Dave Riggert – Page 952 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Bearcats rally past No. 1 seed Fort Hays into MIAA Championship game

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013

Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team pulled out one of its most amazing victories, possibly in the program’s history.

Ok, that might be a bit of hyperbole in describing the Bearcats’ 73-66 win over No. 1 seed Fort Hays State in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium.

“That game was fun,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “How much fun was it to watch?

“Even if you lose that game, it was awesome. It was two teams going after each other.”

The road the Bearcats, 21-9, have taken to reach the championship game was filled with ditches that would have flattened a team not showing the mettle of Northwest.

To see the next chapter, show up to Municipal at 1 p.m. Sunday. One more victory and Northwest makes its second straight trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Saturday’s semifinal was dripping with Hollywood drama. Before the game started, the Bearcats saw teammate Conner Crooker, on the bench in sweatpants with an ice pack under his left eye, from surgery performed for an injury he sustained in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Crooker was playing well and was a key offensive player off the bench.

Northwest, though, stayed close throughout the first half. But the game started to get away from the Bearcats early in the second half.

Fort Hays built a 51-39 lead.

“Here is what everybody in this room thought: ‘You had a good season and you gave a good fight,” McCollum said. “My kids didn’t. We still got this and we can do this. They believed in the final product and that is special.”

The Bearcats definitely did not quit.

“I am really proud of how the team played,” McCollum said. “In those types of situations, there is a lot of adversity and things go against you. We have been able to handle that all year.”

The momentum changed when Alex Sullivan hit a three-pointer that helped Northwest close to 55-48.

A few minutes later, Northwest was down two at 56-54. The Bearcats tied the game at 56-56 with 7:25 left when Dillon Starzl scored.

“We didn’t lose our intensity,” said Starzl, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. “We didn’t want this to be our last game so we kept fighting. We knew we needed to get stops on defense. Coach told us to get three stops in a row. We kept getting stops after stops after stops.”

That is no exaggeration. From the time Fort Hays held a 51-39 lead with a 13:35 left, the Tigers got just one field goal the rest of the game and that was a meaningless layup with 13 seconds left in the game.

Still, Northwest was in trouble.

Defense by both teams ruled the next two minutes and then the situation turned bleak for Northwest. One of the Bearcats’ top scorers, DeAngelo Hailey, went down with a left ankle injury with Northwest down 58-56 with 4:49 left, and Fort Hays headed to the free throw line.

The Tigers made both free throws for a four-point lead.

“When he went down, coach subbed me in for him. With one of the seniors going down, I knew I had to step up and make plays,” said Bryston Williams, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

There was no give-up in these Bearcats. Northwest tied the game 60-60 with 3:32 left on two free throws by Sullivan.

Starzl played a man’s game in the next two minutes. He didn’t let his shot getting blocked in the first half bother him at crunch time.

Starzl powered his way for two tough baskets in the paint that gave Northwest a 64-60 lead.

“I kept going up strong,” Starzl said. “I knew one of these times I would get it to go.”

Kyle Schlake tacked on two more free throws 30 seconds later, giving the Bearcats a 66-60 lead with 1:40 left.

And that was more than enough cushion for the Bearcats to pull out a scintillating victory.

Despite trailing 34-29 at halftime, Northwest played extremely well against Fort Hays.

In fact, the five-point deficit came late. The Bearcats matched Fort Hays nearly basket for basket throughout the first half. There were 13 lead changes in a highly entertaining half of basketball.

Northwest started the game with a three-pointer by Hailey. Fort Hays scored the next five for a 5-3 lead. Hailey put the Bearcats back on top with a three-pointer.

It went that way for the next 15 minutes.

When the Tigers got a little breathing room at 20-15, they saw Northwest fight back. The Bearcats regained the lead at 25-24 on a three-point play by Schlake.

Northwest’s last lead was 28-26 on a three-pointer by Sullivan. Fort Hays scored eight of the last nine points in the first half to take the lead into intermission.

Two players hurt the Bearcats. Fort Hays guard Ben Congiusta made all five of his shots, including three, three-pointers. Center Rundell Mauge patrolled the inside, blocking five shots.

The Tigers also shot very well from the field, hitting 58 percent of their shots.

None of that mattered in the second half. Northwest held Fort Hays to 30 percent shooting from the field the final 20 minutes of the game.

As they say, defense wins championships. Northwest defense got the Bearcats one step closer to a tournament title.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffon softball rolls to 11-2 win against William Jewell

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013

The Missouri Western softball team exploded for eight runs in the third inning and rode the solid pitching of Janie Smith to a 11-2 run rule victory over the William Jewell Cardinals in the second game of the MSSU Border Battle. Smith improves to 6-2 on the season while the Griffons sit at 12-6 after going 1-1 on day one of the battle. MWSU fell 2-1 against Pittsburg State early in the day.

The Griffons got going in the first inning using two hits and a Cardinal error taking a 2-0 lead after a half an inning. Sarah Elliott reached on an error and later scored on a Tiffany Gillaspy single through the left side. Bre Fleschner scored the second run of the game on a Michelle Stevenson single to right field.

In the second Smith led off with a walk and scored on a Elliott double to center field giving the Griffons a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half.

The Cardinals battled back in their half of the second capitalizing on two Griffon errors scoring two runs. Eileen Greenwood hit a double to left field scoring Annali Dolman and Brittany Madson. Both were unearned runs.

In the third the Griffon bats caught fire stringing together eight hits with two being extra base hits. Stevenson hit a double to center field which was followed up by singles from Maegan Roemmich, Taylor Anding, Smith before Kendall Sorensen reached on a fielders choice and was later tossed out at third for the second out of the inning.

Following up Sorensen’s field choice was a single by Elliott, Fleschner, and Gillaspy before Keri Lorbert blasted her 7th homer of the season giving the Griffons the 11-2 lead after three and a half. Roemmich, Smith, Elliott, Gillaspy and Lorbert all had RBI in the inning.

Smith dominated the rest of the game giving up just one hit while stranding two Cardinals in the final three innings. Smith went all five innings giving up three hits while striking out one.

Offensively the Griffons had 11 hits with eight of the nine starters getting a hit. Elliott, Gillaspy and Stevenson had two hits apiece. The Griffons had 11 RBI with Lorbert collecting 3 and Elliott, Gillaspy, and Smith all getting two.

The Cardinals fall to 5-5 with Kahli Barrett getting the loss. She went 2.1 innings giving up eight hits and seven earned runs with two walks. Offensively WJC had just three hits.

The Griffons return to action on Sunday, March 10 with two games. The Griffons take on Upper Iowa University at 12:00 pm and Central Missouri at 2:00 pm.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Mizzou lets second half lead slip away in loss at Tennessee

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013

Jordan McRae scored 15 points and Jarnell Stokes recorded a double-double Saturday as Tennessee rallied from an eight-point, second-half deficit to beat Missouri 64-62 and boost its NCAA tournament hopes.

McRae, who had averaged 25.8 points in the six games leading up to this one, went scoreless in the first 18 1/2 minutes and didn’t make his first basket until 14:33 remained. But he heated up from there and scored seven points in an 11-0 run that put Tennessee ahead for good.

Stokes added 13 points and 13 rebounds as Tennessee (19-11, 11-7 Southeastern Conference) won for the eighth time in its last nine games. Trae Golden had 12 points and Josh Richardson added 11 points.

Laurence Bowers scored 20 points for Missouri (22-9, 11-7). Phil Pressey had 10 points and nine assists, but he was well off the mark on a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game with 12.6 seconds left.

After Pressey’s shot landed out of bounds, Golden made a pair of free throws to put Tennessee ahead 64-59 with 11 seconds remaining. Missouri’s Earnest Ross made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final score.

This game continued Missouri’s recent road frustration. Missouri is 2-8 in true road games this season, but its last five road losses were decided by a total of 16 points, including a 90-83 overtime loss at Kentucky.

Missouri led this game 50-42 midway through the second half before Tennessee rallied. Tennessee pulled ahead for good 54-53 on McRae’s putback of a Stokes miss with 5:36 remaining.

It was only fitting that an offensive rebound produced the decisive basket. Missouri entered the day ranked second in the nation with 41.4 rebounds per game and leading the SEC in rebound margin (plus-10.1), but Tennessee outrebounded the Tigers 45-32.

That wasn’t the only surprise Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Tennessee forward Quinton Chievous, a bit player for most of the season, picked an appropriate time to play the best game of his young career.

Chievous’ father, former NBA first-round draft pick Derrick Chievous, racked up 2,580 points for Missouri from 1985-88 and remains the school’s all-time leading scorer. But the redshirt freshman had struggled to earn playing time and make an impact this season.

That all changed Saturday against his dad’s former team.

Chievous established career highs in points (seven), rebounds (five) and assists (two). He had seven points and four rebounds in the first half alone as Tennessee overcame Missouri’s sizzling start to forge a halftime tie.

Missouri grabbed an early 17-10 lead by making eight of its first 11 shots, but the Tigers cooled off after senior forwards Alex Oriakhi and Laurence Bowers got in foul trouble.

Bowers scored nine points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game before picking up his second foul and sitting out the rest of the first half. Missouri led 19-14 when Oriakhi joined Bowers on the bench after getting called for his second foul with 7:52 left until halftime.

Tennessee proceeded to go on a 12-2 run to grab a 26-21 lead. Missouri responded late in the first half and tied the game on Tony Criswell’s putback at the halftime buzzer.

The game would be tied four more times in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second half before Bowers sank a 3-pointer to put Missouri ahead 40-37 with 14:21 remaining. Bowers added a layup and a pair of free throws to spark a 6-0 run that gave Missouri a 50-42 advantage with 10:07 left.

That’s when McRae finally came to the rescue.

McRae stopped Missouri’s 6-0 run by sinking his first 3-pointer of the night. He made another 3-pointer to cut Missouri’s lead to 53-52 with 6:35 remaining. He converted an offensive rebound a minute later to put Tennessee back in front. And he capped an 11-0 spurt by making two free throws with 3:06 left.

— Associated Press —

Kansas gets crushed at Baylor, shares Big 12 title with KSU

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013

Kansas had a share of its ninth Big 12 regular-season title in a row even before Ben McLemore scored a layup off the opening tip at Baylor.

That ended up being the only lead the fourth-ranked Jayhawks had, and as close as they came to claiming the outright league title on the final day of the regular season.

Pierre Jackson had 28 points with 10 assists and Cory Jefferson scored 25 points, mixing in his first three career 3-pointers with his usual powerful dunks, and Baylor handed the Jayhawks their worst loss in seven years. The 81-58 loss Saturday night kept Kansas from winning conference regular-season title outright for the fifth year in a row.

”It doesn’t feel like we’ve won it at all. We tied Kansas State,” said Jeff Withey, one of four Kansas seniors in the starting lineup with standout freshman McLemore. ”It’s cool to win, obviously. To win nine in a row is huge. But it just stinks to lose.”

Especially like this, after winning their last seven games.

The Jayhawks (26-5, 14-4 Big 12) will still be the No. 1 seed for next week’s conference tournament in Kansas City.

”Yeah, I’m happy we got a ninth, I’m never going to apologize for winning a league championship,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. ”It’s not exactly the way we scripted it, which I think is pretty obvious. They were so much better than us. … I’m not happy, but I’m a lot happier than I would be if it was different and we finished second.”

The Jayhawks knew they already had a piece of the Big 12 title after ninth-ranked Kansas State (25-6, 14-4) lost 76-70 earlier Saturday at No. 13 Oklahoma State. But the KU loss gave the rival Wildcats a share of their first regular-season conference title since 1977 in the Big Eight.

”I’ll be candid with you: I was excited and knew that we got piece,” Self said. ”I thought we would play better because we knew we did. Because there would be no pressure, total freedom, confidence going out and it didn’t work out that way for us. We got off to a rough start.”

McLemore’s quick basket gave the Jayhawks no momentum.

Baylor (18-13, 9-9) scored the next six points, including a two-handed slam dunk by Jefferson, and led the rest of the game.

Jefferson had a pair of early dunks before hitting the first 3-pointer of his career for a 22-13 lead. The 6-foot-9 forward was 0 for 7 from long range before that.

”It’s something I’ve been doing in practice, and I just figured I might as well do it in a game,” Jefferson said.

Jackson, the Big 12’s leading scorer, and Jefferson both made 11 of 13 field goals – Jefferson made all three of his 3-pointers. A.J. Walton added 12 points for Baylor and Isaiah Austin had 11 for Baylor.

McLemore had 23 points for Kansas, which hadn’t lost this big since a 25-point loss to Texas in February 2006.

Kansas used an 11-0 run in the second half to get within 61-55 with 6:23 left after consecutive baskets by Perry Ellis, who finished with 12 points.

”When we cut it to six, I still thought we were climbing a pretty steep hill,” Self said. ”They were terrific and we weren’t good. They were terrific and had a lot to do with us not being very good. And, of course, two players played about as well as any two players against us in a long, long time off the same team.”

After the Jayhawks’ spurt, Jackson stole a ball from McLemore and drove for a layup made between two defenders. After Ellis missed a shot, Jackson got the ball and made a pass ahead to Brady Heslip for an easy layup.

The Bears kept piling on after that, and because of that could still have a shot at an at-large NCAA berth with a couple of wins at the Big 12 tournament.

”We were just focused. We knew what was at stake, we know how big this game was,” Jackson said. ”We handled business.”

Baylor had lost six of its previous seven games and was already locked in as the No. 6 seed in the Big 12 tournament. The Bears play Oklahoma State on Thursday night in Kansas City – they split their two regular-season matchups.

Kansas, which has won an NCAA-best 56 overall conference regular-season titles, plays Thursday against the West Virginia-Texas Tech winner.

Jefferson had 18 points by halftime, including a 3-pointer for the last points of the half. That came on the possession right after he took a charging foul that wiped out a basket by Elijah Johnson.

”Cory was O-for for his career and now I think we’ll have to design some plays for him to get him 3-point shots,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. ”Cory makes 3s in practice and works on them. … If you don’t go out and guard him, Cory is going to shoot the 3 and he was on fire.”

— Associated Press —

K-State falters late in loss at Oklahoma State

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013

Coach Travis Ford can’t be certain whether NBA prospect Marcus Smart has played his last home game at Oklahoma State.

If he did, he went out with one of his typical beyond-the-box-score plays, changing the game and the Big 12 championship picture.

Smart scored 21 points, but perhaps none of his plays were as big as the charging foul he drew that turned the momentum as the 13th-ranked Cowboys beat No. 9 Kansas State 76-70 on Saturday.

After officials had stopped the game to review a Smart jump shot and rule that it was not a 3-pointer but a 2, he got between Angel Rodriguez and the sideline and drew the foul as Rodriguez tried to catch an inbound pass.

Smart ended up with six points – plus drawing Rodriguez’s foul – during the decisive 14-1 run for the Cowboys (23-7, 13-5 Big 12).

”The momentum changed for us, and we opened the game up,” Smart said.

Smart’s heady play came as no surprise to Ford, who has seen his freshman point guard develop into a Big 12 player of the year candidate without needing to be his team’s leading scorer.

”He is going to be in the middle of the action and more times than not, he’s going to make a positive play. … That’s just his game,” Ford said. ”That’s just his nature. That’s the way he plays.”

Le’Bryan Nash contributed 24 points and Markel Brown scored 16, including seven free throws in the final 2 minutes for Oklahoma State.

The Wildcats (25-6, 14-4), who came into the day tied with rival Kansas for the conference lead, still ended up sharing their first regular-season conference title since 1977 in the Big Eight when the fourth-ranked Jayhawks lost at Baylor later Saturday.

K-State led by as much as nine in the second half and was up 61-57 following Rodney McGruder’s three-point play with 4:45 remaining. The Cowboys didn’t allow another field goal for more than 4 minutes and hit 13 straight free throws during crunch time to come away with the win.

It was 61-59 when Smart drew the charge, then got fouled by Thomas Gipson on a 3-point attempt and hit two free throws to tie it. Nash followed with a driving layup to put the Cowboys ahead to stay at 63-61 with 2:47 remaining.

Kansas State coach Bruce Weber called Rodriguez’s charge the ”big, changing play” of the game.

”I bet if you went and watched it, it wasn’t an offensive foul. So, that changed the game, the momentum a lot,” Weber said. ”But then they made plays and we didn’t.”

McGruder led the Wildcats with 22 points. He had a big game when the teams met in the Big 12 opener, scoring 28 points and making all five of his 3-point attempts to lead K-State to a victory. He couldn’t match that this time, connecting on only six of his 15 shots.

Thomas Gipson chipped in 15 points and Angel Rodriguez scored 10, but also struggled to a 3-for-16 outing.

”They’ve got some pretty good athletes that can guard and defend, and they made their focus – there’s no doubt – to make sure that Rod and Angel were jammed up as much as possible,” Weber said.

The Wildcats allowed Oklahoma State to shoot 57 percent while making just 39 percent of their own shots, but still managed to hang in until the final minutes for a chance to stretch their winning streak to seven and – more importantly – win an elusive conference title.

”It’s been fun. It’s been a blast,” Weber said. ”I just hope, for their sake there’s some more good things to come.”

After McGruder’s three-point play and Rodriguez’s charge, Kansas State missed eight straight attempts. Smart said there had been some build-up to the call, with referees warning both Smart and Rodriguez to stop pushing off.

”At that moment in time, he gave me a little nudge that was enough for the referee to blow his whistle,” Smart said. ”Actually, I wasn’t trying to fall. I actually slipped and it just looked like I fell, like I tried to make it a flop. But I actually slipped. It was a nudge but it wasn’t enough to make me fall.”

The Wildcats will be the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big 12 tournament. Oklahoma State will be the third seed and face Baylor in the opening round.

Shane Southwell and Martavious Irving hit 3-pointers to get the Wildcats going after trailing 36-30 at halftime, and soon they put together a 14-1 blitz to charge into the lead. Rodriguez had two baskets and two free throws during the run, and Nino Williams made a jumper along the left baseline to put K-State up 50-41 with 13:12 left.

The Cowboys responded by pushing the pace in transition, and Nash had a two-handed slam and a pair of layups during an 11-0 comeback. Smart’s three-point play off a driving runner along the right side of the lane put OSU back up 56-53 with 6:21 remaining – and fans chanted ”One more year!” to the NBA prospect as he hit the free throw.

Smart said he has tried to block out that kind of chatter all year long.

”If I was them, I want him to come back. No question,” Ford said. ”But I’ve seen him in a different perspective probably a little bit. I want what’s best for him. I’ve read, and everybody thinks he’s gone for sure. He might. I don’t know. It has not been discussed. I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”

— Associated Press —

MWSU softball strands 11 runners in 2-1 loss to Pitt State

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013

The Missouri Western softball team out hit the Pittsburg State Gorillas 8 to 5 but stranded 11 runners on base which included the bases loaded in the top of the seventh falling 2-1 in the first game of the Border Battle hosted by Missouri Southern. With the loss the Griffons fall to 11-6 on the season. The Griffons will take on William Jewell College at 4:00 pm closing out day one.

Things looked good early for the Griffons getting the first two batters of the game on base. Unfortunatly the Griffons stranded Sarah Elliott and Bre Fleschner on second and third.

The Gorillas jumped on Jackie Bishop in the first when Jordan Bradshaw got hit by a pitch and then Cheslyn Mitchell hit a homer to center field giving PSU the 2-0 lead after one.

In the top of the second the Griffons responded when Taylor Anding singled to shortstop and later scored on a Kendall Sorensen RBI double to left field cutting the PSU lead to 2-1 after two.

Both rest of the game both teams got numerous runners on base but were unable to push any runs across. In the seventh the put together a two out rally started by a double by Tiffany Gillaspy. Keri Lorbert then singled to shortstop and Michelle Stevenson walked setting the stage for Maegan Roemmich. Roemmich got a hold of it but the center fielder got underneath it dropping the Griffons.

Bishop falls to 6-2 giving up five hits while striking out four and walking three. Lorbert and Anding had two hits apiece for MWSU.

The Gorillas improve to 8-4 overall with Tiffany Brown (3) and Mitchell (2) combining for all five of their hits. Haleigh Sills went all seven innings giving up eight hist while striking out two. She improves to 3-1 with the victory.

— MWSU Sports Information —

KU’s McLemore, Withey named to Wooden Award final ballot

Posted on March 9, 2013March 9, 2013

Kansas guard Ben McLemore and center Jeff Withey have been named to the John R. Wooden Final Ballot, the Los Angeles Athletic Club announced on ESPN College GameDay Saturday.

Kansas and Indiana are the only schools with two players among the 15 student-athletes on the Wooden Award ballot.

McLemore leads the Big 12 freshman class with a 16.5 scoring average, which is second overall in the conference. A three-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week and one-time Player of the Week honoree, McLemore leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage at 86.8 and also ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage (eighth, 50.2), rebounding (20th, 5.4), three-point field goal percentage (third, 42.5) and three-pointers made (seventh, 1.9). KU’s leading scorer, McLemore has eight games with 20 points or more this season, including three 30-point efforts: 36 vs. West Virginia (3/2), 33 vs. Iowa State (1/9) and 30 vs. Kansas State (2/11). He is the only freshman in KU history to have three 30-point games in one season. His 36 points against West Virginia (3/2) broke the Kansas freshman record of 35 points set by Danny Manning against Oklahoma State (3/2/1985). McLemore has scored 494 points this season and is two shy of the KU freshman record of 496 set by Manning in 1985.

Withey has emerged as a key player for No. 4/3 Kansas (26-4, 14-3). The San Diego, native has five double-doubles in his last seven games and is second in the Big 12 with 12 double-doubles this season. A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week, Withey has 15 games shooting 60 percent or better and leads the Big 12 with 4.0 blocks per game, which is third nationally. He also ranks among the Big 12 leaders in scoring (ninth, 13.8), rebounding (third, 8.6), field goal percentage (second, 57.7) and FT Pct. (12th, 70.8). Early in the season Withey recorded the second official triple double in school history with 16 points, 12 rebounds and a school and Big 12-record 12 blocked shots vs. San Jose State (11/26). His 12 blocked shots are tied for the NCAA game high in 2012-13 and he has three games with nine or more blocks this season. Withey is KU’s and the Big 12’s career blocked shots record holder with 285 and his 120 blocks in 2012-13 are third on the KU single-season list: 1. Withey, 140 in 2011-12; 2. Cole Aldrich, 125 in 2009-10.

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top 10 players, will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s will be announced on ESPN during the Final Four Weekend in Atlanta. The 2013 Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy’s will take place April 11-13, 2013, at The Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Gala will honor the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Award winners, All Americans and the Legends of Coaching Award winner, Kansas Head Coach Bill Self.

— KU Sports Information —

Griffons lose heartbreaker to Central Missouri in MIAA Quarterfinals

Posted on March 8, 2013

In the waning seconds, Central Missouri’s defense prevailed.

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to the Jennies in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament, losing 54-53. Missouri Western had a shot to win the game at the end, but a missed 3-pointer by Sharniece Lewis at the buzzer ended the night.

Missouri Western gave everything it had to even come close to the win. Behind by 10 with 4 minutes to play, the Griffons caused several turnovers and went on a 10-1 run to pull within one. The Griffons three of their final four free throws, however, they still had a chance to win after Heather Howard recorded an offensive rebound on the final miss free throw.
Howard finished with a team-high 13 points and 18 rebounds.

The Jennies used an 11-0 stretch in the middle of the second half to pull ahead. Central Missouri and Missouri Western saw nine lead changes and five ties in the first half. Sharniece Lewis was on fire, knocking down three 3-pointers to give the Griffons a slight edge in the first half.

Missouri Western led Central Missouri 30-27 at the break. The teams swapped five points in the first 4 minutes, but it was all Central Missouri for the next 10 minutes.

The Jennies 11-0 run gave them a 43-35 lead, and they eventually settled to a 53-43 lead. But the Griffons’ hard defense and smart offense pulled the game closer.

Brittany Griswold started the run off with a layup to pull within eight. After Jennies’ BreAnna Lewis converted 1-of-2 free throws, the Griffons matched that to mark the score 54-46. Lanicia Lawrence added a layup a minute later to make it 54-49.

After a steal by Lawrence, JaQuitta Dever put in a lay-in to draw within three points with 2:28 left. The run stalled in the next two minutes, and Howard made a free throw, but her second was negated after a lane violation.

Alicia Bell was later fouled, but made just one of her attempts to pull the game to 54-53. After Dever missed two free throws, Howard pulled in her 18th board to give the Griffons one final opportunity.

Dever finished with 10 points and three steals. Lawrence added five steals to help the Griffons, who end the season 16-12.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Northwest women fall to No. 1 seed Washburn

Posted on March 8, 2013March 8, 2013

It is unfair to judge Northwest Missouri State women’s team by the final score of their last game in the 2012-13 season.

The record book will show the Bearcats lost 52-39 to No. 1 seed Washburn Friday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament.

“I thought both teams battled,” Northwest coach Mark Kellogg said. “I am proud of our kids. We held them to 52. You would think that would give you a chance. We kept battling.

“It wasn’t our night. You have to credit Washburn. Their length and size bothered us.”

The details missing from the raw numbers were the way the Bearcats improved throughout the season and never quit even during a few losing streaks.

Before the season started, Northwest was picked to finish next to last.

Northwest, which finished 15-13, exceeded expectations. The Bearcats not only made the conference tournament, they went on the road and won their first round game 77-72 at Missouri Southern, a team that beat them 64-55 on Jan 3 in Joplin.

“It was a huge step in the right direction, playing here in this gym, sitting here in the press conference, some of them have never done this before,” Kellogg said. “Every experience helps us. We had a goal to get here.

“There were certain junctures we didn’t know if that was going to be the case. We got a great road win the other night and felt good about that.

“We want to take the next step and hope to be back. Next year we want to come with the expectations to win one of these games. We have to remember this feeling of how bad it hurts and how bad we want to work so it doesn’t happen again.”

Northwest entered the quarterfinals as a heavy underdog. A No. 1 seed has never lost to a No. 8 seed in the MIAA Women’s Tournament. The Bearcats were one seed lower at No. 9.

The Bearcats came out undaunted by the odds they faced. Freshman Tember Schechinger started the game with a three-pointer, staking Northwest to an early 3-0 lead.

Schechinger followed with a two-point field goal and suddenly, Northwest held a 5-0 lead.

A few minutes later, Schechinger drained another three-pointer to give Northwest a 10-5 lead. Schechinger finished with 10 points.

“Every time we play Northwest, it takes a little knock in the nose to get us started,” Washburn coach Ron McHenry said.

The Bearcats were also playing good defense, forcing Washburn to rush its shots.

“This was a big ego booster for us,” said sophomore Maggie Marnin, who finished with 10 points. “A lot of us have never been here before. It was a great experience.”

The Lady Blues slowly began to show why they finished the regular season as conference champions. They took a 14-12 lead on a three-pointer by senior Laura Kinderknecht and never trailed again.

Northwest managed one tie at 14-14. Washburn, though, scored the eight of the last 10 points in the first half for a 22-16 halftime lead.

Early in the second half, Northwest stayed close, especially after a basket by Marnin that made it 24-20.

When Washburn extended its lead to 32-22, Northwest didn’t have enough fire power to make up a double-digit deficit.

The biggest difference in the second half was shooting percentage. Northwest shot 26 percent in both halves. Washburn improved from 29 percent in the first half to 52 percent in the second half.

The Bearcats, who started three sophomores and one freshman, will learn from this experience.

“We have a really positive outlook for next year,” Marnin said. “We made huge strides. With the returning people back, we are excited to get next season started already.”

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Bearcat softball take two games from Doane College

Posted on March 8, 2013March 8, 2013

The Northwest Missouri State softball team didn’t miss a beat with the bats after not playing last weekend due to weather as they defeated Doane College 9-3 in game one and 11-4 in game two.

After both teams went scoreless in the first inning Northwest unloaded with an offensive outburst in the top of the second. Rachel Schmitz hit a sac fly to knock in Maddie Jones for the first run of the game. Candace Miller added another RBI on a fielder’s choice. It was 2-0 when Hailee Hendricks stepped up and belted a grand slam over the right field fence to put the Bearcats up 6-0.

The Tigers were able to plate two runs across in the bottom of the third inning before Northwest added on to their lead in the fourth.

Stephanie Price grabbed three RBIs with a triple to right center field scoring Kailee Sherer, Jordan Ereth and Miller.

Nine runs were more than enough for Jenna Creger to pick up her fourth win of the season moving her record to 4-1. Creger went the distance for the complete game giving up four hits, one earned run and totaling six strike outs in the 9-3 victory.

Abbie Vitosh was in the circle for the Bearcats in game two and was able to grab her second victory on the season. Vitosh went all seven innings and posted five strikeouts while giving up four earned runs to move to 2-2 on the season.

Northwest scattered 13 hits over seven innings but went into the fourth inning trailing 2-1. Sherer scored on a throwing error and was followed by Schmitz who scored on a passed ball. Hendricks was able to knock in Jordan Ereth on a fielder’s choice to put Northwest up 4-2.

The Bearcats added one run in the fifth and two in the sixth inning to go up 7-3 heading into the seventh inning. With Ereth on third and Miller on first Hailee Hendricks stepped up and belted her second home run in as many games essentially putting the game out of reach.

Northwest took down the Lions 11-4 in game two moving their season record to 10-4. The Bearcats will be back on the road Tuesday as they will take on Rockhurst in Kansas City for a double-header scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Head Coach Ryan Anderson’s team will host Southwest Baptist Friday for a double-header at Bearcat Field.

— NWMSU Sports Information —