Steph Charteris claimed her fourth tournament victory Tuesday to win the Central Missouri Early Bird Invitational at Pointe Royale Golf Course as the Northwest Missouri State women’s golf team finished second.

Charteris was not only the lone individual to shoot below 80, but also the only golfer on the course to score a 90 or better during Tuesday’s final round with a 77 (166). The sophomore held off Missouri Western’s Natalie Bird and Callie Wilson, who finished six strokes behind Charteris, with a 172 while Wilson finished with a 181.

The pair from Missouri Western helped the Griffons overtake Northwest in the team scoring to claim the team title by one stroke. The Griffons finished 736 while the Bearcats fired a score of 737. Fort Hays State checked in at third with a 778 as Central Missouri finished fourth and Southwest Baptist finished fifth.

Kristina D’Angela earned a top five finish with back-to-back rounds of 93 in the less than ideal conditions Tuesday. D’Angela carded a two-day score of 186 and was followed in the top 10 by Taylor Gard with a 191 (96, 95).

The final scorer for the Bearcats was Ashley Power with a two-day score of 214, while Cassie Lowell withdrew from competition after a first round 88.

Northwest takes a week off before returning to action at the Missouri Western Invitational March 24 and 25 from the St. Joseph Country Club.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Forty minutes of basketball was not enough to decide a winner Sunday, as Northwest Missouri State and Central Missouri battled into overtime before the Mules claimed a 79-76 win in the MIAA Tournament Championship.

The loss drops the Bearcats to 21-10 on the season and Northwest must now wait to see if reaching the MIAA Championship game was enough to earn a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament.

Central Missouri earns the league’s automatic bid as the Mules improved to 22-7 overall.

Bryston Williams did all he could to help ensure a Bearcat win. With seven seconds left in regulation, the junior took a missed UCM free throw the length of the floor and tied the game on a layup.

Williams continued his surge in the extra period finishing with a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds.

Northwest jumped out to a 70-67 lead before the Mules’ Dominique Long hit a jumper with 1:57 left to give UCM its first lead. Long finished with 16 points and was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line.

Both teams struggled at the free-throw line, but after dominating the boards the Bearcats were not able to pull in the final rebound.

A UCM foul sent Matt Wallace to the line with four seconds left in overtime and the Bearcats trailing 78-75. Wallace, who was fouled on a three-pointer, missed the second and intentionally missed the third.

However, Zach Bush pulled down the rebound for the Mules sealing the 78-76 victory. Northwest finished the game pulling in 48 rebounds compared to the Mules 32.

Playing two men down, DeAngelo Hailey and Conner Crooker, the Bearcats found themselves also without its top two scorers midway through the extra period. Dillon Starzl fouled out with seven seconds left in regulation and Williams committed his fifth foul in overtime.

Starzl was forced to sit most of the first half in foul trouble, but helped Northwest jump out to a 7-0 lead to start the game. Starzl finished with 13 points and six rebounds and was named to the all-Tournament Team.

Both teams entered halftime tied at 33-33, but the Bearcats ended with 20 turnovers.

Widgett Washington finished with 20 points and four steals to lead the Mules. The win was also the ninth straight for UCM over the Bearcats and gives them their sixth MIAA Tournament Championship.

Northwest and the MIAA entered the Central Region this year with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Great American Conference. The Bearcats did not appear in either of the final two regional polls during the regular season and despite wins over Northeastern State and Fort Hays State could get left out of the tournament.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

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 —

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 —

Junior forward Dillon Starzl stepped to the free throw line for Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team with 30 seconds left and his team clinging to a two-point lead.

Confidence level was high that he would make both free throws and put away a stubborn Northeastern State squad Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.

The day belonged to Starzl. He was nearly unstoppable with his post moves.

Starzl used major body english to will the first free throw in. He swished the second attempt. Those turned out to be the final points in Northwest’s 69-65 victory.

“I wasn’t trying to think about it too much,” Starzl said of his free throws. “I knew I missed some early. I just had to go up and hit these two and we would be good if we get stops on defense.”

The Bearcats, 20-9, move on. They will face No. 1 seed Fort Hays State noon Saturday.

Starzl, who played high school basketball at Kearney High School in Kearney, Mo., was great throughout. He finished with a game-high 25 points.

Starzl was part of the hot start by the Bearcats in the second half when Northwest extended its halftime lead from 39-36 to 46-36. His first basket in the second half gave the Bearcats the 10-point lead.

“I knew they were going to play straight behind me in the post,” Starzl said. “We were focused on going inside pretty much the whole game. I was able to get a rhythm going and I was able to keep it going the whole game.”

A little later, Starzl hit another bucket to put Northwest ahead 55-43. Freshman Conner Crooker followed with a basket that gave the Bearcats a 57-43 lead with 12 minutes left.

Northeastern slowly whittled away its deficit and even took a 65-64 lead 3:59 left. The RiverHawks didn’t score again.

It was a gritty win for the Bearcats, who played a near-perfect first half on offense.

Starzl went 7 for 7 from the field in the first 20 minutes, and Crooker, who finished with 13 points, made all three of his shots in the first half.

The Bearcats shot 71 percent from the field in the first half, but needed a three-pointer by DeAngelo Hailey at the buzzer to go into halftime with a three-point lead.

“I didn’t realize we shot that well until we went into the locker room,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “We shot 71 percent and we are up three points on a lucky three we hit at the buzzer. No, it wasn’t lucky. He works on those every day. That is the shot he works on.

“I thought we did a good job of executing. We went inside. If we didn’t have so many turnovers we would have been better off.”

It was a good win for the Bearcats. The only negative occurred late in the second half when Crooker had to leave the game when he was elbowed in the head.

— NWMSU Sports Information —