GIRLS
Lafayette 40 (17-7)
Savannah 37
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 16 SEMIFINAL @ EAST BUCHANAN
St. Pius X 64
Bishop LeBlond 32 (16-11)
Category: Sports
Missouri Western women rally but come up short against Jennies
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s basketball team overcame two separate double-digit deficits only to come up short in an 82-78 loss at Central Missouri Wednesday night.
Down by 10 with 5:40 to play, MWSU tied the game at 78 with 52 seconds remaining. With 32 seconds left, Breonna Embray hit a three-pointer to put the Jennies up for good.
In what proved to be a back and forth affair, UCM jumped out to a 13-2 lead that quickly evaporated as the Griffons climbed within one with 9:47 left in the first half. The Griffons took the lead with 5:55 to go before halftime and stretched their lead to five points before UCM took control again, taking a three-point lead to halftime. MWSU jumped back ahead early in the second half only to see UCM climb back and regain the lead.
Missouri Western finished 41 percent from the field and missed just one of their 22 free throw attempts while going 3-14 from three point range. They turned the ball over just seven times but were outrebounded 40-30. LaQuinta Jefferson finished with 16 points and Sarafina Handy had 15. Miliakere Koyamainavure added 10 points.
The Griffons take a 13-11 overall record and 8-10 mark into their final regular season game against Southwest Baptist on Saturday in the fieldhouse.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Missouri State outlasts Bradley in three overtimes
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Christian Kirk had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Missouri State past Bradley 80-77 in triple-overtime Wednesday night.
Chris Kendrix and Loomis Gerring each hit a pair at the line in the final :23 to push the Missouri State lead to five and the Bears held on.
Austin Ruder had 20 points, including five 3s and Kendrix added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bears (11-18, 5-12 Missouri Valley).
Bradley scored the first seven points of double overtime, but Missouri State scored seven of the next eight points capped by a tying 3-pointer from Gavin Thurman with 1:16 left.
After three free throws from Sutherland put Bradley up three, Ruder hit a tying 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to force a third overtime.
Josh Cunningham had 15 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end, and Tramique Sutherland added 20 points for the Braves (8-22, 3-14).
— Associated Press —
Big 12’s chief reprimands K-State for court-storming case
JIM SUHR, Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby is publicly reprimanding Kansas State for failing to prevent Wildcats fans from pouring onto the court after the school’s upset victory over rival Kansas.
Bowlsby’s admonition Wednesday came the same day Kansas State student Nathan Power was publicly identified as the fan who body-checked Kansas forward Jamari Traylor after the Wildcats’ 70-63 victory Monday night.
Power has been cited for disorderly conduct and didn’t return messages Wednesday seeking comment.
No injuries resulted from the court-storming. But Bowlsby says Kansas State failed to ensure the safety and security of the players and fans. Calling what happened “a call to action,” he pressed for policy revisions to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Mike Sweeney elected to Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former first baseman Mike Sweeney will become the 26th member of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.
Sweeney, a five-time All Star when he played with the Royals from 1995 to 2007, was elected in his first ballot appearance, the team announced Wednesday.
Sweeney also played for the Oakland A’s, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies but he signed a one-day contract with the Royals in March 2011 to retire as a member of the Kansas City organization.
He hit .297 with 325 doubles, 215 home runs, 909 RBIs and 759 runs scored during his career. He set the Royals’ record with 144 RBIs in a season and is in top six in franchise history in 17 offensive categories.
Sweeney is a special assistant to Royals general manager Dayton Moore.
KSU fan who bumped player while storming the court apologizes
MANHATTAN –On Tuesday, Kansas State University Police asked the public for assistance in identifying a fan who stormed the court after the K-State basketball win at Bramlage.
The fan came forward and wrote an apology letter to the KSU Collegian.
Nathan Power wrote:
K-State friends, I was the individual identified as the fan who bumped Jamari Traylor during the court storm following K-State’s victory over KU. I want to take this moment to share a sincere apology in breaking from the Wildcat way and stepping outside what is acceptable in the spirit of the game. Following the basketball game I simply let my emotions get the best of me in all of the chaos. In my excitement I was not careful of the people I was around. I am sorry that I made the KU basketball team—Jamari Traylor in particular—feel disrespected. By no means can I change what took place but in the future I will be aware of how emotions can impact good judgment.
City High School Basketball Scores – Tuesday, Feb. 24
BOYS
Liberty 65
Central 57 (8-15, 3-6 Suburban)
Staley 67
Benton 65 (14-10)
CLASS 3 DISTRICT 16 1ST ROUND @ EAST BUCHANAN
Bishop LeBlond 70 (15-11)
Lathrop 47
GIRLS
Benton 52 (23-2)
Staley 40
CLASS 1 DISTRICT 14 1ST ROUND @ PATTONSBURG
Winston 55
St. Joseph Christian 43 (4-17)
Missouri rallies past Florida 64-52; snaps 13-game skid
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri coach Kim Anderson has said repeatedly this season his team needs something good to happen.
Finally, something good happened.
It came in the form of Namon Wright, who scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead the Tigers past Florida 64-52 on Tuesday. The win snapped the school’s record 13-game streak with a flourish.
“I was questioning whether he was going to miss tonight,” teammate Montaque Gill-Caesar said.
The freshman from Los Angeles carried the team nearly single-handedly in the opening minutes of each half, and his 6-of-8 performance from behind the 3-point line helped spark the loudest cheers in Mizzou Arena since the Tigers (8-20, 2-13 Southeastern Conference) last won on Jan. 8.
“We didn’t really have anybody who could stop him,” Gators coach Billy Donovan said.
Devin Robinson scored 14 points and Jon Horford added 10 for Florida (13-15, 6-9), which lost for the sixth time in seven games and prevented Donovan from earning his 500th career win. He would have joined Bob Knight as the only coaches in Division I history to reach the milestone before reaching their 50th birthday.
Missouri senior Keith Shamburger criticized the team’s effort after losing 76-53 at Vanderbilt on Saturday, saying slow starts are getting into the Tigers’ heads. Missouri missed six of its first seven shots in that game, but started 4 of 6 Tuesday thanks mostly to Wright.
Wright scored seven points in the first 4:27, providing a boost of energy that lasted through most of the opening half. The Tigers led for more than 13 of the game’s first 20 minutes, only to watch Florida take a 31-27 halftime lead after the Gators scored six of the final eight points.
Wright reignited after the break, pulling fans to their feet by scoring Missouri’s first 10 points in the first 3:43 to gain a 37-35 advantage. The Gators answered with nine unanswered points before Missouri countered with 11 of the next 12 for a 48-45 lead.
Florida narrowed its deficit to a single point on an ensuing jump shot from Chris Walker, but could get no closer during the final six minutes.
“I thought we really made a lot of poor choices, things that to be quite honest, left me scratching my head,” Donovan said.
The Tigers gradually stretched their lead to as many as 14 points to the delight of the 7,631 in attendance, most of whom remained standing during the last few minutes. As the final seconds ticked off, the student section started performing Florida’s “Gator Chomp” before joining other fans in sustained applause as the clock struck zero.
“I hope it gives us some confidence,” Anderson said. “I mean this has been miserable. This has been hard for me; it’s been hard for them. Let’s see if we can win another game.”
TIP-INS
Florida: The Gators only made 9 of 23 attempts from the free throw line, and finished 19 of 48 (39.6 percent) overall.
Missouri: After being outrebounded 46-26 at Vanderbilt on Saturday, the Tigers grabbed a 34-31 advantage on the boards on Tuesday. . The team finished 19 of 44 (43.2 percent) from the field. . Gill-Caesar and Johnathan Williams III both added nine points.
SHORT-HANDED GATORS
Florida played without its two leading scorers for a third consecutive game, with junior Michael Frazier II still nursing a high ankle sprain and junior Dorian Finney-Smith remaining suspended for an undisclosed violation of team rules. The duo combine for 26.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and did not make the trip.
UP NEXT
Florida returns home to face Tennessee on Saturday.
Missouri plays at Georgia on Saturday.
MWSU’s Peoples named MIAA Pitcher of the Week
After picking up a win and a save this past weekend in the Missouri Western baseball teams 3-1 series win at No. 4 Emporia State, Richard Peoples has been named the MIAA/AstroTurf Pitcher of the Week.
The Webb City, Missouri native picked up the win in game two, going three and a third innings and allowing just one hit, while striking out seven in the team’s walk-off winner.
In game four, Peoples picked up the save in an inning and a third of work, giving up three hits and striking out one.
On the season, Peoples is 2-0 with two saves and a 0.00 ERA, surrendering just one unearned run through 12 innings of work. Peoples is holding opponents to a .205 batting average and has struck out 13.
Through the first week of MIAA action, Missouri Wetsern is tied with Nebraska-Kearney for second place in the conference standings. The Griffons are 3-1 in the MIAA and 6-5 overall.
— MWSU Sports Information —
Northwest softball splits doubleheader at Rockhurst
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 —