The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team fell to Pittsburg State Sunday in a non-conference game, 51-44.

Northwest struggled in the first half going 8-for-23 from the floor and 2-for-7 from behind the three point line, shooting 35 percent as a team.  PSU was able to capitalize on second chance points outscoring the Bearcats 12-4. Northwest trailed going into the half, 26-22.

The Bearcats came out tough in the second half tying the game up 33-33 with under 13 minutes to play.  The Gorillas then went on a 12-2 run to go up 45-35, and Northwest could not recover as PSU took the game 51-44.

Annie Mathews and Monique Stevens both finished the game with double-digit points as they scored 12 and 10, respectively.

The Bearcats move their season record to 1-4 and will play host to the College of Saint Mary Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 4 pm.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team topped Kansas Wesleyan Friday, 88-55, as head coach Michael Smith earns his first win at the helm of the Bearcats.

It was a tightly contested game early  in the first half. Wesleyan led 26-23 with under seven minutes to play before the Bearcats went on a scoring spree.

Northwest went on to score 21 unanswered points to end the half as they took a commanding 44-26 lead.

The Bearcats shot 65 percent from the floor in the first half and were led by Ashleigh Nelson who posted 12 points and two assists.

Northwest opened the second half with an 8-2 run and didn’t look back as they rolled to an 88-55 victory.

“It’s a great feeling to get that first win,” said Coach Smith. “Our team has put in a lot of practice hours and to know their hard work is paying off is nice.”

The Bearcats had five players finish with double-digit point totals. Ariel Easton finished with 23 points, three assists and one steal.

Annie Mathews earned her first double-double of the season with 11 rebounds and 10 points.

Northwest will hit the road and take on Pittsburg State Sunday for a nonconference contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State head baseball coach Darin Loe has announced the signings of three incoming student-athletes in an announcement made on Thursday. The signing class includes Brad Roberts (Cairo, Mo.), Nick McKinney (Naperville, Ill.) and Jay Hrdlicka (West Des Moines, Iowa). All three players will be freshmen starting in the fall of 2014.

“These three guys are a great beginning to our 2014 recruiting class,” said Loe. “They fulfill our immediate needs and we expect all of them to come in and compete for playing time immediately.”

Roberts was an all-conference pitcher for Northeast RIV Cairo and head coach Jeff Schleicher, earning MVP honors last season. He was named all-district and all-state the past three seasons. Roberts had an overall record of 33-4 with five saves last season. In 217 innings, he has given up just 49 earn runs while recording 367 strikeouts and just 79 walks. Roberts is a member of the National Honor Society, member of the student council and the Principal’s Honor Roll. He also earned all conference, all district and all state honors in basketballalong with qualifying for state golf. His father, Bob Roberts, is in the Missouri Basketball and Missouri Sports Hall of Fames for his coaching success.

“Brad is a polished hard throwing right handed pitcher that we expect to come in and make an immediate impact,” explained Loe. “He is a great overall athlete as he had to make a difficult decision whether to play basketball or baseball. We are certainly excited he choose to play baseball at the next level.”

McKinney comes to Northwest after a standout career at Downers Grove South High School. The right handed side-armer had a 1.76 ERA in 22 innings as a junior, recording seven saves. He won a state and a summer league title as well as an Illinois Regional title. An honor roll student, McKinney played for coach Darren Orel.

“Nick is a side arm pitcher who has a great feel for that unique arm angle,” Loe said. “He has had great success at the high school level and we expect Nick to be a key performer coming out of our bullpen.”

Hrdlicka earned All-America honorable mention accolades from Perfect Game last season while playing for head coach Brady Weber at Valley High School. He also earned all-tournament team honors at the Kernels Foundation Tournament. In the classroom, Hrdlicka was an academic all-conference honoree, has earned an academic letter four times and is a member of the National Honor Society.

“Jay is a solid defensive catcher with a great swing,” said Loe. “He can throw as good or better than any other catcher I have had the opportunity to coach. He is a guy that will come into our program and immediately have the ability to completely shut down our opponents running game.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team had five players score in double figures as the Bearcats defeated Baker University, 96-50, on Wednesday evening inside Bearcat Arena. The game was the home opener for Northwest (3-2), who played the first fourgames of the season on the road and at neutral sites. The game was marked as an exhibition contest for Baker.

It took the Bearcats just under six minutes to build a double-digit lead at16-5 with 14:03 left in the first half, and Northwest never looked back. The lead would grow to 42-22 by halftime. It was much of the same in the secondhalf as the Bearcats opened with a 17-5 run to build a 32 point lead with 14:21 to go. Northwest’s largest lead of the night was 48 points, 96-48, with 1:58 remaining in the game.

All 12 Bearcats who saw the court on Wednesday scored at least two points in the game. Jordan Ashton led the team with 16 on 5-for-9 shooting, includingthree from long range. Also in double-figures were Bryston Williams with 14, Grant Cozad with 12, Dillon Starzl with 11 and DeShaun Cooper with 10. Williams, Tyler Funk and Matt Wallace all recorded four steals each as Northwest forced 24 Baker turnovers.

Northwest was especially efficient from the line, hitting 21-of-23 (91.3%) from the charity stripe. As a team, the Bearcats shot 54.2 percent form the field (32-for-59) and were 11-for-24 from long range (45.8%).

Northwest will play again on Tuesday, Nov. 26, with a 7 p.m. home game against Peru State at Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State junior Brooke Bartosh earned All-MIAA volleyball third team honors in a release made by the league office on Wednesday. Senior Mackie Keller and junior Abby Graves were both named to the honorable mention lists.

The Bearcats finished the season 12-18 overall and earned the seventh seed in the MIAA Tournament. This was the second-consecutive year that Northwest has qualified for the postseason under head coach Amy Woerth.

Bartosh earned her second All-MIAA honor after being named to the team lastseason. This year, Bartosh hit a team-high 285 kills, averaging 2.71 kills per set with a .227 hitting percentage. She was one of five Bearcats to appear in over 100 sets this year (105). Bartosh recorded 52 blocks this season, the third highest mark on the team this season.

Graves finished second on the team with 275 kills. Her 2.99 kills per set was the highest on the team. She also recorded 89 digs and 24 total blocks.

Keller was one of three Bearcats to appear in all 109 sets this season. Her 57 total blocks was the second highest total on the team. She also recorded 217 total kills, hitting .264 for the season. She also recorded 11 service aces and had 45 digs.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State volleyball team fell in the first round of the MIAA Tournament to second-seeded Washburn, 3-0, on Tuesday evening, at Lee Arena in Topeka, Kan. Northwest concludes the season with a 12-18 overall record after qualifying for the post season for a second-consecutive season.

In the first set, Northwest battled tough but fell, 25-18. Washburn hit .341 in the second set and took a 2-0 set lead with a 25-15 win. The Bearcats were unable to overcome a  pair of Ichabod rallies in the third set, falling, 25-17.

Brooke Bartosh had a team-high 10 kills for the Bearcats. Jackie Becker hadfour blocks and Bailey Vance had 16 digs defensively. Kirsten Hudgens had 15 assists and Bridget Hanafin had 13 assists.

— Northwest Sports Information —

Eighteen Northwest Missouri State University football student-athletes were named to the All-MIAA teams in a release from the conference office on Tuesday. Senior Trevor Adams was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, junior Matt Longacre earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and Adam Dorrel was named Coach of the Year.

Northwest finished the season 11-0 and won the outright MIAA championship, the 25th conference title in program history. The Bearcats earned the top seed in the NCAA Division II playoff’s Super Region Three, and will host the winner of the Minnesota Duluth and Emporia State contest on Nov. 30 at noon at Bearcat Stadium.

Joining Adams and Longacre on the All-MIAA first team was offensive lineman Cody Carlson, defensive lineman Brandon Yost, linebacker Eric Reimer, linebacker D.J. Gnader and defensive back Brandon Dixon.

Offensive lineman C.J. Keeney, defensive back Brian Dixon and punter Kyle Goodburn each earned second-team honors. Tight end Marcus Wright and offensive lineman Cole Chevalier were named to the third team. Earning honorable mention accolades was running back Billy Creason, receiver Clint Utter, tight end Joel Gantz, defensive lineman Bryant Hummel, defensive lineman Matt Meinert and defensive back Bryce Enyard.

Trevor Adams started 10 games for the Bearcats in 2013. He finished the regular season with an NCAA leading 192.1 pass efficiency rating and the nation’s second highest completion percentage of 73.5%. Adams is now tied for third all-time in Bearcat history with 65 career touchdown passes. Earlier this season, he was named a National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar Athlete and was a first-team CoSida academic All-District performer. He earned MIAA Athlete of the Week honors following a 306-yard, three touchdown performance against then-No. 8 Washburn on Nov. 2.

Matt Longacre earned two MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week honors in 2013. His first award came after a 53-7 victory over Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 28, in which he scored the second touchdown of his career on a 17 yard fumble recovery. He earned the weekly honor again after a Nov. 9 win over then-No. 10 Emporia State, when he had 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. This season, Longacre leads the team with 7.5 sacks (2nd MIAA) and 12.5 tackles for loss (3rd MIAA). He ranks fourth on the team with 40 tackles to go along with 10 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. His 19 career sacks ranks sixth all-time.

Adam Dorrel is in his third season as the head football coach at Northwest Missouri State. Dorrel has compiled a career record of 32-6 and the team’s 11-win season ties for the 10th highest win total in program history, a feat he accomplished in his first season in 2011. Dorrel is a former All-American offensive lineman for Northwest. He was a three-time All-MIAA performer for the Bearcats.

Cody Carlson has started all 11 games for the Bearcats and anchors an offensive line that has only given up 11 sacks all season.

Brandon Yost is third on the team with 41 tackles. This season he compiled 8.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks. He has also intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles.

Eric Reimer has recorded 80 tackles on the season, ranking second on the team with 12.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Remimer has also forced a fumble and had three quarterback hurries.

D.J. Gnader has recorded a team-high 81 tackles on the season in 2013. He has intercepted two passes, had seven passes defended, five pass breakups, one fumble recovery, 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He was the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week following a 12-tackle performance against then-No. 19 Missouri Western on Nov. 16.

Brandon Dixon earned MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week honors after shutting down the Saginaw Valley State passing attack on Sept. 5. Dixon has started 10 games this season and has seven passes defended, six pass breakups, one interception, one blocked kick, 24 total tackles and one fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.

Northwest 2013 All-MIAA Honors:
Offensive Player of the Year: Trevor Adams
Defensive Player of the Year: Matt Longacre
Coach of the Year: Adam Dorrel

First Team: Trevor Adams (QB), Cody Carlson (OL), Matt Longacre (DL), Brandon Yost (DL), Eric Reimer (LB), D.J. Gnader (LB), Brandon Dixon (DB).
Second Team: C.J. Keeney (OL), Brian Dixon (DB), Kyle Goodburn (P).
Third Team: Marcus Wright (TE/FB), Cole Chevalier (OL).
Honorable Mention: Billy Creason (RB), Clint Utter (WR), Joel Gantz (TE), Bryant Hummel (DL), Matt Meinert (DL), Bryce Enyard (DB).

— Northwest Sports Information —

Junior D.J. Gnader and freshman Simon Mathiesen each earned MIAA Athlete of the Week honors, the conference office announced on Monday. Gnader was named the Defensive Athlete of the Week while Mathiesen garnered Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors.

Gnader, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, had a game high 12 tackles in Northwest’s 51-21 victory over Missouri Western. In the win, Gnader also recorded a sack, a pass breakup and recovered a fumble as Northwest held the Griffons to just 115 rushing yards and 293 total yards. Gander becomes the third Northwest player to earn defensive honors. Defensive end Matt Longacre has earned the award twice and cornerback Brandon Dixon earned honors in the opening week of the season.

Mathiesen, who was making just his second start as the Bearcats’ place kicker, hit three field goals and was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points on Saturday. Mathiesen, a native of Vedbaek, Denmark, hit field goals from 36, 40 and 32yards, respectively and is the first Bearcat to earn special teams honors this season. He is also the first player to come from Denmark in Bearcat program history.

The Bearcats won the outright MIAA title, going 11-0, earning the top seed in the Super Region Three rankings and will have a bye for the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Northwest will host the winner of the No. 4 ranked Minnesota Duluth and No. 5 ranked Emporia State game on Saturday, Nov. 30 at Bearcat Stadium at noon.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State football team was selected as the top seed in the NCAA Division II’s Super Region three on Sunday. Northwest has earned a first round bye and will host a second round game on Saturday, Nov. 30, at Bearcat Stadium at noon.

Northwest (11-0) was the outright MIAA champion, securing the 25th title inprogram history. Minnesota State Mankato (11-0) was seeded second. Henderson State (11-0) (Ark.) earned the third seed and will host the sixth seed, St.Cloud State (10-1) (Minn.) in first round action on Nov. 23. Fourth seeded Minnesota Duluth (10-1) will host fifth seeded Emporia State (9-1). Northwest will play the winner of Minnesota Duluth and Emporia State.

Current Northwest football season ticket holders can secure playoff ticketsstarting today at 6 p.m. online. Fans will have until Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. to secure their seats. General ticket sales will begin on Thursday at 8 a.m. both online and at the Student Services desk. Ticket prices are $10 for youth, ages three through high school. Adult tickets are $15. Standing room only tickets for all ages three and above are $10.

Student tickets will be available Monday, Nov. 18, at 8 a.m. and can only be purchased at the Student Services desk for $5 each. The first 300 students to show their valid Northwest ID at the Student Services desk will receive one (1) complimentary ticket.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team led William Jewell late in the second half Sunday at the Winstead-Reeves Classic, but fell 84-82.

Ariel Easton put on a shooting display in the first half for Northwest going 9 for 14 from the floor and 3 for 4 from the free throw line for 25 points.

It was a back and forth battle in the first half as the lead changed hands 15 times with Northwest going into the half up by one, 41-40.

The Bearcats pulled away from the Cardinals with 7:19 to play as they held a 10 point lead.

William Jewell was able to battle back and tie the game up 82-82 with :34 left on the clock. Jewell grabbed the lead with a layup with under 10 seconds to play and the Bearcats could not answer back as they fell 84-82.

Easton finished the game with 29 points and was named to the Winstead-Reeves Classic All-Tournament team. Ashleigh Nelson also finished in double digits in points with 16 while adding four rebounds and three assists.

Shelby Mustain made her presence felt as she posted a double-double off the bench for the Bearcats, scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

Northwest moves to 0-3 on the season and will host Kansas Wesleyan Friday in Bearcat Arena for their next contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —