– The Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team fell to Duke University, 93-60, on Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
– The game was played as exhibition contest for both teams.
– The Bearcats trailed, 56-30, at the break.
– Starting in 2009, Duke University has invited the Division II national champion for an annual exhibition game.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats hit 12 three pointers and limited Duke to just 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
– Northwest grabbed nine offensive rebounds and forced the Blue Devils into 15 turnovers.
– Duke had just three steals and were 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.
– The Bearcat bench outscored the Blue Devil bench, 25-21.
– Ryan Hawkins scored a team-high 14 points with three rebounds, an assist and a steal. He was 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
– Joey Witthus scored 12 points, hitting four three-pointers.
– Chris-Ebou Ndow had 10 points with a pair of rebounds and a steal.
– Justin Pitts had seven points with four assists, three steals and a rebound.
– Brett Dougherty grabbed a team high six rebounds to go along with three assists and a steal.

Key Northwest Sequence
– Ndow gave Northwest its only lead of the game early in the game. Duke scored the first point of the contest on a free throw by Marvin Bagley III. The Bearcat defense then stopped the Blue Devils by forcing a pair of turnovers. On Northwest’s third possession, Witthus missed a three but Brett Dougherty grabbed an offensive rebound and found Ndow for a three pointer, making it a 3-1 Bearcat lead.

– With Northwest trailing 14-5, Witthus nailed a three off an assist from Ryan Welty to make it a six point game. On the next sequence, Pitts came up with a steal on Grayson Allen. Welty grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul. He hit both free throws to pull the Bearcats within four, 14-10.

Up Next
– The Bearcats begin the season on Friday, Nov. 10, against Upper Iowa at 1 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo. Northwest’s first action will be on Friday, Nov. 17, against Metro State at 7 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

– The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team defeated Central Missouri, 3-1, on Friday at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
– Northwest improves to 14-11 on the year and 8-5 in MIAA play. The No. 16 ranked Jennies fall to 20-6 overall and 10-3 in conference action.
– Maddy Bruder had a match-high 21 kills, hitting .327 for the match. She added 13 digs, two blocks and a two assists in the victory.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats took the first set, 25-21, but dropped the second, 25-19. Northwest took the lead in the third set with a 25-19 win and closed out the match with a 25-21 set four victory.
– Northwest hit .270 for the match, hitting .375 in the first set.
– The Bearcats had eight service aces and nine blocks.
– Hallie Sidney hit .500 with 15 kills and no attacking errors. The freshman added four digs and a block.
– Olivia Nowakowski added 26 digs with a six assists and a pair of service aces.
– Sofia Schleppenbach had six block assists and a solo block. She added four digs, three kills and had a pair of service aces.
– Maddy Ahrens had 24 assists with six digs and three service aces.
– Sarah Dannettell had 21 assists with six digs, five kills and three blocks.
– Katelyn McKinnis had six digs defensively and added a service ace.

Key Northwest Sequence
– Tied, 19-19, in the first set, Northwest rallied to score six of the next eight points to take an early 1-0 set lead. Bruder had back-to-back kills to give the Bearcats a 21-19 lead. A service error pulled the Jennies back to within one, 21-20, but Schleppenbach came up with a kill and UCM missed on an attack, making it a 23-20 Northwest advantage, forcing a timeout. UCM would get another kill to make it 23-21, but a service error gave the Bearcats set point and Sidney put away a kill to give Northwest the set.

– UCM pushed hard for a fifth set, taking a 20-19 lead late in the fourth off a kill form Audrey Fisher. But Northwest responded by tying the match with a kill from Morgan Lewis. The Jennies came up with another kill to take a 21-20 lead but that would be the last point UCM would score in the match. Bruder put away a kill and Nowakowski added a service ace to make it 22-21 Northwest. After a Jennie timeout, Bruder recorded back-to-back kills to give the Bearcats match point, forcing UCM’s second timeout. The Jennies hit into a block from Bruder and Schleppenbach to end the match.

Up Next
– Northwest will host Lindenwood on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University football team defeated Lindenwood University, 19-0, on Saturday at Bearcat Stadium in Maryville, Mo.

– Northwest moves to 8-0 on the year while the Lions fall to 2-6 overall.

– It was the Bearcats’ fourth shutout victory on the season.

– Wide receiver Shane Williams was named the Homecoming Don Black Award winner, finishing with nine receptions for 134 yards.

Key Northwest Defensive Statistics
– Northwest held the Lions to just 27 rushing yards on the day and 176 total yards.

– Neither team recorded a turnover but the Bearcats did record points on defense, stuffing a Lindenwood run for a safety in the second quarter.

– The Lions were just 4-of-13 on third downs and were 0-for-2 on fourth down attempts.

– The Bearcats recorded four sacks on the day and allowed just two rushing first downs on the afternoon.

– Ben Althoff had a team-high 10 tackles on the day with one tackle for loss.

– Bobby Gruenloh had a pair of tackles behind the line with a sack. He finished the day with six tackles.

– Jarrod Bishop had five tackles with a sack, two quarterback hurries and 1.5 tackles for loss.

– Marcus Jones broke up a pair of passes and had five tackles, one coming behind the line of scrimmage.

– Late in the first half, Northwest’s drive stalled and Matt Thorman was brought on to punt. Thorman hit a high kick into the south wind and long snapper Andy Hessler downed the ball at the Lindenwood one-yard line. On the Lions’ first play, the defensive line got a great push and Gruenloh and Ben Spaeth combined for the safety, making it 16-0 Bearcats.

Key Northwest Offensive Statistics
– The Bearcats recorded 22 first downs, 14 coming through the air.

– Northwest finished with 403 yards of total offense and held a 32:06-to-27:54 advantage in time of possession.

– Zach Martin finished 24-of-39 with 271 yards through the air.

– Jordan Thompson finished the day with 72 yards on the ground while Brody McMahon added 63 on 16 carries. Each had a rushing touchdown on the afternoon.

– Shawn Bane Jr. caught five passes for 44 yards and Jordan Grove racked up 30 yards on five catches.

– Brody McMahon had two receptions for 40 yards and Quincy Woods had two catches for 14 yards. Alec Tatum had one catch for nine yards.

Northwest Scoring Drives
– Northwest’s first drive of the game was capped by a one yard McMahon touchdown run. The score was setup by a 38 yard pass completion from Martin to McMahon.

– The Bearcats drove 90 yards in 13 plays for the second touchdown of the day. Jordan Thompson ran from two yards out to make it 14-0 Northwest midway though the second quarter.

– After Thorman’s second quarter punt was downed at the one, Northwest recorded a safety to make it 16-0 with 0:44 seconds left in the first half.

– The Bearcats took the free kick after the safety and promptly marched 34 yards down the field to score before the end of the half. Williams caught a 22 yard pass from Martin on a second down conversion. A few plays later, Brett Garner hit a 24-yard field goal as the first half clock expired to give Northwest a 19-0 advantage at the break.

Up Next
– The Bearcats hit the road for a 2 p.m. MIAA contest at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team defeated Emporia State, 3-0, on Saturday at Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
– Northwest moves to 13-10 on the year and 7-4 in MIAA play with the win. The Hornets fall to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in conference action.
– The Bearcats hit .279 for the match and committed just 13 attacking errors.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest won all three sets by scores of 25-12, 25-23 and 25-23.
– The Bearcats had eight blocks and six total service aces.
– Maddy Bruder had 13 kills, five digs and three blocks, hitting .265 for the match.
– Sofia Schleppenbach had eight kills and zero errors, hitting .615 with two blocks and a service ace.
– Morgan Lewis committed just one attacking error, hitting .538 with eight kills and six blocks.
– Darcy Sunderman had eight kills with eight digs, four service aces and three blocks.
– Olivia Nowakowski had nine digs and a service ace.
– Maddy Ahrens and Sarah Dannettell each had 18 assists. Ahrens had seven digs and Dannettel had two with two blocks.

Key Northwest Sequences
– The Bearcats closed out the first set in convincing fashion by scoring the final seven points. Hallie Sidney had three kills in the sequence while Sunderman and Lewis each contributed a pair of blocks. The set ended with a Schleppenbach service ace.

– Emporia State threatened to take the match to a fourth set after a late rally in the third. Trailing 20-14, the Hornets went on a 6-0 run to pull even at 20-20. After the teams traded points in the next six sequences, the match stood tied at 23-23. But Bruder put away a kill on an assist from Ahrens. On the final play, Sunderman and Schleppenbach came up with a block to end the match, giving the Bearcats a 3-0 sweep.

Up Next
– The Northwest homestand continues on Tuesday, Oct. 24, with a 7 p.m. match against Missouri Western.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University soccer team fell to Central Oklahoma, 3-0, on Saturday at Tom Thompson Field in Edmond, Okla.

The Bearcats fall to 5-8 on the year and 2-5 in MIAA play. The Bronchos improve to 6-6-2 on the year and 3-2-2 in conference action.

Key Northwest Statistics
– UCO scored all three goals in the second half after the teams went into halftime scoreless.
– Northwest had seven shots while the Bronchos had 16.
– Ashley Malloy made five saves in goal.
– Emily Madden had a team-best three shots with one on goal.
– Bri Wawiorka and Mollie Holtman each had a shot on goal.
– Madi McKeever and Madie Krueger each had a shot on the afternoon.

Up Next
– Northwest remains on the road for a 3 p.m. match at Emporia State on Friday, Oct. 20.

— Northwest Athletics —

– The Northwest Missouri State University football team defeated Northeastern State, 42-14, on Saturday at Doc Wadley Stadium in Tahlequah, Okla.

– The Bearcats move to 7-0 on the year while the RiverHawks fall to 0-7.

– Northwest racked up 429 yards of total offense and held Northeastern State to -22 yards rushing, marking the second time this year a Bearcat opponent has been held to negative yards on the ground.

– The Bearcats turned five RiverHawk turnovers into 21 points.

– Northwest has now won 37 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NCAA.

– All-time, the Bearcats are 8-0 against the RiverHawks and 4-0 in Tahlequah.

– Northwest has now won 14 consecutive road games.

Key Northwest Offensive Statistics
– The Bearcats gained 25 first downs and passed for 181 yards while running for 248 yards, the second highest total of the year.
– Northwest held a 34:47 – 23:27 advantage in time of possession.
– On third down, the Bearcats were 6-of-13 and scored on 5-of-6 red zone attempts.
– Jordan Thompson ran for 110 yards on 23 carries and tied a career-high with two touchdowns. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry and also caught one pass for 15 yards.
– Brody McMahon had 16 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown, his third of the season.
– Zach Martin completed 13-of-20 pass attempts for 153 yards and three touchdowns.
– Jordan Grove had four catches on the day. He had 37 yards receiving while tying his career high with two touchdown grabs.
– Clayton Wilson caught three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.
– Matt Thorman had six punts with a 38.0 yard per kick average. He had a long of 45 yards and hit three inside the 20 yard line.
– Brett Garner was 6-for-6 on PAT attempts and had seven kickoffs with three touchbacks.

Key Northwest Defensive Statistics
– Northeastern State was held to just 16 first downs, half coming by way of penalties.
– The Bearcat defense picked off three passes and held the RiverHawks to 216 total yards. NSU also had three fumbles, losing two of them on a bad snap and on a punt.
– The RiverHawks were 5-of-16 on third downs and were 0-of-2 on fourth down conversions.
– Northwest had five sacks for 28 yards.
– Anthony Lane had five tackles, an interception and a pass breakup. His second quarter INT in the end zone prevented an NSU red zone scoring opportunity.
– J’Ravien Anderson and Samuel Roberts also recorded interceptions in the game.
– Jarrod Bishop had five tackles to tie Lane for the team-high.
– Najeem Hosein had four tackles with two coming behind the line of scrimmage.
– Blake Green had a career day, recording a pair of sacks in the game. Caleb Mather also recorded a sack in the game.
– Bobby Gruenloh, Ben Spaeth, Spencer Phillips and Myles Scott each had assisted sacks.
– Gruenloh finished the day with 1.5 tackles for loss. Nick Hess and Jack Richards also contributed assisted tackles for loss.
– Late in the first half, the NSU defense recovered a fumble at the Northwest 37 yard line and looked poised to score. But with the ball at the 14 yard line, Lane came up with the interception in the end zone for a touchback, ending the RiverHawk scoring threat.
– Anderson came up with a big fourth quarter interception, reading an NSU route for the pick. He set up Northwest at the RiverHawk 17 yard line after a 26 yard return.
– In the fourth quarter, Roberts halted an NSU drive by getting a hand on a pass and making an athletic play to catch the deflection for his first career interception.

Northwest Scoring Drives
– After forcing a punt on the first drive of the game, Northwest marched down field for a nine-play 55 yard scoring drive that was capped by a two-yard run by McMahon to put the Bearcats up, 7-0.
– Martin found Grove with 11:13 left in the first half from 21 yards out to put Northwest back out in front. The RiverHawks had picked off a pass earlier in the drive but it was called back for pass interference. Martin had a 22 yard run on the drive to put the ball on the Northeastern 36 and a penalty on the RiverHawk bench pushed the ball to the 21. Grove would score on the next play.
– The Bearcats converted a pair of third down conversions on their third scoring drive of the first half. Sykes caught a 19 yard pass from Martin to move the ball deep into NSU territory and six plays later, Thompson ran the ball in from three yards out to push the Northwest lead to 21-7.
– Northwest was forced to punt on its first drive of the second half but the Thorman kick hit one of the NSU blockers and the Bearcats were able to recover on the RiverHawk 15 yard line. Two plays later, Martin found Grove for the second time, scoring from 10 yards out to make it 28-8, Northwest.
– On the ensuing drive, Northeastern State’s snap sailed over the quarterback’s head and was recovered by Eskew at the NSU 20. Martin immediately went to the air and connected with Wilson for a 20 yard touchdown strike, making it a 35-7 Bearcat advantage.
– Northwest capitalized on the Anderson interception in the fourth quarter, going 17 yards in three plays. Chase White had an 11 yard rush to the NSU six. Two plays later, Thompson found the end zone for the second time, scoring from three yards out to make it 42-7 with 11:43 left in the fourth quarter.

Up Next
– Northwest returns to Bearcat Stadium for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m. against Lindenwood.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team fell to Central Oklahoma, 3-0, on Saturday at the Hamilton Field House in Edmond, Okla.

– The Bearcats fall to 11-10 on the year and 5-4 in MIAA play. The No. 7 ranked Bronchos improve to 21-2 overall and 8-1 in conference action.

– Maddy Bruder had a match-high 14 kills with seven digs, a block and a service ace.

– Olivia Nowakowski had a match-best 19 digs with a pair of assists.

Key Northwest Statistics
– UCO won all three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-19 and 25-21.
– The Bronchos committed 16 attacking errors and had each team had six blocks.
– Northwest recorded four service aces while UCO had six.
– Maddy Ahrens had 17 assists with five digs and a service ace.
– Sarah Dannettell had 16 assists with a dig, a pair of blocks and two kills.
– Sofia Schleppenbach had four total blocks, three kills and a service ace.

Up Next
– The Bearcats return to Maryville on Friday, Oct. 20, to face Washburn at 6 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

– The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team swept Pittsburg State, 3-0, on Friday at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan.
– The Bearcats improve to 11-9 on the year and 5-3 in MIAA play. The Gorillas fall to 3-17 overall and 0-8 in conference action.
– Junior Maddy Bruder recorded her 1,000th career kill in the match and classmate Olivia Nowakowski carded her 1,000th career dig.
– Bruder finished the match with a match-high 12 kills to go along with 12 digs, two blocks and a service ace.
– Nowakowski had 16 digs with an assist.

Key Northwest Statistics
– Northwest won all three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-20.
– The Bearcats held the Gorillas to a .092 attack percentage. Northwest also recorded seven aces while PSU had just one.
– Sofia Schleppenbach had 11 kills with four service aces, two blocks and two digs.
– Gaby da Silva had nine digs to go along with a pair of service aces and a block.
– Morgan Lewis added six kills with three blocks.
– Sarah Dannettell had 17 assists with two blcoks.
– Maddy Ahrens had 15 assists with six digs.

Key Northwest Sequences
– The second set the Bearcats jumped out to an early lead. After a PSU attacking error, Schleppenbach had a service ace to make it 2-0. Sunderman and Lewis tallied back-to-back kills, pushing the lead to 4-0. After a Gorilla attack error and a bad set, PSU called a timeout trailing, 6-0. The Gorillas got their first point off a kill but another bad set, a kil from Lewis and another attacking error put Northwest up, 9-1. Pitt State battled back and even got to within one, 17-16, before the Bearcats went on an 8-4 run to close out the set.

– In the third, Pittsburg State took a late 20-19 lead on a kill from Noelle Dooley. But a kill from da Silva tied the match with a kill. With Schleppenbach at the service line, Northwest put away the match. She hit a pair of service aces and then PSU was called for an out of rotation point, giving the Bearcats a 23-20 lead. After a Gorilla attack error, PSU called a timeout as Northwest held match point. Sunderman gave the Bearcats the set off a kill from Ahrens.

Up Next
– The Bearcats will head to Edmond, Okla., for a 7 p.m. Saturday contest against Central Oklahoma.

— Northwest Athletics —

– The Northwest Missouri State University soccer team fell to Northeastern State, 2-1, on Friday at the Dr. Dan F. Deloache Field in Tahlequah, Okla.
– The Bearcats fall to 5-7 on the year and 2-4 in MIAA play. The RiverHawks improve to 11-1 on the year and 5-1 in conference action.
– Kayla Ellis scored the first goal of her collegiate career in the fourth minute as she beat the keeper from 20 yards out under the cross bar.
– Ashley Malloy had seven saves in goal including a penalty kick stop in the 85th minute.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The RiverHawks had goals in the 64th and 83rd minutes.
– Northwest had seven shots with four coming on goal. NSU had 14 shots with nine on goal.
– The Bearcats were called for 12 fouls while the RiverHawks were whistled 13 times.
– Izzy Romano had two shots in the match, one coming on goal.
– Emily Madden and Madie Kruger each recorded shots on goal.
– Danielle Wolfe and Bri Wawiorka each had shots in the match.

Up Next
– The Bearcats head to Edmond, Okla., to face Central Oklahoma on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —

The Northwest Missouri State University soccer team got two goals from Elizabeth Finn in a 2-1 victory over Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday at Bearcat Pitch in Maryville, Mo.

Northwest improves to 5-6 overall and 2-3 in MIAA play. The Lopers fall to 3-7-2 and 0-5 in conference action.

Finn recorded her first multi-goal game of her career, finding the back of the net in the 26th and 72nd minutes.

Taylor Wolfe scored the would-be game winner in the 45th minute, right before half.

Key Northwest Statistics
– The Bearcats and the Lopers each recorded seven corner kicks.

– UNK outshot Northwest, 24-17, but the Bearcats held a 13-10 advantage in shots on goal.

– The Lopers were whistled for eight fouls to Northwest’s five.

– Finn’s first goal came as she crashed the box on a Taylor Wolfe shot attempt. The ball would land at Finn’s feet and she buried the ball into the left side of the net.

– Taylor Wolfe’s goal came off a free kick from keeper Ashley Malloy deep in the Bearcat end. Malloy’s ball took a bounce and sailed past the Loper back line. The freshman forward ran on the ball and was alone with the keeper. It was Wolfe’s third goal of the year and Malloy’s first career assist.

– Finn got on the board for the second time after freshman Adrie Gunn held up a pass and played it into the right side of the box for Finn. Finn took a touch and hit a shot that sailed under the cross bar for the first brace of her career.

– Malloy made eight saves in goal for Northwest.

– Danielle Wolfe and Emily Madden each had a pair of shots in the match.

Up Next
– Northwest hits the road for the next four matches. The Bearcats head to Tahlequah, Okla., to face Northeastern State on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

— Northwest Athletics —