College – Page 624 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Bearcats upset No. 25 Washburn to snap three-game skid

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

Desperately needing a win the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team was able to rally for a 63-61 win over 25th-ranked Washburn in front of 2,047 fans at Bearcat Arena.

The win helps keep the Bearcats in the race for a first round bye as they move to 16-8 overall and 9-6 in the league standings. Northwest was not only able to avenge a loss last Saturday to Washburn, but snap a three-game skid as the Ichabods fell to 16-6 on the season and 9-5 in the MIAA with the loss.

A huge bench effort saw three Bearcats come off the bench to score at least 11 points helping Northwest hold off the Ichabods. DeAngelo Hailey knocked down six free-throws in the final 1:24 of the game to help the Bearcats in the win as Hailey led Northwest with 19 points and finished 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

After a pair of one-point victories two weeks ago, the Bearcats were able to close another tight game on Saturday. The Bearcats got solid free-throw shooting as a Washburn three-pointer fell in with just 11 seconds left cutting the Northwest lead to 61-60.

Washburn was forced to foul as Hailey hit both free-throws to push the Bearcat lead to 63-60. Northwest elected to foul with a three-point lead on the inbounds, as Will McNeil made the first and intentionally missed the second.

The Ichabods corralled the rebound, but the last second jumper from Joseph Smith fell off the mark and the Bearcats saw their three-game losing streak come to an end.

Northwest was able to attack the basket getting to the free-throw line 17 more times than Washburn. Despite less than ideal percentages at the free-throw line, Northwest finished 18-of-27 while the Ichabods finished just 7-of-10.

Conner Crooker finished with 16 points as Grant Cozad added 11 to aid in the Northwest scoring off the bench.

Washburn’s McNeil led all players with 23 points and six rebounds.

The Bearcats close out their home stand hosting Missouri Western Wednesday. Northwest will try again to avenge a January loss to the Griffons and clinch a berth in the MIAA Tournament. Tipoff from Bearcat Arena is set for 7:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Solid pitching lifts Western softball to two more wins Saturday

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

The Missouri Western softball team picked up two more victories on day two of the Arkansas-Monticello Seven State classic defeating Henderson State 6-1 and Arkansas-Monticello 2-1. The Griffons pitching led the way giving up just two runs while striking out 11. MWSU improves to 6-2 on the season.

Game 1
Missouri Western 6, Henderson State 1

The Griffons and the Reddies got off to a slow start as each team had only one hit through four innings of play.

In the fifth inning the Griffons offensive exploded for five runs on five hits claiming a 5-0 lead. After an out the Griffons got a single by Kendall Sorenson and a double by Janie Smith putting runners on second and third with one out.

Taylor Anding got on by a fielders choice with Sorensen scoring on a throwing error by the short stop. Back-to-back singles by Sarah Elliott and Bre Fleschner put MWSU 4-0. Later in the inning Elliott stole home giving the Griffons the 5-0 lead.

In the sixth both teams got out of bases loaded jams giving up zero runs. In the top of the seventh Keri Lorbert hit her fourth homer of the season giving MWSU the 6-0 lead.

Janie Smith gave up a homer in the bottom half of the seventh but forced a double play ending the game. Smith improves to 3-0 on the season pitching her first complete game of her career. She gave up just three hits while striking out five. The Griffons had eight hits with Michelle Stevenson and Sorensen both getting two.

The Reddies fell to 4-9 on the season with the loss. Kayla Williams picked up the loss going just 4.1 innings giving up six hits and four earned runs. She falls to 2-2 on the season. Sarah Gipson hit the homer for the Reddies going 1-for-1 in the game.

Game 2
Missouri Western 2, Arkansas-Monticello 1

Against UAH the Griffons held on for the 2-1 victory. Jackie Bishop got out of a bases loaded no out jam in the sixth inning after giving up one run. Bishop then shut down the Blossoms picking up her third victory of the season. Bishop gave up five hits while striking out six.

The Griffons scored both their runs in the third inning getting four hits with two of them bouncing off the fence. Elliott double to right center leading off the inning and then Fleschner got a bunt single advancing Elliott to third.

Stevenson tried a squeeze bunt but Elliott got tagged out at home. The next play was a double steal which Fleschner just got under the tag giving the Griffons the 1-0 lead. With two outs Keri Lorbert blooped a single down the left field line scoring Stevenson which proved to be the game winner.

Randa Perry pitched all seven innings for UAM giving up four hits and two earned runs. She falls to 4-3 on the season with four strikeouts. The Blossoms had five hits with five different players getting hits. UAM falls to 8-5 with the loss.

The Griffons will be in action again on Sunday, February 17 with games against Oklahoma Christian and Southern Arkansas. Game times are 9:00 am and 11:00 am respectively.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri lets late lead slip away as they fall at Arkansas

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

BJ Young converted on a pair of three-point plays in the final minute to help Arkansas rally for a 73-71 win over Missouri on Saturday.

The win is the first over the Tigers for Razorbacks coach Mike Anderson, who is in his second season at Arkansas after leaving Missouri.

The Razorbacks (16-9, 7-5 SEC) trailed 70-66 with less than a minute remaining, but Young converted on back-to-back three-point plays to put them up 72-71. He then added a free throw to secure the win.

Marshawn Powell led Arkansas with 24 points, while Young had 18 and Coty Clarke added 13 for the Razorbacks – which are now 15-1 at home this season.

Keion Bell led Missouri (18-7, 7-5) with a season-high 25 points, while Earnest Ross added 16.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State women come up short against Lady Blues

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

Twenty-six turnovers by the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team were too much to overcome as No. 6 Washburn defeated the Bearcats 61-54 Saturday at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest came out ready to play in the first half as the defense did not allow Washburn to score during the first 5:30 of the game. The Bearcats got out to a 7-0 lead before the Lady Blues made it a game.

Coach Kellogg’s team shot 47.4 percent from the floor in the first half including 60 percent from behind the three point line.

Washburn took the lead toward the end of the first half on the back of Laura Kinderknecht who had 12 points and pulled down one rebound. Kinderknecht would finish with 14.

Northwest came within four points of the Lady Blues with 9:19 left in the second half before Washburn pulled away.

Annie Mathews finished one rebound shy of a double-double as she had nine boards and posted 12 points. Monique Stevens also had 12 points while leading the team with 6 assists.

The Bearcats shot 83.3 percent from the free throw line Saturday. It marked the seventh time this season Northwest shot over 80 percent from the line and the second time it was in a losing effort.

The Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team will continue in their annual tribute to breast cancer awareness when they host Missouri Western Wednesday for their Pink Zone Game. Tip-off between the Bearcats and the Griffons is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

KU uses balanced attack to crush Texas

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

Jeff Withey had 15 points and 11 rebounds while becoming the Big 12’s career blocked shots leader, Elijah Johnson emerged from a season-long slump and No. 14 Kansas walloped Texas 73-47 on a festive Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Johnson finished with 12 points for the Jayhawks (21-4, 9-3 Big 12). Travis Releford added 15 and Ben McLemore had 13, including a 360 jam in the closing minutes that capped off quite a show against the Longhorns (11-14, 3-9) for more than a dozen former players in attendance.

Among them was Mario Chalmers, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer forced overtime in the 2008 national title game won by Kansas. The Miami Heat guard was honored at halftime by having his No. 15 raised to the rafters, where it joined names such as Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Pierce.

Perhaps one day, Withey’s name will reside there.

The senior center had his 265th block early in the second half to move past former Texas star Chris Mihm for the most in league history. The reigning Big 12 defensive player of the year even had four steals while making life miserable for the young, undersized Longhorns.

Myck Kabongo, in his second game back from a 23-game suspension, was held to 13 points by the nation’s top field-goal percentage defense. The Longhorns’ sophomore guard missed his first seven shots and committed three turnovers, his only real success coming at the foul line.

Texas wound up shooting 21.8 percent from the field and 2 of 21 from beyond the arc.

The prime-time match-up between two of the nation’s stingiest defenses figured to put points a premium, but that only turned out to be the case for the Longhorns.

They had already fallen behind 11-8 when they went the next 8-plus minutes without a field goal, missing 10 straight shots, three free throws and turning the ball over twice. By the time Ioannis Papapetrou got to the rim for Texas, the Jayhawks had built a 24-11 lead.

It never got a whole lot better for Texas.

The Longhorns went another 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal before Demarcus Holland’s steal and layup got them within 28-15 at halftime. That meant the final 15:55 of the first half, Texas had precisely as many shot-clock violations (two) as they had made field goals.

It was the Longhorns’ lowest-scoring half of the season.

Kansas didn’t waste any time delivering the knockout punch in the second half.

Johnson was the catalyst, scoring the Jayhawks’ first seven points and finally starting to shake out of a season-long slump that has been frustrating and, at times, embarrassing for one of the key players on last season’s national runner-up.

The senior guard started Kansas on a 13-4 run by getting to the basket and drawing a foul. He missed the free throw, but moments later did the exact same thing and converted the three-point play. Johnson finished off his own spurt with another basket, and by the time Releford scored in transition, the Jayhawks had built a 41-22 lead with 14:32 remaining in the game.

Texas coach Rick Barnes, whose team is in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years, was powerless to stop the onslaught even with a full complement of timeouts.

Kansas eventually pushed the lead to 55-28 when Withey scored six straight points, including a follow-up dunk off his own miss with just less than 8 minutes left in the game.

McLemore put the exclamation mark on a celebratory night for the Jayhawks when he got ahead of the fast break with about 4 minutes left and elevated for a 360 dunk that brought down the house and gave Kansas a 68-34 lead on the dazed, checked-out Longhorns.

Kansas, which rallied from 11 down to beat Texas in January, emptied the bench in the final minutes as it coasted to its eighth win in nine meetings with the Longhorns.

— Associated Press —

Bearcat baseball knocks off Northeastern State for first win

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

Head Coach Darin Loe and the Northwest Missouri State baseball team earned their first win of the 2013 season as the Bearcats defeated Northeastern State 7-5 Saturday.

Northwest got off the bus and pulled the bats out immediately as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning. Ryan Abernathy led off the game with a walk followed by two quick outs then a single by JJ Baccari knocked him in to go up 1-0.

Eric McGlauflin and Baccari were both on base when Charlie Krueger hit a three run home run to right field with two outs to put the Bearcats up 4-0.

The Bearcats also had a great showing from the hill as Blane Reutter went the distance for the complete game win. Reutter needed 110 pitches for the 9.0 inning victory as he had five strikeouts, allowed five earned runs and gave up only one walk. Reutter improves to 1-1 on the season.

Northwest added one run in the fourth as Abernathy scored on a throwing error by Northeastern’s third basemen putting the team up 5-2. The Bearcats tallied two more runs in the top of the ninth when Eric Swain singled in Brandon Huske and Abernathy.

A solid pitching performance and seven scattered hits over nine innings helped the Bearcats get their first win in MIAA competition this season. Northwest improves to 1-3, 1-0 in 2013. The RiverHawks and Bearcats will be back at it tomorrow for a double header with the first pitch scheduled for noon with the third and final game of the series to follow.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Rodriguez, Southwell lead K-State to easy win over Baylor

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

A pair of double-doubles and four players scoring in double digits made for a good night at Kansas State.

Angel Rodriguez had 22 points and 10 assists and Shane Southwell added 18 points on six 3-pointers to lead the No. 10 Wildcats to an 81-61 win over Baylor on Saturday night.

Jordan Henriquez added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Rodney McGruder also scored 10 for Kansas State, which tied a season low with only six turnovers and a season high with 11 3s. Southwell finished 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.

The game remained fairly close in the first half, but the Wildcats (20-5, 9-3 Big 12) took control in the second, outscoring the Bears 43-32 after the break.

”It was obviously a good win against a very good team,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. ”We talk a lot about 40 minutes, and against them it’s something that you have to play because . they have a lot of weapons.”

The Wildcats neutralized the Bears by forcing 19 turnovers.

”We talked about making them accountable on defense, and we did that,” Weber said. ”We made them turn it over.”

A.J. Walton led Baylor (16-9, 7-5) with 14 points and Isaiah Austin added 13.

Bears coach Scott Drew called a timeout less than two minutes into the second half after the Wildcats bolted out of the break with three straight baskets. Henriquez drew a foul and converted on a free throw, Rodriguez finished a fast break layup, and Henriquez scored in the paint.

Baylor’s Brady Heslip turned the ball over right after the timeout, but he quickly redeemed himself with a pair of 3s. After Rico Gathers scored and Pierre Jackson hit a 3 of his own, Baylor trailed 43-41 with 12:51 remaining.

Before the Bears could creep any closer, Rodriguez drilled a 3, his third of the game from beyond the arc. After Walton scored, Southwell hit a 3 that ignited a 13-2 run by the Wildcats.

Martavious Irving sank a 3, and after another 3 from Southwell, the big men got going. Henriquez dunked and followed it up with a block on the other end, and Thomas Gipson converted in the paint the next time down.

The Bears had handled the Wildcats down low early in the game, but it was Kansas State and Henriquez who ultimately took care of business in the paint.

”I try to take advantage of the guys my size,” Henriquez said. ”You’ve just got to take advantage of the mismatches you have or the rebounding opportunities you’re able to gather, too.”

With 7:48 to go, the Wildcats again had a double-digit lead, 59-45, leading Drew to call another timeout.

”It’s hard when you punch somebody and then they punch you back,” Rodriguez said. ”It kind of brings you down, so I guess we brought them down and they weren’t able to make another run on us.”

Baylor clawed within 59-49 on a pair of Jackson free throws and a bucket by Taurean Prince.

Omari Lawrence converted a three-point play, Henriquez scored down low, and after Austin sank a pair of free throws, Rodriguez hit McGruder for an alley-oop.

A 3 by Austin brought the Bears within 12, but a three-point play by Rodriguez and a second-chance bucket by McGruder opened the gap to 71-54 with 4:03 to play.

Baylor did not get within single the rest of the game.

Early in the first half, Baylor dominated the paint, and Kansas State lived in 3-point range.

McGruder sparked the Wildcats by scoring their first two baskets after Baylor forward Cory Jefferson and Austin both made shots in the paint.

Rodriguez sank a 3, giving the Wildcats a 7-4 lead. After Jefferson again scored down low, Southwell drained his first 3, giving Kansas State a 10-6 lead four minutes into the game.

The Bears went on an 8-2 spurt powered by their big men. Jefferson, Austin and Gathers each took trips to the free throw line, where they went a combined 4-for-5, and then Gathers threw down a dunk. After Jackson scored his first points of the game, Baylor led 16-12 with 10:20 to go in the first half.

Kansas State responded with a 15-3 run that began with three straight 3s. Rodriguez played an integral part in the scoring frenzy by swishing a 3, assisting on back-to-back 3s by Southwell and then converting a basket in the paint to give the Wildcats a 23-16 advantage with 6:33 remaining until halftime.

The deficit narrowed when Baylor’s guards got involved. Heslip scored his first basket of the game, and after buckets by Spradling and Southwell, both Jackson and Walton scored, pulling the Bears to 27-24 with 3:41 left in the half.

Again, just when Baylor began to close the gap, the Kansas State offense hit its stride. A 3 by Spradling began a 10-0 run that also included free throws by McGruder, another 3 by Spradling and another layup by Rodriguez.

Walton scored the last two buckets of the first half for Baylor, which went to the locker room down 38-29.

— Associated Press —

NWMSU softball stays unbeaten with win over Southern Arkansas

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013

Jenna Creger pitched her second shutout in two days as the Northwest Missouri State offense erupted to roll past Southern Arkansas 8-0 in the 7-State Softball Classic Saturday.

Creger only allowed two hits and struck out 10 batters to help keep the Lady Muleriders’ bats at bay. With the win she also moves her record to 3-0 on the young season and helps keep the Bearcats a perfect 5-0.

Northwest got on the board in the top of the second inning when Kristine Labertew belted a one out double to right field. Labertew would score just one batter later when Madison Jones singled to left and an error by the SAU left fielder allowed Labertew to cross home standing up.

Although the one run was all the Bearcats would need behind Creger, Northwest exploded in the final inning for seven more runs. Back-to-back singles to lead off the seventh would bring Anastaszia Roseberry off the bench as she belted a three-run homer to right.

The Bearcats were not done as Kristen Uthe went deep for a three-run home run over the left field fence scoring Candace Miller and Jordan Ereth. Northwest continued to bat around in the inning when Jones double to left giving the Bearcats an 8-0 lead.

Creger would sit the Lady Muleriders down in order to earn the win as the senior only walked two.

The Bearcats first game of the day was cancelled as the field was deemed unplayable. Northwest puts its perfect record on the line as they close out the 7-State Classic Sunday at 9 a.m. against Henderson State and Oklahoma Panhandle State in the finale.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Griffon softball rolls to two wins Friday in Arkansas

Posted on February 15, 2013February 15, 2013

The Missouri Western softball team pounded out 25 hits and scored 18 runs defeating Illinois-Springfield 9-1 and Nebraska-Kearney 9-5 on day one of the UAM Seven State Classic. Taylor Anding led the way with a .571 batting average while Michelle Stevenson had five hits helping MWSU improve to 4-2.

MWSU 9, Illinois-Springfield 1 (6 innings)
In the opening game of the classic the Griffons got off to a hot start with Keri Lorbert hitting her third home run of the season giving the Griffons a 2-0 lead after an inning. The scored remained that way until Tina Buck hit a solo homer cutting the Griffons lead to one after three an a half innings.

From there it would be all MWSU scoring seven runs in the next three innings. In the fourth inning Sarah Elliott blasted her second homer of the season giving MWSU a 5-1 lead after four. In the fifth Taylor Anding had an RBI single scoring Maegan Roemmich.

In the sixth inning the Griffons had three straight hits which included a three run homer by Tiffany Gillaspy ending the game and giving MWSU the 9-1 victory.

The Griffons had 12 hits with Stevenson getting three while scoring two runs. Breanna Fleschner and Anding both had two hits while Gillaspy had three RBI.

Jackie Bishop improves to 2-1 on the season going all six inning scattering four hits while striking out eight.

Four different Prairie Stars got hits in the game. Buck picked up the loss going just three innings giving up six hits and four earned runs. She also struck out four. UIS falls to 0-1 on the season.

MWSU 9, Nebraska-Kearney 5
The hot bats continued in game two as the Griffons pounded out 13 hits and scored eight runs in the first two innings taking a 8-0 lead after two. Fleschner led off the game with a home run over the center field fence and then Roemmich doubled in Gillaspy giving MWSU the 2-0 lead.

In the second inning the Griffons had four hits with three singles and a double helping them to six runs.

The Lopers scored five unanswared runs which included a three run homer in the sixth by Samantha Liebman cutting the Griffon lead to 8-5 heading to the seventh inning.

Back-to-back doubles in the seventh by Anding and Elliott gave MWSU a 9-5 lead going to the bottom of the seventh. Emily Moe came into close the door on UNK giving up one hit and walking one in one inning of work. Janie Smith pitched six innings scattering nine hits with four earned runs. She improves to 2-0 on the season.

Smith also had two hits with one run scored in her first game hitting this season. Gillaspy had three hits while Stevenson, Anding and Elliott each collecting two.

Becky Dunn got the loss for UNK going one inning giving up five hits and four earned runs. She falls to 1-2 on the season. Nebraska-Kearney had ten hits with Mallory Noakes collecting three. They fall to 1-4 with the loss.

The Griffons return to action on Saturday, February 16 with games against Henderson State and Arkansas-Monticello. Game times are set for 10:00 am and 12:00 pm respectively.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcat softball hangs on for two wins Friday

Posted on February 15, 2013February 15, 2013

The Northwest Missouri State softball team dominated Concordia-St. Paul for a 7-0 victory in game one and outlasted Illinois-Springfield 6-5 in extra innings Friday on day one of the 7-State Classic.

Game one was a complete effort from Jenna Creger, as the senior held the Golden Bears to just three hits for the complete game shutout. Creger struck out seven and only walked one batter to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The Bearcat offense saw three multi-hit games including a 4-for-4 effort from Kristen Uthe. Uthe doubled, scored a run and drove in a run to help pace the Bearcat offense.

Stephanie Price accounted for over half the Bearcat offense in game one as she finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Price put Northwest on the board in the top of the third inning with a RBI single that scored Uthe before Kylie Cantrell hustled for a two RBI double giving the Bearcats an early 3-0 lead.

Northwest extended its lead in the fourth when Price blasted a no-doubt three-run homer to left field. The home run followed a RBI double from Uthe giving the Bearcats a 7-0 lead.

From there Creger would cruise as she retired 13 of the final 15 batters to close out the win.

Game two had more excitement as the Bearcats needed extra innings to finish off the Prairie Stars, 6-5.

The Bearcats built a 2-0 lead when Candace Miller singled to right field scoring Rachael Schmitz and Jordan Gadbois. Gadbois was hit by a pitch while Schmitz place a bunt single down the first base line to start the third inning.

UIS would add a single run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to tie the game at 3-3 before a scoreless seventh inning sent the game to extras.

Both teams scored a run in the eighth before Northwest got two wild pitches to help score two runs in the ninth inning. Jordan Ereth doubled to lead-off the inning, pushing the runner at second to third, before the wild pitches scored both runners giving Northwest a 6-4 lead.

Reliever Paige Blythe was able to dance around a walk and a RBI single to start the final inning. Holding onto the one-run lead Blythe forced back-to-back groundouts to end the game.

Ereth finished 3-for-4 in the second game with two runs scored while Uthe and Cantrell added the final two RBIs to join Miller.

The Bearcats move to 4-0 on the season as they continue action Saturday taking on Oklahoma Christian in game one at 10 a.m. with the night cap against Southern Arkansas to follow at 2 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —