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Witthus scores 32 to lead No. 2 Bearcats past Emporia State

MARYVILLE, Missouri – Senior Joey Witthus posted his second straight 30-point game as he led the No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team to a 79-59 win over Emporia State University at Bearcat Arena.

Witthus poured in 32 points, including a stretch of 16 consecutive points in the second half, as Northwest improved to 15-0 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA. Witthus went 11-of-12 from the field and drained five triples in the triumph.

Northwest drained 17 three-pointers in the contest. Northwest sank 10-of-20 from distance in the final 20 minutes.

The Bearcats led by as many as 16 points in the first half before Emporia State closed to within six points at 48-42 in the second half. Trevor Hudgins hit a triple to give Northwest a nine-point lead, then Witthus simply took over. When the Witthus scoring barrage had ended, Northwest held a 67-52 advantage and never looked back. A Ryan Welty triple gave Northwest its largest lead of the game 79-53 with 1:36 left on the clock.

Northwest will be back in action Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against the Washburn Ichabods. Northwest and Washburn are the only two remaining unbeaten teams in MIAA play. Washburn moved to 4-0 in league play with a 95-94 overtime win at Missouri Western.

NOTES: Northwest has defeated Emporia State four straight times and has been victorious in 10 of the last 11 contests … Witthus has four career 30-point games (three at Northwest, one at Minnesota State) … Northwest extended the nation’s longest win streak to 15 in the win.

— Northwest Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State gets beat by Emporia State Wednesday

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team fell to Emporia State 54-41 in Bearcat Arena Thursday. Northwest was down 1 at the half, then the Hornets had a 12-0 run to start the third quarter. Northwest was plagued by poor shooting, shooting 30% from the field, and only 16% from the three-point line.

Mallory McConkey led the Bearcats with 8 points and Kaylani Maiava led the team in rebounds with 6. This was the first time that Northwest did not have a double digit scorer was against UCM in December 2017. The Bearcats were able to keep turnovers to a minimum only giving the ball away 9 times. They held Emporia to 45% shooting and 23% from the three-point line.

Jessica Wayne had a double-double for the Hornets with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Addie Lackey was also in double figures for the Hornets with 10. The Hornets outrebounded the Bearcats 42-25.

Northwest will be back in action Saturday, January 12 at 1:30 p.m. in Bearcat Arena against Washburn University.

— Northwest Athletics —

Northwest’s Hawkins earns weekly MIAA basketball honor

Northwest Missouri State University sophomore Ryan Hawkins has been named the MIAA co-player of the week for his performance. Hawkins will share the honor with Lincoln’s Terrance Smith.

Hawkins (Atlantic, Iowa) averaged 26.0 points per game, 4.3 steals per game and shot 66.7 percent from the field (including 52.2 percent from 3-point range) in a trio of Northwest Missouri State victories.

Hawkins went for a career-high 31 points on 10-of-13 shooting (5-of-7 3-point FGs) in a 105-70 win at Northeastern State. Hawkins added five steals and a block while also draining all six of his free throw attempts in the Bearcats’s road victory.

He scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and chipped in with eight rebounds and two steals in a 78-67 road triumph at Central Oklahoma.

Hawkins posted a then-career-high 29 points, eight rebounds, six steals and a block in a 108-58 victory over Simpson on Dec. 30. Hawkins went 11-of-16 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range against the Storm.

He leads the MIAA in rebounding (9.9) and steals (34).

Hawkins and the Bearcats will be in action at home Wednesday against Emporia State. The women’s game will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the men’s to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m. All members of the military and law enforcement will receive free admission for Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. Emporia State.

— Northwest Athletics —

Witthus scores 34 to lead No. 2 Bearcats past Bronchos

EDMOND, Oklahoma – The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team moved to 14-0 and 4-0 in MIAA play with a 78-67 road win over Central Oklahoma at the Hamilton Field House Saturday.

Senior Joey Witthus carried the offensive load as he recorded a career-high 34 points. Witthus was 10-of-16 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Witthus scored 26 of his 34 in the second half.

Central Oklahoma held Northwest to less than 80 points for the first time in 10 games this season. Northwest was held to a season-low five three-pointers.

The Bearcats will be in action against Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at home against the Emporia State Hornets.

NOTES: Northwest tallied 13 steals and only turned the ball over seven times, including only two miscues in the second half … Northwest out-scored UCO in the paint, 44-26 … Northwest enjoyed a 16-2 scoring edge in points off turnovers.

— Northwest Athletics —

Northwest Missouri State women get road win at Central Oklahoma

EDMOND, Oklahoma – The Northwest Missouri State University women’s basketball team captured back-to-back road MIAA games for the first time since the 2010-11 season with a 51-47 victory at Central Oklahoma on Saturday.

Northwest (6-7 overall, 2-2 MIAA) got 16 points from sophomore guard Jaelyn Haggard, including the final three at the line to close out the four-point victory.

The Bronchos led by as many as seven in the second quarter before the Bearcats locked in defensively. Northwest would go on an 8-0 run to take a 17-16 lead. UCO took a 21-19 lead only to see Jaelyn Haggard knock in her second triple of the opening half that put the Bearcats on top 22-21 with 54 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Bearcats opened up a six-point lead at 39-33 on a three-pointer by Mallory McAndrews with 2:30 left in the third quarter. UCO would chip away and re-took the lead following an 11-2 run. The Bronchos took a 44-41 advantage following a bucket from Megan Hartness with 6:29 left in the fourth.

However, the Bearcats would not fade. Kendey Eaton hit a floater in the lane with 4:38 left to pull the Bearcats to within one. Then Kylie Coleman drove in for a left-handed layup that knotted the game at 45-45 with 3:54 left.

McAndrews buried a triple from the wing with 3:13 for the final field goal of the contest for the Bearcats. UCO’s Micayla Haynes knocked in a basket with 2:33 left in the game.

Haggard sank one of two free throws with :12 left and UCO turned it over with :05.7 remaining. Haggard made both free throws with :04 left to clinch the road win.

The Bearcats will be in action against Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at home against the Emporia State Hornets.

NOTES: The Northwest win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Bearcats against Central Oklahoma … Northwest knocked in nine three-pointers … Northwest limited UCO to 32.6 percent shooting from the field and forced the Bronchos into 21 turnovers.

— Northwest Athletics —

No. 2 Bearcats make 19 three-pointers in blowout win at Northeastern State

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat men’s basketball team reached the 100-point mark for the fourth time this season with a 105-70 victory at Northeastern State University on Thursday night.

Northwest (13-0 overall) buried a season-high 19 three-pointers and shot 64.3 percent from the floor in moving to 3-0 in MIAA play. The Bearcats were one 3-pointer shy of matching the school record for 3-pointers in a game.

The Bearcats drained 19-of-29 shots (65.5 percent) from three-point range against the RiverHawks. Northwest came into the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in three-point field percentage at 46.1 percent.

Sophomore Ryan Hawkins went for a career-high for the second straight game with 31 points and five steals. Redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins posted 22 points and eight assists in the win.

Northeastern State closed to within 23-22 with 6:23 left in the half before the Bearcats offense simply exploded with efficiency. Northwest made nine of its next 10 shots, including 8-of-9 from three-point range to take a 55-33 lead into the intermission.

The Bearcats will travel to Edmond, Oklahoma, on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. tip vs. the Central Oklahoma Bronchos.

NOTES: Ryan Welty was a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range … Welty came into the contest ranked as the NCAA’s active career three-point accuracy shooter at 53.6 percent (133-of-248) … Northwest dished out 23 assists and posted 11 steals … Northeastern State won the rebounding battle, 27-20 … it marks the first time this season that Northwest has been out-rebounded.

— Northwest Athletics —

Northwest women come back to win at Northeastern State

Northwest Missouri State got their first conference win in a 62-59 dogfight against Northeastern which featured 24 lead changes and 10 ties. The game was back and forth all night until Erika Schlosser hit the go-ahead 3 with 10 seconds left to give the Bearcats the 62-59 lead. This win was the first conference win of Austin Meyer’s young coaching career with the Bearcats.

The Bearcats only shot 33 percent from the field but combated that by making 16-18 from the free throw line and limiting themselves to 8 turnovers compared to Northeastern’s 17. The Bearcats were led in scoring by Kendey Eaton with 18, closely followed by Jaelyn Haggard with 17. Kaylani Maiava rounded out the double digit scorers for the Bearcats with 10 and led the team with 7 rebounds.

Northeastern had two players in double figures. Cailyn Long had 20 and Cenia Hayes had 11. Bailee Eldred led the Riverhawks with 12 rebounds. They shot 45 percent from the field but only 66 percent from the line.

Northwest continues the Oklahoma road trip and plays University of Central Oklahoma Saturday, Jan. 5 at 1:30 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

No. 2 Bearcats beat Simpson by 50

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team put a perfect wrap on its non-conference slate with a 108-58 triumph over Simpson College on Sunday at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest (12-0) shot 63.2 percent from the field, including 48.0 percent from three-point range. Northwest also poured in 60 points in the paint against the Storm. Northwest forced Simpson into 21 turnovers, while the Bearcats had only four turnovers in the matchup.

Bearcat sophomore Ryan Hawkins stuffed the stat sheet with a career-high 29 points, eight rebounds, six steals and a blocked shot. Hawkins went 11-of-16 from the field and was 5-of-8 from three-point range.

Northwest redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins notched his third double-double on the season with 21 points and 10 assists.

The Bearcats used a 15-0 run to turn a 3-3 tie into an 18-3 advantage and the score never went below double figures the rest of the way.

Northwest will return to MIAA play this week with road contests at Northeastern State on Thursday and Central Oklahoma on Saturday.

NOTES: Freshman Diego Bernard reached double figures for the eighth straight game with a career-high 17 points … Northwest won its 16th straight game in December … Northwest had the rebounding edge in its 12th game this season with a 33-25 advantage.

Northwest women overcome slow start to defeat Quincy

The Northwest Missouri State University women’s basketball team fell behind 15-2 to start the game and ended the first quarter trailing Quincy University, 19-9.

They were able to come back strong in the second quarter and won the quarter 21-5 to take a 30-24 lead at halftime on a buzzer beater layup by Jaelyn Haggard. The Bearcats controlled the second half and coasted to a nine-point victory, 64-55.

Northwest was led in scoring by Mallory McConkey, who had a career high 19. Next was Kylie Coleman with 14 points in just her second game back from injury. Haggard was also in double figures with 11 points. Kaylani Maiava had six rebounds which led the Bearcats. Northwest went 11-26 on three pointers and 13-17 from the free throw line.

Maddie Spagnola had 19 points to lead Quincy, followed by Michaela Gronewold with 14. Gronewold also led the Hawks in rebounds with 7. The Hawks shot 43.9 percent from the field but were plagued by turnovers, finishing with 22 for the game.

Northwest moves to 4-7 on the year and will play next at Northeastern State on Thursday, Jan. 3.

— Northwest Athletics —

No. 2 Bearcats rout Texas A&M-International 85-46

MARYVILLE, Missouri – The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team did not miss a beat after taking 10 days off between games to focus on finals.

Northwest (11-0 overall) scored an 85-46 win over Texas A&M-International (3-9 overall) on Tuesday night at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest drained a season-high 16 three-pointers while limiting the Dustdevils to only four made three-pointers.

The Bearcats blitzed the Dustdevils in the first half with a 13-0 run that gave Northwest a 26-9 lead with 10:54 remaining before halftime. Northwest built a 19-point lead at the half after shooting 68.2 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from three-point range.

A 10-0 spurt in the second half turned a 21-point margin into a 31-point lead for the Bearcats at 61-30 with 12:03 to play.

The Bearcats largest lead of the game was 39 points – the final margin, 85-46.

Northwest’s next action will be Sun., Dec. 30 against Simpson College. Northwest will offer $5 general admission tickets for the 2 p.m. tip in Bearcat Arena.

NOTES: Northwest had five players in double-figures led by the trio of Diego Bernard (14), Ryan Welty (14) and Ryan Hawkins (14) … Northwest has won 15 straight games in the month of December … the Bearcats won the battle of the boards for the 11th straight time this season, 27-24 … Northwest dished out a season-high 25 assists … the Dustdevils were coached by former Bearcat player and assistant coach Joel Taylor.

— Northwest Athletics —

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