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Author: Dave Riggert

Western women come up short at No. 8 Central Missouri, 71-65

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MWSUThe Missouri Western women’s basketball team played another solid game on the road but fell 71-65 against the 8th ranked Central Missouri Jennies. The Griffons were led by Quenisha Lockett with a double double scoring 15 points and snaring 10 rebounds. The Griffons fall to 5-9 overall and 1-7 in league play.

Missouri Western got 10 first half points and 6 rebounds from Quenisha Lockett going into the half down seven at 31-24. The Griffons turned the ball over 10 times which led to 13 Central Missouri points. The Jennies jumped all over the Griffons in the first four minutes of the game taking a 12-2 lead after a Revonnia Howard layup with 16:00 minutes to play. The Griffons hung in there going on a 8-2 run cutting the UCM lead to 14-10 with 14:25 to play after a JaQuitta Dever layup.

The two teams played played the rest of the half with the Griffons getting as close at two at 20-18 after a Sharniece Lewis layup with 7:52 to play. The final eight minutes the Jennies outscored the Griffons 11-6 taking the seven point lead into the half. The Griffons shot 37.9-percent (11-29) from the field and outrebounded UCM 22-16. The Jennies were led by Howard with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The Jennies mad 5-of-9 free throws and 12-of-30 field goals.

The Griffons came out of the half outscoring the Jennies 8-2 cutting the UCM lead to 33-32 after a three point play by Lanicia Lawrence with 17:11 to play in the game. The Jennies responded in the next five minutes going on 12-4 run taking a 45-36 lead with 12:34 to play.

Missouri Western continued to play hard cutting the lead to five with 8:46 to play after a Tiffanie Abrams layup. UCM expanded its lead to as many as 11 down the stretch but two three pointers by S. Lewis made things interesting. Here second three cut the UCM lead to 69-63 with under a minute to play. Unfortunately the Griffons did not get any closer than five the rest of the way.

The Griffons shot 42.9-percent (27-63) from the field but made just 7-of-15 free throws and 4-of-15 three pointers. JaQuitta Dever and Lewis finished with 14 and 11 points while Abrams and Lawrence both had seven.

The Jennies improve to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in MIAA play. They had three players score in double figures with Howard finishing with a game high 23 points while Keuna Flax and Shelby Winkelmann had 16 and 12 respectively.

Missouri Western returns to action on Saturday, January 18 with a home contest against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. Game time is set for 1:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Kansas State rallies to defeat No. 25 Oklahoma

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KSUMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Marcus Foster scored 18 points, Nino Williams made four clinching free throws in the closing seconds and Kansas State held on to beat No. 25 Oklahoma 72-66 on Tuesday night.

Shane Southwell added 16 points for the Wildcats (13-4, 3-1 Big 12), who rallied from a 62-56 deficit with just over 5 minutes to play to turn back the streaking Sooners.

Ryan Spangler had a career-high 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Buddy Hield scored 12 points for Oklahoma (13-4, 2-2), but it wasn’t enough to offset a lousy night by Cameron Clark.

The Big 12’s leading scorer, Clark was held to two points on 1-for-9 shooting. He was stripped of the ball with 24.5 seconds left and the Sooners trailing 67-64.

The turnover forced Oklahoma to foul, and Williams made both free throws. Je’lon Hornbeak missed a 3-pointer at the other end and the Sooners fouled Williams, and again he knocked down both foul shots to help seal the game.

Wesley Iwundu added 11 points for Kansas State while Williams and Will Spradling finished with 10 points apiece.

The Sooners, the highest scoring team in the Big 12, got the up-and-down game they wanted in the first half. The only problem was that Kansas State, which tends to struggle offensively but is the league’s best on defense, was knocking down shots from all over the court.

The Wildcats hit 3-pointers on five straight trips midway through the first half. Foster had the first three, thumping his chest on his way back to the bench after the last of them.

Kansas State eventually pushed its lead to 28-19 on Iwundu’s 3-pointer before the Sooners started to find some success in the paint. Isaiah Cousins’ driving layup started an 18-5 run over the next 7 minutes, capped by Hield’s basket for a 37-33 lead.

The Wildcats answered with a 3 by Southwell, and Spradling was fouled just before the halftime buzzer and made three free throws to give Kansas State a 39-38 lead.

Oklahoma slowly took control in the second half as the Wildcats cooled off. Spangler’s three-point play with 6 1/2 minutes left gave the Sooners a 58-56 lead, and a breezy jumper by Cousins from just inside the 3-point arc extended the lead with about 5 minutes to play.

Once more, Kansas State clawed right back.

Big man Thomas Gipson stuck back a miss by Southwell for his first field goal with 2:59 left in the game to knot it 63-all. Foster then buried a 3-pointer from right in front of Kansas State coach Bruce Weber to give the Wildcats a 66-63 lead.

They managed to hold onto the lead through a tense closing stretch.

— Associated Press —

Bearcats roll past Northeastern State; have best record in MIAA

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NWMSUStudents returned from Christmas break so the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team decided to entertain its peers with an upper-level brand of ball that Northeastern State was not prepared to deal with.

Northwest made the RiverHawks look like they went into 600-level course with basketball 101-skills.

What was supposed to have been an early-season, first-place showdown turned into an easy 85-65 rout by Northwest Monday night at Bearcat Arena.

“It definitely feels good to be playing in front of a lot of people and your fellow students and they are pretty loud,” said sophomore Conner Crooker, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “It definitely changes the environment of the game and gives us home court advantage.”

The Bearcats improved to 11-5 overall and 6-1 in the MIAA. Northeastern dropped to 10-4 and 5-2.

Much of the first half, the game was as close as the records indicated it would be. But the Bearcats got hot at the end.

Northwest finished the first half strong. The game was tied 24-24 when Northwest went on a 9-0 run and took a 33-24 lead into halftime.

Cooper made four free throws during the run and freshman Zach Schneider also hit a three-pointer.

“I think the first half we were getting the same shots as the second half, but just weren’t knocking them down,” said Schneider, who finished with 19 points. “We started making the run when we were hitting open shots.”

The first 10 minutes of the second half was basketball at its best for Northwest. It was beautiful, the way the game is meant to be played.

Northwest made the extra pass that led to wide open shots inside and out.

The blowout began with an inside bucket by Dillon Starzl that gave the Bearcats a 36-25 lead. A minute later, sophomore Connor Crooker took advantage of a nice pass and drained a three-pointer to make it 39-25.

After a three-point play by Northeastern, Crooker drilled another three-pointer.

The two teams traded points over the next few minutes and then the Bearcats exploded offensively. They were scoring points in every manner.

The capper came with 13 minutes left when Crooker drove to the hole, passed it to Matt Wallace, who then slipped a pass to Grant Cozad, who laid it in to give Northwest a 57-35 lead.

“That is when we are at our best when we get the ball moving,” said Cozad, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

With the big lead, Northwest never let up. The Bearcats kept fighting for offensive rebounds and attacking the basket. It was an amazing performance by the Bearcats.

“We did play pretty well, but I think we can always improve,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “The coach in me says that we can. There were some missed layups and a few turnovers and a few missed rotations.

“For the most part, we played at a high level. Our energy was good. Our concentration was good. We were into the game. It was just a good game.”

There was not much to say about the play of Northeastern. And because this is a website devoted to focusing on the positive aspects of collegiate athletics, no comments will be made about the nearly all black jersey of the RiverHawks.

The Bearcats deserved all the attention Monday night. They shot 60 percent from the field in the second half. Overall, Northwest was 11 for 23 from three-point range.

It was a dominating performance as five Bearcats scored in double figures.

“We have the potential to be a great team,” Cozad said. “We have to find that chemistry with each other. We have it. We show great moments sometimes. We have to keep it consistent.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

No. 15 Kansas wins at No. 8 Iowa State to stay unbeaten in Big 12

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KUAMES, Iowa (AP) — Naadir Tharpe scored a career-high 23 points, freshman Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and 19 rebounds and No. 15 Kansas beat No. 8 Iowa State 77-70 on Monday night for its third straight win to open Big 12 play.

The Jayhawks (12-4, 3-0) handed the Cyclones their second consecutive loss after a 14-0 start.

Kansas opened the second half with a 16-5 run and led the rest of the way.

Joel Embiid finished with 16 points and five blocks for the Jayhawks, who outrebounded Iowa State 53-36 in perhaps their most impressive win of the season.

DeAndre Kane, who sprained an ankle in the loss to Oklahoma on Saturday, had 21 points for Iowa State (14-2, 2-2), which lost for the 17th time in 18 games against Kansas.

— Associated Press —

Northwest women pull out 57-51 overtime win against RiverHawks

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NWMSUThe miscues caused Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball coach Michael Smith to walk behind the bench, then to the end of the bench and finally to the water jug.

Smith drank a lot of water in the second half.

But ultimately, the last gulp was sweet because the Bearcats pulled out a 57-51 overtime victory over Northeastern State Monday evening a Bearcat Arena.

“I am ringing wet underneath this jacket right now,” Smith said. “You look at that group we had on the floor the last 10 minutes, they were core kids whohave played together. That was the key thing that I was looking at when things were getting tight at the end of the game. Those kids read each other. Theyknew how to play.

“We had some crucial turnovers at the end, but we also had some big stops and big rebounds as well.”

It was the second conference win of the season for Northwest, which improved to 5-9 overall and 2-5 in the MIAA.

“We knew this was a big game,” Smith said. “I thought it was a must win for our program because we were home, we knew we were going to have the students back. We had a great crowd. I am happy we were able to get this win for them.”

The Bearcats led all but one possession in the first half and maintained a lead in the second half until Northeastern took a 44-43 with 6:35 left on a three-point play by Jamie Jackson.

Like in the first half, Northwest quickly responded and went right back in front on a basket by Ashleigh Nelson. The Bearcats slowly grew their lead to 48-44 with about 2 minutes left.

In the final 2 minutes, Northwest failed to solidify their lead because of a few turnovers. It allowed the RiverHawks to regain the lead on a driving layup by Jackson with 10 seconds left.

To the Bearcats credit, they didn’t panic. They quickly raced down the court. Senior Monique Stevens was fouled on the shot with six seconds left. She made one of two free throws and that sent the game into overtime.

“There are always nerves when the game comes down to you making them or missing them,” said Stevens, who finished with 14 points. “I missed the first one and kind of freaked myself out a little bit. He (Northeastern coach Randy Gipson) called a timeout and I was able to compose myself. I shoot them every day. I went back out a lot calmer and confident that I could hit that shot and get the game into overtime.”

It was all Northwest in the overtime period. Nelson gave Northwest the lead at 51-49.

“We just really believed in each other at the end,” said Nelson, who finished with 14 points and five assists. “We came together and told ourselves we can do it. We been in an overtime situation and the outcome was different. I thinkthis time we were a lot more composed as a team. Even with all our turnovers, we didn’t freak out.”

Annie Mathews, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, followed up with a basket to increase the Bearcats lead to four.

Defensively, the Bearcats limited Northeastern to just two points in overtime.

“We had a lot of kids who played who gave us good positive minutes,” Smith said. “And more importantly, I felt our energy near the end of the game from our crowd and from our bench kept us going.”

The RiverHawks only lead in the first half came on a high-arching three-pointer by Fontana Tate to make it 17-16.

The Bearcats scored the next four points, but Tate struck again with her third, three-pointer of the half. Her try tied the game 20-20.

A few minutes later, Stevens matched Tate with her third, three-pointer, which increased Northwest lead to 25-22. Another three-pointer by Ashleigh Nelsonwith 25 seconds left in the first half gave Northwest its biggest lead of the half at 28-22.

Northwest played great defense in the first half, holding the RiverHawks to 25 percent from the field.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State’s Dorrel named AFCA Coach of the Year

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NWMSUThe American Football Coaches Association will cap its 2014 convention by presenting its top coaching award — AFCA Coach of the Year — to five outstanding coaches.

Duke’s David Cutcliffe, North Dakota State’s Craig Bohl, Northwest Missouri State’s Adam Dorrel, Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Lance Leipold and Grand View’s Mike Woodley are the 2013 AFCA National Coach of the Year winners. Cutcliffe in FBS, Bohl in FCS, Dorrel in Division II, Leipold in Division III and Woodley in NAIA.

The winners are selected by a vote of the Active AFCA members (coaches at four-year schools) in the Association’s five divisions. The AFCA has named a Coach of the Year since 1935. The AFCA Coach of the Year award is the oldest and most prestigious of all the Coach of the Year awards and is the only one chosen exclusively by the coaches themselves.

David Cutcliffe led Duke to a 10-4 record and an appearance in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. He has a 75-73 career-record in his 12 seasons as head coach at Duke and Ole Miss, with two Conference Division titles. Cutcliffe led the Blue Devils to the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division championship in 2013, the program’s first conference title since 1989. In 2012, Cutcliffe was named the ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Blue Devils to the program’s first bowl game appearance since 1994.

In 2013, Craig Bohl led the Bison to a 15-0 record, a second straight Missouri Valley Football Conference title and a third straight Football Championship Subdivision national championship. In his 11 years at North Dakota State, Bohl had a 104-32 record, and those 104 victories make him the all-time winningest coach in North Dakota State history. He earned AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year honors in 2012, FCS Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2011 and 2013, and was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Coach of the Year for the third straight year in 2013.

Adam Dorrel led the Bearcats to a 15-0 record in 2013 and the program’s fourth NCAA Division II national title, the first since 2009. Dorrel brought his overall record to 36-3 in his three years as head coach. Being one of the first players to start on the offensive line under legendary former head coach, Mel Tjeerdsma in 1994, Dorrel continued the Bearcat excellence in his first season as head coach, returning the Bearcats to the playoffs for an eighth straight season. Northwest Missouri State has made the playoffs for 10 straight years, the longest current streak in NCAA Division II football.

Lance Leipold led Wisconsin-Whitewater to a 15-0 record, a sixth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and its fifth NCAA Division III national title in 2013. He has a seven-year record of 94-6 at Whitewater. The Warhawks recorded their fourth 15-0 season under Leipold in 2013. He also earned AFCA Division III National Coach of the Year honors in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Mike Woodley led Grand View to a 14-0 record, their third straight Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Midwest Conference title and the program’s first NAIA national championship to earn AFCA NAIA National Coach of the Year honors for the first time. He also earned AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors for the fist time in 2013. Woodley has a record of 46-22 in his six seasons at Grand View. Woodley has won MSFA Midwest Coach of the Year honors in 2013, 2011 and 2009.

The winners will be honored Tuesday evening at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the Indiana Convention Center.

— AFCA Press Release —

KU’s Seldon named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week

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KUAfter averaging 22 points in his first two conference games, Kansas freshman Wayne Selden, Jr., has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in a vote of a media panel who covers the league, the conference announced Monday.

Selden helped the Jayhawks start 2-0 in conference play as KU won at Oklahoma (90-83) and defeated Kansas State (86-60). The Roxbury, Mass., guard opened the week with a career-best 24 points, including five 3-pointers, in the win in Norman. The five 3-pointers were the most in a game by a Jayhawk this season. Selden then added 20 points and four boards versus the Wildcats, connecting on 7-of-10 shots from the field. For the week, Selden shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from beyond the arc. He totaled six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

This is the first time Selden has been named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and he is the fourth different Jayhawk to win a rookie award this season. Selden joins teammates Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Tarik Black who have also earned the honor in 2013-14. The KU foresome surpasses its previous high of three different Big 12 Newcomer of the Week selections established in 2005-06 (Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright). Historically, Iowa State in 2011-12 was the last school to have four different student-athletes named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.

Earlier this season sophomore Perry Ellis was named the co-Big 12 Player of the Week on Nov. 18, the same week Wiggins was named newcomer.

— KU Sports Information —

Missouri women come up short at No. 9 Kentucky, 80-69

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riggertMizzouLEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell was relieved after his ninth-ranked Wildcats ended a two-game losing streak.

“I’m as happy with this win as any we’ve had in a long time,” Mitchell said after the 80-69 victory over Missouri on Sunday. “We needed this win.”

Bria Goss scored 20 points and had a clutch three-point play with 3:34 left that helped the Wildcats (14-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) get back on track following back-to-back losses to Florida and South Carolina.

“This is a huge win,” Goss said. “Missouri is a really good team and for us to come out (and play) the way we did and battle back, get that confidence back is really good for us.”

Janee Thompson followed Goss with 16 points, Jennifer O’Neill and DeNesha Stallworth each had 11 and Samarie Walker finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds to round out five Kentucky players in double figures.

Goss was 10-10 from the free-throw line and just missed a double-double with eight rebounds for the short-handed Wildcats.

Kentucky was without senior guard Kastine Evans, who sat out because of an undisclosed leg injury. Evans, the team’s third leading scorer (11.2 points per game) leads the team in three-point field goals with 25. Mitchell lauded his team for stepping up in the absence of Evans and said he expects one of his senior leader to return for Sunday’s game at Auburn.

“The champion that she is and the competitor that she is, she tried to battle in practice Friday and Saturday, but I would tell something was really wrong with her Saturday,” Mitchell. “It’s something we’ve been able to manage her whole career, so we’re hopeful with this week off, we’ll have her back on track. We don’t anticipate this being long term.”

O’Neill replaced Evans in the starting lineup, for her first start of the season. O’Neill made three of Kentucky’s six 3-pointers in the contest.

Missouri (13-4, 2-2) led by eight three times in the first half but Kentucky rallied each time. Trailing 24-16 with 7:32 remaining in the first half, the Wildcats outscored the Tigers 16-2 for a 32-26 lead. Kentucky pushed the margin to 35-28 on a 3-pointer by Goss and led 37-31 at the half.

A timeout by Mitchell before the decisive scoring spree ignited the Wildcats.

“He (Mitchell) told us to just let everything go, just play and be confident,” Goss said.

Missouri managed just one field goal in the last eight minutes of the first half and shot 39 percent for the game.

Kentucky scored six of the first eight points of the second half and led 43-33 with 18 minutes remaining. The Tigers pulled to within five twice in the final 20 minutes but couldn’t get any closer.

The Wildcats scored most of their points in transition, scoring 28 on 17 Missouri turnovers. Kentucky also had 21 second-chance points and outrebounded the Tigers 42-38.

“Our players fought hard today,” Mitchell said. “We bounced back from a real tough two-game slide that we had. To come back home and get a win when we didn’t have everybody available was really, really great for us. We’re excited for the victory.”

Bri Kulas led the Tigers (13-4, 2-2) with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Kulas had 20 in the first half as Missouri led by eight three times in the first frame. Morgan Eye added 14 points for Missouri.

— Associated Press —

Griffons fall below .500 with road loss at Pitt State

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MWSUThe Missouri Western men’s basketball team lost another close road battle as they fall at Pittsburg State Saturday, 85-82.

The Griffons are still winless on the road this season falling to 7-8 overall and 2-5 in MIAA play. Four Griffons scored in double figures with Ryan Devers leading the way with 19.

The Gorillas (6-6, 2-3 MIAA) led by just a point, 80-79, when Jake Bullard was fouled on an in-bound play with 37 seconds to play. He made both charity shots for an 82-79 advantage.

Adarius Fulton missed a 3-point attempt with 21 seconds to play and Bullard was fouled five seconds later. He made both free throws again to stretch the margin to five, at 84-79.

Ryan Devers hit a deep 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining for the Griffons (7-8, 2-5 MIAA) drawing within two points, 84-82. Bullard made one of two free throws with 10 ticks left for the game’s final margin.

Dareon Jones missed a jumper just ahead of the final horn for Missouri Western.

Jake Bullard led a balanced Pitt State offensive attack with 19 points. Sam Pugh came off the bench to fire in 16 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. Devon Branch added 15 points and Alex Williams finished with 11.

The Gorillas shot 51.1 percent from the field (23-45) in the game and converted 33 of 40 free throw attempts.

Devers led four Griffons in double figures with 19 points. Charlie Marquardt scored a career high 14, while Fulton and Cortrez Colbert scored 13 and 11 respectively.

The Griffons shot just 36.1 percent from the field in the gmae (22-61), but knocked down eight 3-pointers and converted 30 of 37 free throws in the contest.

The Griffons return to action on Wednesday, January 15 when they take on the Central Missouri Mules in road MIAA action. Tip time is set for 7:30 pm from the UCM Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

— MWSU Sports Information —

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