GIRLS
Lafayette 35, Savannah 21
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 16 SEMIFINAL
Lathrop 53, Bishop LeBlond 30
Author: Dave Riggert
Western women let second half lead slip away against No. 11 UCM
The Missouri Western women’s basketball team lost to No. 11 Central Missouri 59-53 in its final home game of the year Wednesday night at MWSU Fieldhouse. With the loss, the Griffons fall to 10-15 and 5-13 in the MIAA while the Jennies move to 22-3 and 16-2 in the conference.
In the first half, the Griffons led early and often. After taking a 6-2 lead in the first three minutes, Central Missouri came back to take a 7-6 lead at the 15:30 mark of the opening half. Quenisha Lockett’s layup less than a minute later put the Griffons up for good in the first half as they went on a 9-0 run to take a 15-7 lead.
Missouri Western’s lead expanded to double digits late in the half when Sharniece Lewis dropped in a 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining to go up 29-17. The 12-point lead matches the Griffons biggest lead of the game and they took a 31-23 lead into the break.
Lewis led all scorers with 14 points in the first half while the Jennies were led by Shelby Winkelmann’s 10 points. In the second half, Central Missouri began to chip away at the lead.
Minutes into the frame Winklemann nailed a triple and split a pair of free throws as the Jennies trailed by four. After falling behind by six, the Jennies went on a 7-0 run to claim their first lead since the opening minutes after Keuna Flax knocked down a pair of freebies to take a 40-39 lead with 11:33 left.
The teams swapped baskets for the better part of the game after that, and neither team led by more than four until Revonnia Howard’s lay in with 2:23 left put Central Missouri ahead 53-47. Lockett and JaQuitta Dever knocked down a couple buckets to get within two, but the Jennies secured the victory going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch.
Winkelmann led Central Missouri with 16 points while Flax added 16 to go with 13 rebounds for the double-double. Lewis ended with a game-high 18 points. Lockett had eight points and seven boards to pace the Griffons.
After the game the Griffons honored their six seniors, which along with Dever and Lewis, included Tiffanie Abrams, Jallisa Lewis, Cassey Sobaski and Lanicia Lawrence.
Next up for the Missouri Western women is a road matchup against Southwest Baptist.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Northwest women rally to defeat Southwest Baptist, 76-72
Down by 11 early in the second half and looking at a potential four-game losing streak, the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team rose up against Southwest Baptist and played inspired basketball.
Northwest started pounding the ball inside and found success, beating Baptist 76-72 Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena.
The victory puts Northwest in the MIAA Tournament and keeps hope alive for a first-round game at Bearcat Arena.
“It is such a relief,” Northwest senior guard Monique Stevens said. “It is really nice that we have clinched it. Now we just have to play inspired basketball and look forward to Saturday.”
It was the proper send off for Stevens and senior guard Meridee Scott, who were playing their last regular-season home game. Each played a role in the second-half turnaround.
Scott, who graduated from Maryville High School, finished with 10 points, many coming at key times.
“It is sad, but exciting at the same time,” Scott said of her last regular-season home game. “We are just excited that we won. We just really wanted to get in that tournament. Winning tonight meant a whole lot for us (seniors) and our team. I am so happy we won tonight.”
For a while, it looked bleak when Northwest trailed 42-31 early in the second half. The Bearcats appeared to be in their late-season funk.
Northwest, though, started driving the ball inside and that opened up the outside enough for Stevens to hit consecutive three-pointers that turned a 44-40 deficit into a 46-44 lead with 13:30 left in the game.
“They were really important,” said Stevens, who finished with six points and three assists. “I haven’t been shooting the ball well the last three games. I knew how important it was to get my shot back. I hit the first one and it gave me a little confidence.
“Hitting the second one opened the inside presence so much more.”
Baptist grabbed two more leads over the next couple of minutes. The last was 50-49. Northwest took the lead for good at 51-50 on an inside basket by Annie Mathews.
Tember Schechinger followed that with back-to-back drives to the basket that resulted in two layups, pushing Northwest’s lead to 55-50. She finished with a team-high 16 points on six of eight shooting from the field.
The Bearcats maintained control the rest of the way because they shared the basketball, got it inside and took the least difficult shot available.
“You look down our stat line and we had more assists than turnovers,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “It talks about how we shared the basketball tonight. We didn’t settle.
“We had six girls in double figures. The word team is the first thing that comes to my mind when I see that stat.”
The win could not have come at a better time for the Bearcats, who improved to 10-15 overall and 7-11 in the MIAA. Northwest will conclude its regular season Saturday at Central Missouri.
Northwest will need confidence against the Jennies, who are battling for first place with Emporia State.
The Bearcats just need to play the way it did in the second half against Baptist instead of the first half.
Northwest shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and only committed five turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
“It was definitely a tale of two halves,” Smith said. “It was great. I thought our fans deserved that second-half performance. I felt in the first half we played with just enough energy to not to lose. We played a little timid and that has been the story the last couple of games.
“A lot of coaches would have went into halftime and screamed and yelled.”
Smith said he spoke in a calm manner.
“I told them you are playing really uninspired basketball,” Smith said. “It is very disappointing to me and disappointing to our fans. Our fans deserve more.
“We got 20 minutes of basketball to play. We can play like we are capable of and if we lose, I am going to be OK with it. I said if we play like we are capable of, we are probably going to win.”
The Bearcats proved Smith right.
Northwest started the game well. The Bearcats moved the ball around and got open shots. The Bearcats led to a 14-7 lead.
Unfortunately, the Bearcats couldn’t sustain it. They went cold from the field. Baptist went on a 19-4 run for a 26-18 lead.
It didn’t stop there. Northwest fell behind 34-23 before it finally regrouped and went into halftime down 36-29.
Statistically, the first half was fairly even. The difference was Baptist getting to more of the loose balls and grabbing a couple of more offensive rebounds, which led to a few more second-chance points.
— Northwest Sports Information —
City High School Basketball Scores – Tuesday, Feb. 25
BOYS
Lafayette 74, Harrisonville 24
Lee’s Summit West 68, Central 37
Staley 76, Benton 57
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 16 QUARTERFINAL
Bishop LeBlond 80, Hamilton 53
CLASS 2 DISTRICT 16 QUARTERFINAL
East Buchanan 67, St. Joseph Christian 37
GIRLS
Benton 57, Staley 46
Tigers struggle on the road again as they fall at Georgia, 71-56
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Charles Mann scored 19 points, Marcus Thornton added 15 and Georgia won its second straight game with a 71-56 victory over Missouri on Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs (16-11, 10-5 Southeastern Conference) have won six of seven.
Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson each finished with 17 points for Missouri (19-9, 7-8 SEC).
The Tigers, coming off Saturday’s dispirited loss at Alabama, might have hurt their chance of making a sixth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Georgia, which went just 6-6 in nonconference play, began the SEC schedule by snapping Missouri’s 26-game home winning streak on Jan. 8, is alone in third place in the SEC behind No. 1 Florida and No. 17 Kentucky.
Missouri dropped into a two-way tie for 10th place with Vanderbilt.
The Tigers’ last lead came on Brown’s layup midway through the first half. Missouri was outscored 16-6 over the final 9:12 before intermission.
Mann opened up the second half with a straightaway 3, and Juwan Parker’s three-point play a couple of minutes later gave Georgia its first double-digit lead at 37-26.
Despite outrebounding the Bulldogs, Missouri struggled in nearly every other facet of the game, missing 15 of its first 16 attempts beyond the arc, getting outscored 38-18 in the paint and 11-2 on fast breaks.
Georgia’s Kenny Gaines, coming off career-high 27 points at South Carolina, finished with 10 points.
The Tigers dropped to 2-6 in SEC road games. They finished 2-7 on the road in their first SEC season last year.
Missouri’s defense has really struggled in the last two games. Georgia, which began the night with the SEC’s worst field-goal shooting percentage in league games, shot 52.1 percent from the field.
The Tigers let Alabama shoot 54.7 percent last weekend — the Crimson Tide’s highest percentage against a Division I team in five years.
— Associated Press —
K-State rallies past Texas Tech to end road losing streak
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Marcus Foster scored 17 points, shooting 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, to lead Kansas State to a 60-56 win over Texas Tech Tuesday night and secure a much-needed road win as conference play dwindles down.
Wesley Iwundu added 12 points, 11 of them coming in the second half, and five rebounds for the Wildcats. Thomas Gipson and Will Spradling each scored 10.
Dejan Kravic led the Red Raiders with 13 points, six rebounds and four blocks and Jordan Tolbert added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Texas Tech (13-15) led by as many as nine, 38-29, with 13:02 to go but the Wildcats (19-9) responded with a 25-9 run, including nine consecutive to end the run with a seven-point lead, 54-47 with 4:34 to go.
Iwundu scored the go-ahead free throw to complete a 3-point play after a layup with 55 seconds to go to make it 57-56. Spradling added one free throw when Tech was forced to foul, then Iwundu put in a layup with one second to go after a Red Raider turnover to close the win
That three-pointer put Spradling in the school record books as the 25th player at Kansas State to score 1,000 points. The win also gives coach Bruce Weber the best two-year start in Kansas State history with 46 wins, passing Lon Kruger.
Kansas State led for most of the first half until Kravic sank two free throws to take a 17-16 lead with 7:06 left in the half. The Wildcats regained the lead on a pair of Gipson free throws to make it 25-24 with 1:05 until the break, but Dusty Hannahs hit a jumper with 41 seconds in the half and the Red Raiders took a 26-25 lead into the locker room.
The Red Raiders came out of the break fired up and built the lead to as many as nine points on a Kravic layup with 13:02 to go, but the Wildcats fought back and took their first lead in almost fifteen minutes on an Iwundu dunk with 5:35 to go to make it 48-47.
That dunk ignited a 9-0 Kansas State run led by Nino Williams and capped off with a 3-pointer by Spradling to boost the Wildcats ahead 54-47.
Texas Tech called a timeout and regained focus with a run of its own, scoring seven points in 44 seconds, between 3:33 and 2:49, to tie it 54-54.
A few Red Raiders were on the floor fighting for a loose ball that Kansas State recovered and got into the hands of Iwundu, who maneuvered around Hannahs for a layup and a trip to the line. Iwundu made the shot to take a 57-56 lead with 55 seconds to go.
When Texas Tech was forced to foul, Spradling made the first of two free throws to lead 58-56. The Red Raiders missed an opportunity to tie or win as a miscommunication resulted in Robert Turner turning the ball over to Foster, which led to an Iwundu layup.
The Red Raiders out-rebounded the Wildcats 34-24 and scored 16 second chance points to the Wildcats four but didn’t close it out in the final minute.
— Associated Press —
City High School Basketball Scores – Monday, Feb. 24
GIRLS
Lee’s Summit West 56, Central 43
Lafayette 44, Excelsior Springs 26
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 16 FIRST ROUND
Bishop LeBlond 46, Lawson 42
CLASS 2 DISTRICT 16 FIRST ROUND
Gallatin 59, St. Joseph Christian 22
No. 5 Kansas defeat OU to clinch share of Big 12 title
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Naadir Tharpe had 19 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures, and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks held off Oklahoma 83-75 on Monday night to wrap up a share of their 10th consecutive Big 12 championship.
Wayne Selden and Andrew Wiggins added 15 points each, and Joel Embiid had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks (22-6, 13-2), who poured off the bench at the buzzer to celebrate the latest addition to their nation-leading 57 conference titles.
It might be the only one for Wiggins and Embiid, the dynamic freshman duo projected to be lottery picks if they come out this season. Wiggins has already stated his intention to do so.
Cameron Clark had 18 points and Buddy Hield finished with 16 for the Sooners (20-8, 9-6), who have lost 12 of their last 13 games against the Jayhawks, including both this season.
They had Kansas on the ropes for most of this one.
After taking the lead midway through the second half, Kansas started to put the hammer down, frustrating Oklahoma into poor outside shots and slicing through the lane for easy layups.
Tharpe made it all happen, either scoring himself or helping one of his teammates. The much-maligned point guard finished with five assists and only one turnover.
Only two schools in men’s Division I basketball have won more consecutive conference titles than Kansas: UCLA captured 13 straight from 1967-79 in the Pac-10, and Gonzaga won 11 straight in the West Coast Conference from 2001-11.
The first half Monday night boiled down to an old-fashioned Big Eight tussle.
The Jayhawks threw the first body punch, picking up right where they left off in a rout of Texas by taking a 15-4 lead. Oklahoma answered with a few haymakers of its own, going on a 13-2 charge and eventually pulling ahead 27-25 with 5:26 left in the half.
Selden took over down the stretch, though, scoring seven straight points to give Kansas the lead back. Frank Mason’s 3-pointer capped a 10-0 surge and made it 42-33 at halftime.
The Jayhawks, arguably the deepest team in the Big 12, forged their lead despite playing without a handful of players due to foul trouble. Wiggins, Tharpe, Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor all had two fouls, and Connor Frankamp was on the bench with three.
Wiggins picked up his third on the first play of the second half, when Ryan Spangler drove to the basket for an and one. It was the start of a 10-2 run that got the Sooners back in the game.
Clark’s hot shooting and a couple of timely 3-pointers by Hield gave Oklahoma the lead, only for Kansas to come back once more. Wiggins scored on a putback of his own miss with 8:01 left to give the Jayhawks a 60-59 lead, and their advantage grew to 69-63 a few minutes later.
The Sooners kept finding answers. When Wiggins hit a 3-pointer to make it 74-66, Isaiah Cousins promptly scored in the paint. When Tharpe got a home-rim bounce on a pull-up jumper, Hield was there to hit a fall-away 3-pointer to close within 76-71 with 1:30 left.
Oklahoma simply ran out of time, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock, another sellout crowd at the Phog began to chant, “Ten straight! Ten straight!”
— Associated Press —
Kansas football add Bernie Parmalee to coaching staff
Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis added a seasoned veteran to the Jayhawk staff Monday as it was announced that Bernie Parmalee has joined the KU program at the quality control for special teams position.
Additionally, Weis announced that graduate assistant Kaeman Mitchell will shift from working with the Jayhawk special teams to the offensive side of the ball. Mitchell replaces former KU letterwinner, Kale Pick, who recently left his graduate assistant position at Kansas for a similar role at Texas A&M.
Parmalee comes to Kansas after spending three seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight ends coach from 2010-12. He returned to the NFL coaching ranks in his position with the Chiefs after spending five seasons at Notre Dame (2005-09).
“I am very happy to add Bernie to our staff,” said Weis. “He worked with me for six years and did a great job. I’m sure he will be a valuable asset to our program.”
In his first season with the Chiefs, Parmalee was instrumental in the development of tight end Tony Moeaki. Moeaki caught 47 passes in 2010, the top mark by a rookie tight end in Chiefs history. His 556 receiving yards trailed only tight end Walter White (559) for the best total by a rookie tight end in club annals.
Parmalee served as the tight ends coach his final three seasons with Notre Dame (2007-09). He tutored the tight ends in addition to assisting with the special teams during the 2005-06 campaigns.
Prior to joining Notre Dame, Parmalee spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins (2002-04). During his coaching tenure with Miami, he served as the tight ends coach (2004), the assistant special teams coach/offensive assistant (2003) and assistant special teams coach (2002).
Parmalee enjoyed a nine-year NFL playing career with Miami (1992-98) and the New York Jets (1999-00). During his NFL career, Parmalee played in 134 games (26 starts), recording 567 rushes for 2,179 yards with 17 TDs and 168 receptions for 1,485 yards with three scores. He also registered 16 kickoff returns for 289 yards and 123 special teams tackles. Parmalee also played in seven career postseason contests (four starts). He entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Miami in 1992.
The Jersey City, N.J., native finished his collegiate career as the all-time leading rusher in Ball State history, tallying 3,483 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. He earned varsity letters in football and baseball as a prep standout at Lincoln High School in Jersey City, N.J.
— KU Sports Information —
Missouri Western softball splits on final day in St. Cloud
The Missouri Western softball team wrapped up the final day of the Kelly Laas Invite Sunday with a split. The Griffons fell 3-1 against 8th ranked Augustana (SD) before earning an 11-0 run rule victory over host St. Cloud State. The Griffons improve to 10-4 on the season and return to action next weekend in Joplin, Mo. to participate in the MSSU Invite. The Griffons will take on William Jewell and Illinois-Springfield on Saturday, March 1 at noon and 4 pm. On Sunday, March 2 they will take on Wayne State and Northern State at 9 am and 1 pm.
Game 1
#8 Augustana 3
Missouri Western 1
The Griffons looked to have everything in control against the 8th ranked Vikings holding a 1-0 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth. Jackie Bishop was throwing a no hitter until the sixth when the Vikings got three hits including a homer giving the Vikings the 3-1 victory.
The Griffons got on the board first in the 2nd inning when Brooke Schaben singled to right center advanced to second on a wild pitch and socred on a Kat Steponovich two out single up the middle giving the Griffons the 1-0 lead after two innings.
The score stayed that way until bottom of the sixth when the Vikings broke up the no hitter with back-to-back singles by Emily Heinz and Maddie Merriam to lead off the inning. Abby Chandler grounded out to first and Heinz scored on a throwing error by Tiffany Gillaspy tying the game at one. Merriam then scored on a Caitlin Nichol sac fly to left field which was followed up by a Sarah Kennedy homer giving the Vikings the 3-1 lead after six innings.
In the bottom of the 7th Schaben led off the inning with a single to first base but got stranded as strikeouts by Anding and Steponovich and a pop up to first base by Sydney Washington ended the game.
Bishop falls to 6-2 with the loss giving up three hits and just one earned run while striking out five. Schaben got two of the Griffons four hits in the contest.
The Vikings Jenelle Trautmann picked up the victory for the Vikings going all seven innings giving up five hits and one earned run while striking out seven and walking two. She improves to 5-1 on the season while the Vikings improve to 7-2 with the victory.
Game 2
Missouri Western 11
St. Cloud State 0 (5 innings)
The Griffons pounded out 11 hits and used a four run third inning and a six run fourth inning claiming an 11-0 five inning victory over the St. Cloud State Huskies. The Griffons got multiple hits from Bre Fleschner, Tiffany Gillaspy, Steponovich and Washington.
The Griffons stranded back-to-back hits in the top of the first inning by Fleschner and Rathman but in the second they were able to get on the board. The Griffons used walks from Janie Smith and Steponovich to get things going. Smith scored on an error by the shortstop giving the Griffons a 1-0 lead after two.
In the third the Griffons used three two out hits including an Taylor Anding single scoring Gillaspy from second and a Steponovich double scoring Smith and Anding. Washington followed the double with a single to right field scoring Steponovich giving the Griffons the 5-0 lead.
In the 4th the bats stayed hot with six hits. Fleschner led off with a double which was followed by a Gillaspy single. Both players scored on a Schaben single to left field giving the Griffons a 7-0 lead. After another walk by Smith, Steponovich stepped to the plate hitting a single down the left field line scoring Schaben and Smith extending the Griffons lead to 9-0. Washington was the next batter and she blasted her first career homer putting the Griffons up 11-0 after four.
That would be all Smith would need as she gave up just one more hit in the final two innings pitching the complete game. Smith improves to 4-2 on the season.
Steponovich finished the game with four RBI and two runs scored while Washington finished with three RBI and one run scored.
The Huskies fall to 2-2 on the season as Kendra Merritt picked up the loss going just three innings giving up six hits and four earned runs while striking out four. Two of the Huskies three hits came in the first inning when Tricia DeBoer and Abby Bunnell led of the game with back-to-back singles.
— MWSU Sports Information —