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Category: Northwest Missouri State

Bearcats use big second half to blow out Southwest Baptist

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Jake Reinders had a career high 28 points and 12 rebounds for No. 24 Northwest Missouri State as they knocked off Southwest Baptist 78-55 in MIAA men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest got its first double-double of the season from Reinders and holds onto first place in the league at 7-2 while moving to 13-2 overall. SBU saw its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 10-8 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

Consistency from Reinders all season long has propelled Northwest to the top of the MIAA standings and sets-up the Bearcats second battle on the season for league supremacy Wednesday at No. 23 Missouri Southern. Reinders pulled in 10 of his career high 12 rebounds on the defensive end of the floor, limiting SBU’s second chance points.

After five lead changes and seven ties, Bryston Williams drove to the hole and completed an and-one putting Northwest up 43-41 with 13:27 left in the game. The Bearcats would never look back from that point.

With 12:42 left in the second half Bryston Williams knocked the ball from SBU’s Preston Guiot and dished to Alex Sullivan for his second three-pointer of the day extending Northwest’s lead to 50-44. From there Northwest would go on a 9-2 run extending its lead to double digits.

Sullivan scored a season high 10 points off the bench for Northwest in the win as they also outscored SBU 19-6 in bench points.

Northwest forced 20 SBU turnovers earning 27 points off the purple Bearcats’ miscues as SBU only scored eight times off Northwest’s 17 turnovers.

DeShaun Cooper returned from an injury suffered in Wednesday’s loss at Central Missouri to score 15 points including 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

Robson Memnon led SBU with 17 points and five rebounds.

Northwest begins a three-game road swing Wednesday at No. 23 Missouri Southern in a battle for the top spot in the MIAA. Game time from Joplin is slated for 7:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest women pull away from SBU as Henry scores 30

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Abby Henry scored a season-high 30 points and went 17-of-20 from the free throw line as Northwest defeated the Southwest Baptist Bearcats (5-9, 1-8 MIAA) 79-68 Saturday afternoon in Bearcat Arena.  Henry also added four assists in the win.

After a back-and-forth first half that featured five ties and six lead changes Northwest (4-12, 2-7 MIAA) found themselves up by one at the half, 36-35.

Northwest never trailed in the second half and was finally able to break-away from the “purple” Bearcats at the 9:19 mark off of three-point shot by Ashley Thayer that put Northwest up 54-46.

Northwest would hold their largest lead of the game at the 3:30 mark when Henry hit a jumper to put Northwest up 72-52.

Henry would go 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the final minute of the game to seal the victory for the Bearcats.

Northwest shot 45.6 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the charity stripe while Southwest Baptist shot just over 44 percent from the field, but only 60.0 percent from the free throw line.

The Bearcats forced 23 turnovers while only committing twelve, and outscored Southwest Baptist 31-13 off of turnovers.

The Northwest bench also outscored SBU off the bench 38-25 with Ashley Thayer and Emily Hauder chipping in 12 points each off the bench for Northwest.

The Bearcat defense was able to hold Southwest Baptist’s leading scorer Brittney Dukes to nine points while Jacqui Zelenka led them offensively scoring 15.

Up Next:  Northwest continues MIAA action as the travel to Missouri Southern Wednesday, Jan. 18.  Tip-off from Joplin is set for 5:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest cheer team wins second national championship

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For the second time in three years Northwest Missouri State cheerleading was named the 2012 Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) National Champion at the Walt Disney World Resort on Saturday.

Head Coach Jason Sack and his squad earned their second UCA National Championship since he took over the program in 2006. Northwest claimed its first championship in 2010.

Northwest competed against other NCAA Division II schools to take home the title over defending National Champion West Georgia, which was followed by third place Columbus State.

The Bearcat Steppers also competed in the open hip hop division advancing to the finals and earning a sixth place finish. Additionally the Steppers have advance to the finals of the open jazz division and will perform Sunday at 10 a.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest distance runners do well at Nebraska Invite

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Northwest Missouri State enjoyed a successful start to the New Year highlighted by six top five finishes on the women’s side and a runner-up finish for Kemper Kellerstrass on the men’s side Friday at the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by the University of Nebraska.

Brittany Poole, Jordan Esry, Madison Marshman, Tasha Sherman, Ashli Mosby and Megan Elder all earned top five finishes respectively to pace the Northwest women at the Devaney Sports Center.

Esry and Marshman earned fourth and fifth place finishes and were followed closely behind by Anne Herbert, who placed sixth, in the 3,000-meter run for the Bearcats. The only NCAA runner to finish ahead of the Northwest runners was Erin Curren of Black Hills State.

Freshman Tasha Sherman took home a fourth place finish in the 5,000-meter run to complete a successful first day for the Northwest distance runners. Megan Elder earned a third place in the pole vault behind Doane College and Nebraska-Kearney.

Poole earned a fourth place finish as well in the 1-mile run with a time of 5:13.40. She was the top non-Nebraska runner to finish, as the Huskers ran to a first, second and third place close with Ashley Miller capturing the title with a time of 4:47.30.

The men’s side was highlighted by Kellerstrass whose runner-up finish in the pole vault was his highest of the year at 4.45 meters. He was behind Nebraska Wesleyan’s Jay Wall with a vault of 4.75 meters.

A quartet of distance and middle distance runners for the men earned top 10 finishes to round out Friday competition.

Taylor Overmiller came in fifth in the 800-meter run as did Ryan Darling in the 1-mile run. Darling was the top Division II runner behind a trio of runners from Minnesota, led by Nick Hutton with a time of 4:11.61 while Darling finished in 4:16.23.

The 5,000-meter run had a pair of Bearcats in the top 10 with Jared Walker in seventh and David Nilges in eighth.

The second day of action will start at noon tomorrow with the women’s pole vault, shot put, triple jump, high jump and the finals of the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash. The last running event of the day, the men’s 4×400-meter relay, is set to start at 3:55 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Bearcats’ comeback falls short against Central

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Kyle Haake’s last second three-point attempt rimed out as the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats’ comeback attempt fell just short Wednesday night in a 63-60 loss to Central Missouri in MIAA men’s basketball action.

Northwest fell to 12-2 on the year as the Bearcats dropped just their second conference game of the season to fall to 6-2. The Mules improved to 9-4 overall and 5-3 in league play.

After trailing by as many as 17 points the Bearcats fought back in the second half to tie the game with 2:14 left in the game. However, senior Boo Hunter would answer for the Mules with a three-pointer putting UCM up for good.

The Bearcats had their chances late in the game as UCM missed a pair of free throws and Jake Reinders pulled in the rebound with 12 seconds left. Haake would fire one last three-point attempt with three seconds left in the game, but it would fall off the mark just ahead of the buzzer.

The Mules scored the game’s first 14 points as Dillon Starzl hit two free throws at the 13 minute mark for the Bearcats first points of the game.

From there it would be an uphill battle for the Bearcats as UCM would go on to shoot a blistering 65 percent from the field in the first half.

The hot shooting would not last for the Mules who built a 15 point lead at the half. The Bearcat defense, however would lock in for the final 20 minutes.

Both teams finished a solid second half as the tides turned with Northwest shooting over 45 percent and holding the Mules under the 30 percent mark. During the comeback the Bearcats benefited from a poor free throw shooting performance by the Mules as the top ranked defense locked in.

The Bearcats were able to hold onto the top spot in the league despite the loss as second-place Washburn loss at Pittsburg State.

Northwest returns home for the battle of the Bearcats as they host Southwest Baptist at 3:30 p.m. inside Bearcat Arena. SBU enters Saturday’s contest winners of their last four games including wins over Washburn and Fort Hays State.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest women fall short at Central Missouri

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The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team fell on the road Wednesday night to Central Missouri 66-64.  Ashleigh Nelson led the Bearcats with 14 points.  Nelson also added six rebounds and three assists.

Northwest (3-12, 1-7 MIAA) looked in control during the first half and at one point held an 18-7 lead, but the Jennies (10-3, 4-4 MIAA) would battle back and cut Northwest’s lead to five points at halftime.

Central Missouri would take the lead with 16:30 remaining in the second half off of a three point shot by Taylor Hanson.

Northwest would trail in the second half until the 6:49 mark when the Bearcats would retake the lead off of a pair of free throws from Candace Boeh; however, the Jennies would prove to be too much down the stretch for the Bearcats.

For the game, Northwest was out rebounded 52-to-38 by the Jennies.  The Jennies went 9-of-13 from the free throw line while Northwest hit 9-of-13 free throws.

Abby Henry added thirteen points and had four assists in the loss, while Maggie Marnin chipped in ten points for the Bearcats.

Renae Shippy led the Jennies offensively recording a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Up Next:  Northwest returns home to Bearcat Arena for an MIAA match-up against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats this Saturday, January 14.  Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest men crack NABC Top 25 poll

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For the first time since the 2007-08 basketball season Northwest Missouri State finds itself ranked in the NABC Top 25 as released by the organization on Tuesday.

The Bearcats stand at 12-1 overall and enter a pivotal week of MIAA play holding a slim lead atop the standings at 6-1. Northwest travels to Central Missouri on Wednesday evening for a 7:30 p.m. tip before returning home to host Southwest Baptist on Saturday afternoon.

Northwest checks in at No. 24 just one week after receiving votes in the NABC Top 25. Along with the Bearcats, five new teams made their first appearance of the season joining Christian Brothers (Tenn.) at No. 15, Hillsdale at No. 18, Montevallo (Ala.) at No. 20 followed by St. Cloud State (Minn.) at No. 21 and District of Colombia at No. 22.

Lincoln Memorial is the new No. 1-ranked squad in the latest NABC/Division II men’s basketball poll followed by Kentucky Wesleyan at No. 2 and Bellarmine at No. 3. At No. 4 is West Liberty (W. Va.) as Metro State (Colo.) rounds out the top five.

A pair of South Central Region foes sit in the top 11 as Tarleton State moves up to No. 6 and two-time defending Region Champion Midwestern State checks in at No. 11 with a perfect 12-0 record.

Other MIAA teams in the top 25 include Fort Hays State who fell from No. 8 to No. 19 and Missouri Southern who also dropped in the rankings from No. 14 to No. 23.

Both of the Bearcats’ opponents this week have already defeated the one of the MIAA teams ranked ahead of the Bearcats. The Mules knocked off FHSU last week in a blowout while SBU also knocked off the Tigers in Hays, Kan.

Action on Saturday against Southwest Baptist begins at 3:30 p.m. from Bearcat Arena.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Bearcats cruise past Truman State to stay atop MIAA

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For the third time this season Northwest Missouri State held its opponent under 50 points as the Bearcats scratched out a 65-47 victory Saturday afternoon in MIAA action at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest led almost start to finish as they improve to 12-1 on the year and 6-1 in league play to stay atop the MIAA standings. Truman struggled to find offense dropping its fourth straight to fall to 4-10 and 2-5 in conference action.

Senior Kyle Haake again provided a big spark for the Bearcats as both teams struggled to find offense. After Truman had cut the Bearcat lead to only seven points DeAngelo Hailey found Haake on the wing who buried the trey and put Northwest back up by double digits.

With 5:03 left in the game Haake would again nail his fourth three-pointer of the game. The senior also recorded a season-high seven rebounds in the game to accompany his game-high 14 points.

Both teams struggled to find points shooting below 40 percent from the field in the game, however Northwest converted on 11-of-13 from the free throw line to help propel the Bearcats as the Bulldogs only shot 52 percent from the line.

DeShaun Cooper did not have his normal shooting night, but still managed to finish with 12 points; however, it was Cooper’s six assists that helped Northwest to its 12th victory on Saturday.

Dillon Starzl also added 11 points for the Bearcats to finish in double figures.

Truman guards Seth Jackson and Seth Carlson finished with 11 points each to lead the Bulldogs.

Northwest returns to the road on Wednesday night in a pivotal MIAA matchup with Central Missouri. Tip from the Multipurpose Building is set for 7:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest women defeat Truman for first league win

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Abby Henry hit a running jumper with four seconds to push the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats past the Truman State University Bulldogs (8-4, 3-4 MIAA) 58-57 Saturday afternoon in Bearcat Arena.

In its first action on their home court in a month, Northwest (3-11, 1-6 MIAA) snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Henry would nail a jump shot off of a missed free throw by Ashleigh Nelson with 1:04 left to play to put the Bearcats down by one.

Two missed free throws by Truman’s Becka McHenry would prove to be fatal for the Bulldogs as Henry would nail a running jumper with four seconds remaining to push the Bearcats past the Bulldogs.

Northwest battled back from a cold shooting in the first half in which they shot a little over 19 percent from the field compared to Truman’s start of 36 percent.  The Bearcats would go on to shoot a hot 51 percent in the second half; their highest shooting percentage for a half this season.

As a team, Northwest would hit 17-of-27 free throws while Truman would go 18-of-25 from the line.

Ashleigh Nelson led the Bearcats offensively as she finished with 11 points while adding four rebounds.

Henry and Shelly Martin would chip in nine points each while Henry also added six rebounds.

Up Next:  Northwest will continue MIAA action this week as they head to Warrensburg, Mo. Wednesday to take on the Central Missouri Jennies.  Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest soccer team earns Academic honor

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After finishing one of the most successful seasons, the Northwest Missouri State women’s soccer team was honored by the NSCAA with the Team Academic Award for the 2011 campaign.

Tracy Hoza in her ninth year as head coach guided the Bearcats to a 10-7-2 record as the team finished with a 3.18 GPA. Northwest was one of only two schools in the MIAA to earn the NSCAA Team Academic Award as Missouri Western was the other.

Northwest earned its first ever MIAA Postseason Tournament berth advancing to the semifinals, before falling to eventual champion Central Missouri. The Bearcats had seven players earn All-MIAA honors including senior Tammie Eiberger who was named first-team All-MIAA as well as third-team All-Region.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

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