By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team is the 2014-15 MIAA regular season champions, which is music to the ears of 2,480 fans who filled Bearcat Arena.

The Bearcats turned in a classic performance against their basketball rival Central Missouri Saturday afternoon and came away with an 83-73 victory in a winner-take-all regular season finale that lived up to expectations.

The energy inside Bearcat Arena was scintillating. Once Central Missouri players left the court, the students were allowed on it to celebrate with the players.

“This was pretty sweet,” said senior Matt Wallace. “I wasn’t expecting them to come out like that. The crowd was the best I have seen since I have been here. It was really awesome for all of us.”

Grant Cozad, the other senior, felt the same way.

“Holy cow, I can’t even explain it,” said Cozad, who finished with a team-high 21 points. “I love it. I love all these guys. But this is just the beginning. We have bigger goals to accomplish.”

For Cozad and Wallace, it was a storybook ending for their final home game. It didn’t matter that Cozad fouled out with 3:20 left and Wallace departed with 2:35 remaining. They knew their younger teammates were going to finish the job.

“When you done with 2 minutes left, you know you are still going to win it,” Wallace said. “You are walking off and upset, but the guys tell you we are going to win it. We are going to get it for you. It is pretty awesome.”

And wow, the Bearcats continued to play at a high level in those final 2 minutes left when they led 74-70.

By closing out a thrilling victory, Northwest heads to the MIAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak. They improved to 22-5 overall and 15-4 in the MIAA. Northwest also snapped Central’s seven-game winning streak. The Mules will head into the conference tournament 23-5 and 14-5.

Whatever happens in the conference tournament will be hard to top what took place late Saturday afternoon.

“It is very special to win like this for the two seniors,” freshman Justin Pitts said. “The whole season we have worked for this for Matt and Grant. I am just glad we won it for them.”

The Bearcats came in determined. It was Central who ended Northwest’s season a year ago in overtime in the NCAA Division II regional championship game. The Mules also knocked off Northwest earlier this season in Warrensburg.

Central oozed with confidence that it would once again beat the Bearcats. With 14:33 remaining, the Mules held a 51-44 lead. It seemed like every shot the Mules put up went in. They shot 70 percent from the field in the first half and finished the game at 63 percent.

The Bearcats, though, never allowed it to bother them. They just dug deeper to get a few stops. They got enough to tie the game 53-53 on a three-pointer by Zach Schneider with 11:46 left.

Central responded by scoring the next four points. Over the next 5 minutes, the Mules maintained the lead and it even moved to five at 63-58.

With 7 minutes left, Northwest started its victorious surge. A driving layup by Pitts pulled the Bearcats to within two at 66-64.

After a stop, junior Conner Crooker delivered the shot of the game. The shot clock was down to one second. Crooker was at least 25 feet out and guarded. He heaved what look like a desperation attempt that swished through. The sweet sound of that shot gave Northwest its first lead in the second half at 67-66 with 6:01 left.

“I wanted that shot,” Crooker said. “I thought Pitts was going to give it to me a little earlier. He threw it to me and I threw it up. It felt really good right when I released it.”

About a minute later, the Mules took their last lead at 68-67 on two free throws. And then Northwest put together a championship final 5 minutes.

It started with a three-pointer by Schneider that gave the Bearcats a 70-68 lead with 4:56 left. Pitts followed with a layup and pushed the lead to four at 72-68.

Central never got closer than three points the rest of the way. Part of the reason why Northwest was able to expand its lead in the final few minutes was the free throw shooting of freshman Brett Dougherty.

Dougherty entered the game shooting 41 percent from the line. Throughout February, Dougherty showed steady improvement. When he knocked down two free throws with 56 seconds left, Dougherty gave the Bearcats an 81-71 lead. He went 5-for-6 from the line.

“He spent a lot of hours,” Wallace said. “He has been working on it throughout the season. It is starting to pay off for him.”

In the end, the Bearcats won the way they have all season. They played a special brand of team basketball. Wallace finished with nine assists and Pitts added six. Northwest committed only six turnovers the entire game.

Pitts also scored 19 points and Schneider added 18. The beauty of these Bearcats is they simply don’t care who is scoring points. In the past few games, it was Crooker putting up big numbers. Crooker only had six Saturday, but he hit a shot that will be talked about for years to come.

“It was a battle and it was amazing,” Crooker said of the game.

Bottom line, sharing the basketball wins games. Northwest finished with 17 assists and Central had seven assists.

In the first half, Northwest went into the locker room down only 37-36 even though the Mules missed just six shots the entire half. It was an amazing performance by the Bearcats to keep the game so close.

The blistering hot shooting by the Mules staked them to a 23-13 lead. Northwest, though, never became flustered. The Bearcats kept battling away and with 4:48 left, tied the game at 31-31 on a basket by Brett Dougherty. Less than a minute later, Northwest took its first lead at 33-31 on a basket by Anthony Woods.

“We knew they were not going to keep that up,” Wallace said. “We had to stay positive and we did.”

An 11-0 run by Northwest turned a 31-25 deficit into a 36-31 lead. All the momentum was with the Bearcats when Central responded in the last 2 minutes, scoring the final six points in the first half.

“At halftime coach Mac (Ben McCollum) told us not to give up,” Pitts said. “He told us to keep fighting and play our game and we will come out with a win.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. – For a half, Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team played exceptional and took a 14-point lead into halftime. Unfortunately, the Bearcats failed to sustain that level of play.

Despite fighting hard to regain the momentum, Northwest never could, falling to Central Missouri 74-64 Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

It was the final game for seniors Ariel Easton, Maggie Marnin and Alexandra Blaurock. The seniors and the rest of the Bearcats went down fighting.

When the second half started, it definitely looked like the Bearcats were going to win and advance to the MIAA Tournament. But the double-digit lead rapidly evaporated. The Jennies started the second half on a 9-0 run, slicing their deficit to 36-33.

“I felt we came out in the second half and played not to lose,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “We were very timid. You could see it in their faces.”

Northwest hung on to its slender lead over the next 4 minutes until Central took its first lead of game at 45-44 on two free throws by 6-foot-3 forward Revonnia Howard.

Howard really hurt the Bearcats the rest of the game. Northwest, though, managed to recapture one last lead at 48-47 on a three-point play by Easton.

Over the next 4 minutes, there were four ties, the last coming on a three-pointer by Easton to make it 57-57 with 4:07 left.

The dagger that ended Northwest season came 2 minutes later. The Bearcats trailed 62-59. They were playing great defense on Central’s possession. The shot clock was winding down when Shelby Winkelmann drained a three-pointer with 2:19 left.

The Bearcats never recovered, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort, especially from Easton. She finished with a game-high 30 points.

“Win or lose, I was going to come out here today and leave it all on the court, not only for myself, but for the fans, my family and Northwest,” Easton said. “They showed so much love to me. I felt like this was my night to show them all the reasons that I am here.

“Having my family here, it was more of an opportunity to show them what Northwest is all about.”

Northwest ended its season with a strong, positive effort. If the Bearcats can take the first half into next year, the 2015-16 season should be a lot of fun.

“It was electric in Bearcat Arena,” Smith said of the first half. “We knew it was going to be a tremendous atmosphere. I knew going in our kids were going to play as hard as they could.”

Northwest came out fired up against the hottest team in the MIAA and stunned the Jennies by going into halftime ahead 36-22.

Fueled on the emotion of senior day, the Bearcats exploded to a 6-0 lead. Each senior made a play that contributed to the early points. Easton scored the first four points. Alexandria Blaurock pulled down a rebound and Maggie Marnin scored the sixth point.

Central showed why it has won six straight by tying the game at 10-10. The Bearcats were faced with a challenge. The initial emotion was gone and now it was all about basketball.

Northwest turned in its best half of basketball. Easton scored the next five points, giving the Bearcats a 15-10 lead.

Defensively, the Bearcats frustrated Central throughout the first 20 minutes and that allowed Northwest to take control of the game.

Leading 23-16, Northwest scored the next 10 points. Freshman Tanya Meyer came off the bench and scored six straight points during the run. Sophomore Shelby Mustain had a basket and Easton capped the run with a bucket.

All nine players that reached the court for the Bearcats contributed. When the first half buzzer sounded, Northwest walked off the court with a sparkling 47 percent shooting from the field. Northwest held the Jennies to 24 percent from the field.
Easton scored 15 in the first half.

“I would give anything to have her here another year or two because of the strides she has made as a player,” Smith said. “The thing I am most proud of is the strides she made as a young woman.

“She never visited. She showed up on campus and took a chance on me and I took a chance on her. I feel like she is one of my daughters. I don’t say that often.”

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University women’s tennis team opened the 2015 season with a 5-3 win over Maryville University on Friday in St. Joseph, Mo.

Northwest fell behind 2-1 after the doubles competition but rebounded to win four of the six singles points to win the match.

Aniek Kolen was a double-winner for the Bearcats, capturing the No. 3 doubles point with Stephanie Mannix and the No. 4 singles point.

The win was head coach Mark Rosewell’s 977th career victory.

Match Scores
Singles competition
1. Quesada,Camila (NW) def. Puck Vlaskamp (MARYUNIV) 6-1, 6-4
2. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas (NW) def. Andrea Fandino (MARYUNIV) 7-5, 6-1
3. Jaquet,Margaux (NW) def. Rebekah Anderson (MARYUNIV) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
4. Kolen,Aniek (NW) def. Kine Sando Kieppe (MARYUNIV) 6-4, 6-1
5. Mannix,Stephanie (NW) vs. Anne Lutz (MARYUNIV) 6-4, 1-0, unfinished
6. Peggy Vink (MARYUNIV) def. Hull,Marianne (NW) 6-7, 7-6, 10-4

Doubles competition
1. Puck Vlaskamp/Anne Lutz (MARYUNIV) def. Quesada,Camila/Jaquet,Margaux (NW) 8-6
2. Kine Sando Kieppe/Rebekah Anderson (MARYUNIV) def. Jarolim,Lorena Rivas/Dibbins,Rachel (NW) 8-3
3. Kolen,Aniek/Mannix,Stephanie (NW) def. Makenna Parker/Peggy Vink (MARYUNIV) 8-0

Up Next, the Bearcats head to Liberty, Mo., to take on the University of Illinois Springfield on Sunday, March 1. Both the men’s and women’s teams will play at 3 p.m.

— Northwest Sports Information —

By David Boyce

BOLIVAR, Mo. – In order for Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team to play in the biggest MIAA game of the conference season, the Bearcats had to go on the road and take care of business. And they did in impressive fashion.

Northwest led wire-to-wire, beating Southwest Baptist 72-54 Thursday evening at Meyer Sports Center for its eighth straight victory.

The MIAA showdown is now set. Bearcat Arena should be rocking 3:30 p.m. Saturday when Northwest, 21-5 and 14-4 in the MIAA, takes on Central Missouri, 23-4 and 14-4, in the battle for the MIAA regular-season crown.

The Mules are the second hottest team in the conference. They have won seven straight games.

“This is why we play the game,” said Conner Crooker, who finished with a game-high 21 points. “We have been building up to this game all season long. It just happens to be our rival team. It is going to be a big one.”

On Saturday, Northwest will definitely need to bring the same intensity and quality of basketball that it used to lead from start to finish against Baptist.

Coming into this game, the Bearcats knew they had to be ready to play. On Jan. 14, Northwest needed overtime to beat Baptist 77-73 in Bearcat Arena.

“It was definitely a big deal to be focused the whole game because the last time we played them was overtime,” Crooker said. “We weren’t going to come in here and lose it and let Central get away with the championship.”

The Bearcats were in such control in the second half that it gave up an 11-0 run to Baptist and still led 50-40. But it was a critical juncture for Northwest. Baptist had the ball and fired up a three-pointer that could have trimmed Northwest’s lead to seven.

The ball didn’t go in. Northwest then snatched away momentum from Baptist even with center Grant Cozad and point guard Justin Pitts saddled with four fouls.

“Anytime someone is in foul trouble and I have to come in, I try to play hard and play my role and help the team,” said sophomore Anthony Woods.

Teamwork is what has made the Bearcats so good all season. A three-point play by Woods ended Baptist’s run and gave Northwest a 13-point cushion.

“It was real big,” Woods said. “We needed that. It is always big to get a three. Anytime we get a three or anything to change momentum, we like it. We get back on defense and play hard.”

On the next possession, Zach Schneider drilled a three-pointer, and in less than a minute, Northwest held a comfortable 56-40 lead. Baptist never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

“We played really good defense,” Woods said. “Our focus was there. We played mentally tough and boxed out well. I feel we prepared well in practice, too.”

Offensively, Northwest was draining three-pointers. Crooker knocked down five three-pointers, Schneider had four and Pitts finished with three.

“It is always nice to know we can click whenever on offense and we can get a big run,” Crooker said.

Northwest opened the game with a three-pointer by Schneider and went into halftime ahead 35-23.

In the first 4 minutes, three different players scored for Northwest and that diverse scoring allowed the Bearcats to build a 10-2 lead.

Baptist made a brief spurt and closed to 12-9. Northwest answered with a 12-0 run that pushed the lead to 24-9.

By playing well on both ends of the court, Northwest maintained a double-digit lead the last 10 minutes of the first half. Northwest shot 48 percent from the field in the first half and held Baptist to 32 percent.

— Northwest Sports Information —

By David Boyce

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team dug itself a big hole and never climbed out of it Thursday evening at Southwest Baptist.

Because of a 67-47 loss, Northwest, 8-19 overall and 4-14 in the MIAA, needs to win at home on Saturday against Central Missouri to advance to the conference tournament.

“I want to see a little dignity, a little pride,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said of the final regular season game. “We kind of lost that a little bit. I don’t know what has happened the past few games.”

Both teams entered Thursday’s game needing a victory to extend its season beyond the regular season. Baptist played with that type of desperation, hustling up and down the court.

Northwest struggled to get into an offensive flow the entire game. The green Bearcats scored 24 points in the first half and then gave up the first five points in the second half for a 45-24 deficit.

Northwest didn’t score its 45th point until 1:46 left in the game and by that time, Baptist held a 65-45 lead.

“You are going to have games where you are not going to make a lot of shots, but there is no excuse for putting on a Northwest uniform and not playing with pride and passion,” Smith said.

“The paw always means pride to me. I feel like we haven’t done a good job of representing that of late. We had opportunity tonight and we let one get away.”

The good news is Northwest still has an opportunity to make the conference tournament. But the green Bearcats will have to turn in one of their best performances of the season against Central.

“We got a chance,” Smith said. “We have to win the last game of the season at home against one of the hottest teams in the league. I hope our kids understand that we are not only playing for ourselves, our community, but for our three seniors. We are going to honor them before the game.”

Northwest, though, should have some confidence. Northwest beat Central 61-60 in Warrensburg on Jan. 17.

In a must-win situation, Northwest came out cold and it didn’t help that the purple Bearcats were doing a great impression of the Showtime Lakers in the first half. Baptist scored numerous fast break baskets on the way to a 40-24 halftime lead.

Northwest held a 4-1 lead a couple of minutes into the game and then it went bad for the green Bearcats. They gave up the next eight points for a 9-4 deficit. Northwest never got on track after the Baptist’s run.

By the midway point, Northwest was down 22-10 and then it grew to 33-17. The only player to have success offensively was freshman Tanya Meyer, who went 4-for-7 from the field and scored 10 points. Nobody else scored consistently for the green Bearcats, who were 9-for-29 from the field for 31 percent.

Northwest struggled just as much on defense, allowing Baptist to go 15-for-28 from the field for 54 percent.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State softball team split a doubleheader with Rockhurst on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.

Northwest took the first game, 5-0, with Sarah Baldwin throwing a complete game shutout and Rockhurst came from behind to win the nightcap, 6-4.

Both the Bearcats and Hawks are now 2-4 on the season.

Game One – Northwest 5, Rockhurst 0

Junior Sarah Baldwin improved to 2-0 on the season after throwing a three hit shutout. She struck out two and did not walk a batter.

Stephanie Mark was a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish, driving in one run in the process, while catcher Jessica Rawie hit one double and one home run with two RBI and two runs scored. Rawie also added a stolen base.

Game Two – Rockhurst 6, Northwest 4

Northwest outhit the Hawks, nine to seven while Stephanie Mark clubbed a pair of doubles, scoring one run and driving in another.  Jessica Rawie had a pair of singles in the game, while Baylee Scarbrough went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored and Madison Jones hit her first home run of the season, driving in two runs.

Abbie Vitosh started the game for the Bearcats, throwing four innings while giving up two earned runs.

The Bearcats are scheduled to head to Joplin, Mo. to participate in the Teri Mathis-Zenner Memorial tournament Saturday and Sunday. Northwest will play Illinois Springfield at 4 p.m. Saturday followed by a 6 p.m. contest with William Jewell.

— Northwest Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University baseball team dropped its MIAA opener to Northeastern State, 4-1, on Thursday afternoon at Rousey Field in Tahlequah, Okla.

The Bearcats are now 2-6 overall and 0-1 in MIAA play. Northeastern State is 5-1 and 1-0 in conference action.

The second game of Thursday’s doubleheader was suspended due to darkness in the top of the eighth with Northwest leading 9-5.

Northwest scored one run on six hits with two errors, while Northeastern State scored four runs, one in the third, one in the fourth and two in the sixth, with five hits and no errors.

Brad Roberts went 4.0 innings for the Bearcats and took the loss. he allowed two runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Nick Gotta was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and a stolen base, while Paul Johnson was 1-for-4 with the team’s lone RBI and Austin Wulff was 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch and a stolen base.

Thursday’s suspended game will resume at 11 a.m. on Friday monring with Northwest leading 9-5 in the top of the eighth. A doubleheader will immediately follow the conclusion of the suspended game.

— Northwest Sports Information —