffons third baseman.

Janie Smith tied the game in the fourth but that would be all the Griffons could get off pitcher Samantha Carson.

The Ichabods improve to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in MIAA play. They were led by Thimmesch and Quimby with two hits apiece.

Smith went all six innings giving up nine hits and one earned run. She falls to 4-4 with the loss.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats take down Emporia to advance to MIAA semifinals

Posted on March 7, 2014

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team captured a tough-fought 70-57 victory over Emporia State on Friday evening at Municipal Auditorium in thequarterfinal round of the MIAA Tournament. Northwest will now advance to face the winner of Missouri Southern and Nebraska-Kearney at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday evening.

The Bearcats (22-7) were paced by 21 points from senior DeShaun Cooper, 14 coming after halftime. He also had a team-high nine rebounds and a steal. Classmate Dillon Starzl added 17 points with six rebounds and two blocked shots. Grant Cozad went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe and finished with 11 points. Emporia State got 26 points from Terrence Moore and 19 from Kaleb Wright as the Hornets finished the season at 18-13.

Northwest rebounded from a 40 percent shooting first half with an efficient12-for-22 (54.5 percent) effort in the second half to finish at 47.6 percent while holding ESU to 21-for-64 shooting (32.8 percent). Northwest only forced nine turnovers but drew 26 personal fouls and shot 38 free throws on the evening, double the Hornets’ total.

The Hornets led by as many as eight in the first half as Moore and Wright each reached double figures in the opening 20 minutes. But grabbed the lead with2:02 left in the first half on a Cooper three pointer and never trailed therest of the way. The score was tied with 1:27 in the first half but Northwest would go on to score the last four points of the half to lead 29-25 at the break.

Northwest will play the winner of Nebraska-Kearney and Missouri Southern in the MIAA semifinals on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium.

— Northwest Sports Information —