The Northwest Missouri State University softball team fell in a pair of closely fought games on Friday at the UAM 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark.

– The Bearcats lost to No. 5 ranked Southern Arkansas, 6-5, in the morning then lost to Illinois-Springfield, 7-5, in the afternoon.

– Northwest is now 2-4 on the year and will play four more times this weekend.

Game One Key Statistics (Southern Arkansas 6, Northwest 5)
– The Bearcats scored single runs in the second and third innings and added three in the fifth. The Lady Muleriders had two in the first and four runs in the fourth.

– Northwest finished with five runs on nine hits with two errors. Southern Arkansas had six runs on eight hits with an error.

– The win moved Southern Arkansas to 8-1 on the year while Northwest fell to 2-3.

– Jaedra Moses was 2-for-2 with two runs scored. She also drew a walk.

– Torri Blythe was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored

– Rebecca Maher went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

– Alexis Kelsey went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in the second inning.

– Chantel Adams was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.

– Jessica Rawie was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

– Kaitlin Weis was 1-for-3 in the first game.

– Rachel Smith started and went 3.2 innings. She struck out two batters.

– Taylor Blackford did not allow a run in 2.1 innings of work. She struck out three and walked one.

Game One Key Innings
– Kelsey led off the top of the second with a solo home run to right field.

– In the third, Moses singled with one down and went to third on a Blythe double. After a strikeout, Maher hit an infield single to third, scoring Moses to tie the game, 2-2.

– In the fifth inning, Moses led off with a single to left and went to second on a Blythe single. After a flyout, Maher singled to left to load the bases. Southern Arkansas got a strikeout and then got Adams to hit a single to second and a bad throw to second base allowed Adams to advance to second while Blythe and Moses scored to cut the SAU lead to 6-4. Rawie followed it up with a single to left, scoring Maher to make it 6-5.

Game Two Key Statistics (Illinois-Springfield 7, Northwest 5)
– Northwest scored one run in the third, three in the fourth and one in the sixth. Illinois Springfield got two runs in the first, two in the sixth and three in the seventh.

– The Bearcats had five runs on 12 hits with a pair of errors. The Prairie Stars had seven runs on nine hits with three errors in their season opener.

– Weis was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. She hit a double in the sixth inning.

– Abigail Gilson was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. She tallied her first home run of the season in the fourth inning.

– Moses went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

– Rawie went 1-for-4 with a run scored.

– Kelsey was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

– Adams, Blythe and Maher all went 1-for-4 at the plate.

Game Two Key Innings
– Weis led off the third with a single to right center. After an out, Moses singled to left to put two runners on. Blythe followed it up with a single to center. Weis moved to third on the hit and was able to score on an error by the center fielder.

– Kelsey doubled to lead off the fourth to center. Adams grounded into a fielder’s choice as Kelsey was tagged out trying to go to third. Rawie singled to center and Weis followed it with another single to center. Adams tried to score from second but was tagged out at the plate. Gilson hit a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence to score three runs to give Northwest a 4-2 lead.

– In the sixth, Weis doubled to left and went to third on a Gilson single. Moses would drive in Weis with a single to left center, giving the Bearcats a 5-2 advantage.
Up Next

– Day two in Bentonville begins tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Ouachita Baptist. Northwest will then take on Southern Nazerene at 3 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

By David Boyce

PITTSBURG, Kan. – One sequence with five minutes remaining in the first half perfectly capsulated why Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team improved to 24-0 overall and 16-0 in the MIAA.

The Bearcats had little resistance in their 90-64 victory over Pittsburg State Thursday evening at Lance Arena.

Northwest had several runs during the first half to build a 19-point halftime lead, but the most impressive moment for people who enjoy hard-nosed defense came when the Bearcats held a comfortable 33-21 advantage.

In the MIAA, it takes more than talent to go undefeated in the first 16 conference games. It takes focus, and that is exactly what the Bearcats showed in the closing minutes of the first half.

It would have been easy for the Bearcats to coast in those final few minutes. After all, they cut down the nets last Saturday after clinching at least a share of their fourth straight conference title.

“This is something coach Mac (Ben McCollum) has preached the whole season of just not being content with what we have,” said Northwest junior Brett Dougherty.

Northwest played like it was in a must-win situation when it put the defensive clamps on the Gorillas. The Bearcats upped their defensive intensity and forced a shot clock violation.

The Bearcats turned that defensive stand into points on a basket from junior Chris-Ebou Ndow off a pass from freshman Ryan Welty.

“It was huge,” said Ndow of playing tough defense in the last 5 minutes of the first half. “They showed that they never give up, especially at home. Even though the score might not indicate it, they don’t quit.”

Ok, now Northwest held a 14-point lead against a team that only has two conference wins. Surely, the Bearcats could ease up on defense with a little over 3 minutes left before halftime.

Nope.

The Bearcats seemed to be even more tenacious on defense. This time Pittsburg State did get a shot off. But it was a contested fall-away 12-foot jumper with 3 seconds left on the shot clock.

Odds of a shot like that going in at the Division II level is about 2 percent, at best. It is not much better at the Division I level.

Predictably, the shot didn’t fall.

Northwest grabbed the rebound and it led to a basket from junior Justin Pitts to increase the lead to 37-21. That 2-minute display of tough defense and efficient offense made it clear Pitt State had no chance of pulling the biggest upset in Division II basketball this season.

“We knew if we didn’t get on a run before halftime, they could have easily come back,” said Ndow, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “We knew it was huge to finish strong in the first half.”

The Bearcats went into halftime ahead 43-24. The only thing Northwest failed at in the first half was at the free throw line. The Bearcats went 3 for 10 from the line for 30 percent. Northwest, though, succeeded everywhere else, shooting 58 percent from the field and holding Pitt State to 38 percent.

Basically, the only noise made in the second half came from the Pitt State band during media timeouts.

With 14:40 left, more than a third of the Pitt State crowd had departed Lance Arena and that’s because Northwest dashed all hopes of the Gorillas clawing their way back into the game.

The second half started with a three-pointer from Ndow, and that seemed to spark Ndow who has been struggling with his three-point shot in the last few games. Ndow hit another three-pointer a minute later and then followed with a dunk, making it 53-29.

“They finally fell in,” Ndow said. “I just stuck with the process. I haven’t been shooting well this season, but I haven’t lose confidence and my teammates haven’t lost confidence in me.

“I believe in myself. I think I am going to be good going forward.”

Several minutes later, senior D’Vante Mosby converted the old-fashioned three-point play of a basket plus a free throw. The younger generation calls it And1. The end result was a 62-34 lead for Northwest.

The huge lead allowed McCollum to bring in freshmen Grant Graham and Kirk Finley in with 12 minutes left in the game to get some playing experience against Pitt State starters.

“It was great for them to get some quality game experience,” Dougherty said. “Pitt kept playing hard. For some of our younger guys to get in there and play like they did was great.”

Northwest, ranked No. 1 in the NABC top 25, has now won a conference record 28 straight MIAA regular-season games.

“A number one ranking, he (McCollum) has never been happy with that,” Dougherty said. “It is not the end goal for this season.”

— Northwest Athletics —

By David Boyce

PITTSBURG, Kan. – A near-perfect game was needed by Northwest Missouri State when it journeyed into Lance Arena Thursday evening to face the first-place Pittsburg State Gorillas.

It didn’t quite happen.

A series of turnovers to start the third quarter doomed the Bearcats from making a comeback and pulling off an upset. Instead, Pitt State turned those miscues into baskets and extend a six-point halftime advantage into a double-digit lead. The Gorillas road that comfortable, second-half margin to a 67-52 victory.

“We came out kind of flat in the third quarter and dug ourselves a hole,” said Northwest coach Buck Scheel. “It was several minutes before we made a bucket. That was when they were able to make their run.

“That is what good teams do. You play consistent for four quarters. They make you pay and you try to battle your way out of it.”

Northwest worked hard in the final few minutes in the second quarter to put at least a scare into the Gorillas, but four turnovers in the first five minutes in the third quarter led to a 42-30 deficit.

Unlike the first quarter, when Northwest put together a nice run, the Bearcats were unable to crank up their offensive engine in the third quarter. They trailed 49-34 when the third quarter ended.

Despite a deficit that grew to 18 early in the fourth quarter, Northwest kept battling and closed to 59-51 on two free throws by Alexa Schaaf with 2:55 left.

“We fought to get to that point,” Scheel said. “I think we went back down on the defensive end and didn’t carry out our scout and how we were guarding their penetration and they exposed us.

“We worked so hard to get it back to that point, and that is when you have to dig in and be focused even more and we didn’t.”

Junior Tayna Meyer led Northwest with a game-high 21 points and senior Jasmin Howe added 11.

Scoring runs ruled the first half. Unfortunately, for the Bearcats, the run Pitt State had at the start of the second quarter was the main reason Northwest went into halftime trailing 34-28.

Pitt State scored the first five points, but the Gorillas missed several shots in taking the early lead. They stayed cold and Northwest warmed up. A basket by Howe gave Northwest a 7-5 lead. Sophomore Arbrie Benson followed with a basket and then Howe made two free throws, pushing Northwest’s lead to 11-5.

But after the 11-0 run by Northwest, the Gorillas scored the next seven points for a 12-11. Pitt State took a 14-13 lead into the second quarter. Northwest struck first on a three-pointer by freshman Mallory McAndrews. However, the 16-14 lead was the last one for the Bearcats. Pitt State went on a 14-2 run for a 28-18 lead.

The Bearcats didn’t wilt. They were able to knock four points off their deficit in final 4 minutes of the quarter to stay in striking distance.

“We competed even though we got into some foul trouble and had some crazy lineups out there,” Scheel said. “I thought for the most part, defensively, we did a pretty good job. We did a good job rebounding in the first half.

“I was very pleased how we competed in the first half just to give ourselves an opportunity to be in the game. We showed a lot of fight. We will move on and get ready for Saturday.”

— Northwest Athletics —