The Northwest Missouri State University women’s basketball team defeated Peru State, 84-69, on Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.

– Northwest set a school record with 19 made three pointers in the victory, moving to 1-2 on the season. The previous record was 16 set back on Feb. 4, 2009, against Nebraska-Omaha.

– The game counted as an exhibition contest for Peru State, who remains 2-3 overall.

– Freshman Jaelyn Haggard hit seven three-pointers and finished tied for the game high with 23 points. She added a pair of rebounds and an assist.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats, who never trailed in the game, held a 48-30 lead at halftime.

– Northwest shot 50 percent from the field (32-64) for the game and hit 19-of-40 three pointers (47.5 percent). The 40 three-point attempts were also a school record.

– The Bearcats held a 33-29 rebound advantage and forced 14 Bobcat turnovers.

– Northwest grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and scored 12 second-chance points.

– Mallory McAndrews went a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc, finishing with 18 points, three assists and one rebound.

– Arbrie Benson scored 14 points with nine assists and six rebounds. She had one steal and hit a pair of three pointers.

– Zoie Hayward finished with 12 points and six rebounds. She added two assists, one blocked shot and one steal.

– Tanya Meyer hit three three-pointers and finished with nine points and two rebounds. Meyer only played the first half of Wednesday’s game.

– All 12 players for Northwest recorded at least one rebound in the game.

Up Next
– Northwest hosts Maryville University on Monday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team fell to Central Missouri, 3-1, on Tuesday at the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

– The Bearcats finish the season with a 17-15 overall mark, earning the MIAA Tournament’s No. 5 seed.

– Central Missouri advances to the semifinal round which will be held in Kearney, Neb., starting on Friday.

– The Jennies, who came into the match ranked No. 18 in the AVCA poll, improve to 25-7 overall.

– Northwest has now qualified for the MIAA Tournament during all five seasons under head coach Amy Woerth. The tournament was not held in 2014.

– Maddy Bruder, who was named a unanimous First Team All-MIAA performer earlier in the day, finished with 16 kills, 12 digs, two assists, one block and one service ace.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats won the first set, 25-21, but fell in the next three by scores of 25-22, 25-15 and 25-19.

– Northwest hit .199 for the match as a team with five service aces and eight total blocks.

– Morgan Lewis hit .429 for the match, tallying 11 kills with three blocks.

– Olivia Nowakowski had 19 digs and three assists.

– Maddy Ahrens added 13 digs to go along with her 15 assists and two service aces.

– Darcy Sunderman had six kills with seven digs, two service aces and a block.

– Sarah Dannettell picked up 22 assists with three digs and two kills.

– Sofia Schleppenbach and Hallie Sidney each had four blocks defensively for Northwest.

Key Northwest Sequence
– With the match tied, 18-18, Morgan Lewis and Sunderman had back-to-back kills to give the Bearcats a two-point lead. UCM would get a point back on a kill but Sunderman came up with a service ace and Bruder added a kill to make it 22-19. The Jennies got another point back but Lewis had another kill to force a UCM timeout. Schleppenbach had a block to give Northwest set point, 24-20, on the next sequence. The Jennies made it 24-21 with a kill from Audrey Fisher but Sunderman finished off the set with a kill off an assist from Dannettell.

— Northwest Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University defensive end Austen Eskew has been named the MIAA Special Teams co-Athlete of the Week. Eskew and the Bearcats defeated Missouri Western, 30-0, on Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo. The junior tallied three total tackles with one sack. But it was his play on punt coverage that garnered him the honor. He blocked a pair of Griffon punts, giving the Northwest offense the ball in Missouri Western territory.

Northwest will take on Ashland in the 2017 NCAA Football Playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 11 a.m. CST in Ashland, Ohio.

— Northwest Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University guard Justin Pitts has been named the MIAA’s co-Athlete of the Week by the league office on Monday. Emporia State’s Brandon Hall shared the honor with Pitts.

Against Upper Iowa and Northern State, Pitts averaged 26.0 points and 4.0 assists in a pair of Northwest season-opening victories over the weekend. He started the season with a 30 point performance against the Peacocks and followed it up with 22 points and six assists against the Wolves on Sunday.

The Bearcats host Metropolitan State on Friday in the team’s home opener at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Northwest will take on Truman State at 3 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Athletics —

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Northwest Missouri State University football team earned the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Super Region Three playoff bracket and will face Ashland University on Saturday, Nov. 18, in Ashland, Ohio. This will be the first all-time meeting between the Bearcats and the Eagles.

Ashland went 10-1 this season and claimed the outright GLIAC title this season. The Eagles’ lone loss of the year came in week one to Indiana (Pa.), 26-23. Indiana received the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Super Region One.

Northwest has now made 14 straight NCAA playoff appearances and 22 all time. The Bearcats are 47-15 all time in the NCAA playoffs, winning national titles in 1998, 1999, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Game time, ticket and broadcast information will be released later this week.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce – Northwest Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Faced with a seven-point deficit early in first half, Northwest Missouri State needed to make it more difficult for Northern State to score. The Bearcats were taking on a team that should easily win over 20 games this year.

Northwest responded like a team still hungry despite coming off a one-loss, national championship season.

The Bearcats used their trademark gritty defense and team offense to come away with a 71-60 victory Sunday afternoon at the 26th Annual Hillyard Classic at the Missouri Western Fieldhouse. Northwest improved to 2-0 against two teams easily capable of reaching the NCAA Division II Tournament in March.

“This was big for us,” said Northwest senior Brett Dougherty. “It feels like a lot different team this year. Everything was kind of established the last two years. We had a lot of the same guys. We have new pieces this year. To get two big wins is good for us. It’s a good way to start the season.”

Holding a two-point lead at the start of the second half, the Bearcats scored the first four points on an inside basket by Dougherty and two free throws by junior Joey Witthus for a 42-36 lead.

The bucket by Dougherty, a 6-foot-7 forward, was significant. Like in the first half, Dougherty showed he wasn’t afraid to put up a shot against 6-8 forward Logan Doyle and 6-10 center Carter Evans.

“They had size on us, for sure,” said Dougherty, who finished with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting. “Coach Mac saw on film that their feet were a little slow so I just tried to attack them. They weren’t doubling, and when they aren’t doubling, I got to make a move and be aggressive. That is what I did.”

Over the next several minutes, the Wolves stayed close by also playing tough defense. Northwest started creating some separation when senior Chris-Ebou Ndow hit a three-pointer to give the Bearcats a 49-42 lead.

“They really came out and played so we needed that reality check,” Ndow said. “They really stood up to us and gave us a battle.”

Northwest grabbed its first double-digit lead at 55-45 with 9:17 left on a basket by senior Justin Pitts, who finished with a game-high 22 points.

With a 60-51 advantage, the Bearcats upped their game to another level on both ends of the floor. It started with a three-pointer by freshman Ryan Hawkins.

“It is just fun being out there and using my length on defense,” said Hawkins, who provided a defensive spark in the first half. “Being 6-7 and having long arms help.

“And when you have JP (Justin Pitts) drawing all the attention like that, you get wide open threes. It feels good going in.”

Ndow followed with a dunk that put Northwest up 65-51 with 4:20 left. The Bearcats added another basket before Northern State finally scored again on a three-pointer with 2:02 left in the game. The Wolves still trailed 67-54.

“We got 50/50 balls,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “The first half, they (Wolves) had nine offensive rebounds. We were a little bit soft boxing out. Once we started to calm that a little bit, it helps you out on transition on offense. I thought that was the key.

“I thought our energy was great. They are a good team. They will be there at the end of the year. That was a fun, early season game.”

In an intense, highly entertaining first half, Northwest took a slim 38-36 lead into halftime.

Behind the hot shooting of Northern State senior guard D.J. Pollard, the Wolves bolted to a 16-9 lead.

“There was no panic from us,” Ndow said. We came out after the timeout with intensity on defense and offense. But we know it starts with the defense.”

The Bearcats made it much harder for Northern State to get open looks. For the rest of the first half, the shot clock often ticked down to under 10 seconds before the Wolves got close to putting up a shot.

Northwest also found its rhythm on offense. One key was the power moves inside by Dougherty. He scored 10 points in the first half.

Two free throws by Dougherty tied the game at 21-21. Northwest took its first lead at 26-23 on a three-pointer by Pitts with 5:52 remaining in the first half.

After the Wolves tied it on a three-pointer by Pollard, consecutive treys by Pitts and sophomore Ryan Welty gave the Bearcats a 32-26 lead.

Northwest moved its advantage to seven at 36-29 on a drive by Ndow with 2:52 left.

But the Wolves, showing they are a high-quality team, regained the momentum, outscoring Northwest 7-2 the rest of the half.

“They are a team that prides themselves on getting into the post and being bullies,” Ndow said. “Brett stood up to them. Brett was by far the best player today. He really stepped up for us.”

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team defeated Fort Hays State, 3-1, on Saturday at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
– Northwest improves to 17-14 overall and 11-7 in conference play to finish the season. Fort Hays ends the season with an 11-23 mark and a 2-16 MIAA record.
– Maddy Bruder had 17 kills with 19 digs, three blocks and added an assist.
– Prior to the match, the Bearcats honored Taylor Linenberger, Gaby da Silva, Sarah Dannettell and Darcy Sunderman as part of Senior Day.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats won the first set, 25-11, but dropped the second, 25-21. Northwest finished the match by winning the second and third sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-12.
– For the match, the Bearcats hit .243 while holding the Tigers to just a .019 attack percentage, forcing 32 errors.
– Northwest had 11 blocks to Fort Hays State’s six.
– Sofia Schleppenbach had 15 kills with nine blocks and two digs. She hit .379 for the match with just four attacking errors.
– Olivia Nowakowski had 27 digs with four assists.
– Maddy Ahrens had 33 assists with 11 digs, two service aces and a kill.
– Dannettell had 16 assists with three digs, two blocks and two kills.
– Da Silva had nine digs with four kills and a block.
– Morgan Lewis added nine kills with two digs and a block.

Key Northwest Sequence
– In the fourth set, Fort Hays jumped out to an early 10-7 lead. But Northwest came roaring back. Bruder had a pair of kills with a Tiger attack error in between to make it 10-10, forcing a timeout. Bruder and Schleppenbach each added kills before Fort Hays was able to get a point back at 12-11. But another Bruder kill gave the possession back to Northwest at 13-11. With Ahrens on the service line, the Bearcats would record seven-straight points before the Tigers managed to get a kill to make it 20-12. That would be the last Fort Hays point as Northwest closed the match out on a 5-0 run, capped by a block by Linenberger and Schleppenbach on match point.

Up Next
– Northwest will now await seeding in the MIAA tournament. The first round will be played at campus sites on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University women’s basketball team fell to Henderson State, 75-63, on Saturday at the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar, Mo.
– The Bearcats are now 0-2 on the year while Henderson State improves to 1-1.
– Tanya Meyer recorded a double-double, leading all scorers with 21 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. She was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and added a steal.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats shot 40.7 percent from the field (24-59) and were 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line.
– Northwest held a 13-12 lead after the first quarter.
– Arbrie Benson scored 17 points, going 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. She added six rebounds and five assists.

Key Northwest Sequence
– The Reddies jumped out to an early 11-4 lead in the first quarter but the Bearcats finished the frame strong. Benson converted an and-one off an assist from Zoie Hayward. Mallory McConkey came up with a steal and converted the bucket on the other end to make it an 11-9 game. On HSU’s next trip down, it was McConkey again coming up with a defensive stop, blocking a Hailey Estes shot. Northwest would get a layup from Meyer on the next possession to tie the game, 11-11. Henderson State would get a free throw to take a one point lead but with just one second left on the clock, Hayward made a layup to give the Bearcats a 13-12 advantage heading into the break.

Up Next
– Northwest will host Peru State this Wednesday, Nov. 15, in the Bearcats’ home opener. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce – Northwest Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Although not in midseason form, Northwest Missouri State’s men’s basketball team put together a nice game Friday afternoon. The Bearcats, coming off a 35-1, national championship season, beat Upper Iowa 89-65 at the 26th annual Hillyard Tip-Off Classic at the Missouri Western Fieldhouse.

Northwest, which needed overtime to beat Upper Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament last season, never trailed in the season-opening game for both teams.

The outcome was more reminiscent of last year’s opener when Northwest defeated Upper Iowa 87-52. Understandably, the Bearcats weren’t as crisp. They lost three key seniors from last year.

“We were okay,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “I think the expectation for myself and the players was we were just going to come in and click on all cylinders right away. That was not the case.”

Northwest started four players with considerable championship experience, which includes senior Justin Pitts, the Division II national player of the year from last year. Pitts was definitely in top form, finishing with a game-high 30 points on 12 of 19 shooting.

“Overall, I think we did pretty good,” Pitts said. “We got a little sluggish in the first half. We picked it up in the second half and played a better second half than the first.”

Junior Joey Witthus is the newcomer in the starting group of Pitts, and seniors Chris-Ebou Ndow, Xavier Kurth, and Brett Dougherty. And they rolled together quite well midway through the second half when the Bearcats opened up a sizeable lead.

“We do have a lot of returners, but we are playing a lot of new guys,” McCollum said. “You saw that today. It was a good victory. I don’t think the score was indicative of how close the game actually was. We need to get everybody involved. We didn’t play with the intensity I wanted them to play with today.”

The best sequence came when Northwest made four crisp passes that led to a wide-open three-point attempt from Ryan Welty. The shot hit off the front of the rim, but Dougherty was there to dunk the ball, giving Northwest a 59-45 lead.

Several minutes later, Witthus, a transfer from Minnesota State, hit his first three-pointer in a Northwest uniform. His trey put Northwest ahead 69-47.

“I know these guys will get me the ball when I am open,” Witthus said. “It felt good to be out there. These guys play so well together. They move the ball. It is just so much fun to play with a group like this. They get after it on defense.”

As for the core four, they each had their moments. Ndow had 20 and Dougherty added 13. Kurth played strong defense and scored seven. Also, the bench performed well, showing that this might be Northwest’s deepest team in the McCollum era.

It was going so well for Northwest that freshman guard Daric Laing came off the bench and banked in two three-pointers in the final two minutes.

“It feels good to actually play a game because we were getting a little tired of playing against each other every day,” Pitts said. “It felt good to get the win and play against another team.”

Northwest scored the first seven points of the game and maintained the lead for the rest of the half, taking a 41-31 lead into halftime.

In Northwest fashion, three different Bearcats scored the first three field goals. Pitts opened the scoring with a two-point field goal, followed by a three-pointer from Ndow. Dougherty concluded the early run with a strong move in the paint for a bucket.

After Pitts hit a three-pointer to push Northwest’s lead to 14-5, the Peacocks fought back and closed to 14-12. They matched Northwest over the next 7 minutes.

Leading 30-28, Northwest put together a nice spurt to close out the first half. It started with a basket from Kurth hit a three-pointer and Pitts made another driving layup, extending Northwest’s advantage to 37-28.

Northwest’s lead grew to double digits for the first time on a basket by Pitts, making it 41-30.

“This was a good test for us, for sure,” Witthus said. “We need to make sure we come out and compete and have fun.”

— Northwest Athletics —