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Missouri finishes trip to Maui with win over Chaminade

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riggertMizzouLAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Missouri lost its first two games in Maui, lost a starter early to injury and fought foul trouble.

Even with all that adversity, no way were the Tigers going to head home without a victory.

Namon Wright scored 21 points, Montaque Gill-Caesar added 18 and Missouri beat Chaminade 74-60 Wednesday in the seventh-place game of the Maui Invitational.

“Our mentality coming in today was that we’re not going to leave Hawaii without a W, and I think we responded really well,” Gill-Caesar said.

Missouri (3-3) had two disappointing losses to open the tournament, but jumped on Chaminade (2-3) early, building a 10-point halftime lead behind Wright.

The Silverswords made a run in the second half, but Gill-Caesar stuffed any hope of a comeback by scoring 16 points and hitting four 3-pointers in the second half.

The Tigers did it with forward Johnathan Williams III playing just seven minutes because of a sore knee and with starting guards Keith Shamburger and Wes Clark going a combined 0 for 13 from the field.

“It wasn’t very pretty, but I thought we played well enough to win,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “On the third day, to be able to come and get a win is important.”

Chaminade didn’t get a win, but that’s not what this tournament is about for the Silverswords. To pull off another upset would be great, but the experience of playing big-name programs — one few Division II programs get on a consistent basis — will only help Chaminade down the line.

Lee Bailey led the Silverswords with 22 points and Kuany Kuany added 14.

“Our goal coming in, obviously we’d love to win a game, win a couple games and stuff like that,” Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird said. “But the thing I talked to these guys about is we have the best opportunity in Division II to play against good competition to make us better.”

The Tigers were hoping to salvage something from their trip to paradise.

Missouri kept up with No. 3 Arizona in its opener before fading down the stretch and never really had a chance against Purdue on the second day.

The Tigers lost those two games by a combined 40 points and losing to the Division II Silverswords would have made it a disastrous trip.

Chaminade had pulled off upsets in this position before.

The host Silverswords are regulars in the seventh-place game with such strong fields in the Maui Invitational and have occasionally caught teams down or off-guard on the final day. Their lists of conquests include Texas, Oklahoma and Villanova through the years.

Chaminade struggled to open this year’s tournament, buried on the glass in a loss to Pittsburgh and by Chase Fischer’s wave of 3-pointers (10 in all) in a loss to BYU.

Missouri tried to make sure the Silverswords never stood a chance at the upset.

Using their depth to overwhelm the smaller Silverswords, the Tigers scored the game’s first nine points and built a 38-28 halftime lead.

Chaminade had trouble with Missouri’s length and athleticism, hitting 9 of 31 shots in the first half. The Silverswords also had a hard time finding Wright, who made all three of his 3-point attempts while scoring 12 points in the first half.

Missouri extended the lead to 15 in the first six minutes of the second half, but Chaminade went on a 7-0 run to pull within 52-46.

The upset suddenly seemed a possibility and the small-but-vocal group of Chaminade fans inside the Lahaina Civic Center started screaming and stomping the bleachers.

Gill-Caesar put an end to those thoughts, hitting three 3-pointers to push Missouri’s lead to 63-51.

“This tournament always helps just energy-wise and battle test us before we hit the conference play,” Bailey said.

—

TIP-INS

Chaminade: The Silverswords were good from the free-throw line, making 13 of 17, but not so good from the 3-point arc, going 9 for 28.

Missouri: The Tigers outscored Chaminade 38-9 in bench points. … Clark went 0 for 7, Shamburger 0 for 6.

UP NEXT

Missouri hosts Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 2.

Chaminade opens its Pacific West Conference schedule at home against Hawaii-Hilo on Dec. 4.

FRESHMAN REBOUND

Gill-Caesar scored 13 points to lead the Tigers against Arizona before all but disappearing against Purdue (two points, 1-of-6 shooting). The talented freshman was back to being assertive against Chaminade, hitting 5 of 11 shots, including 4 of 8 from the 3-point arc.

— Associated Press —

K-State gets clobbered by Pitt in Maui third-place game

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riggertKStateLAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Pittsburgh opened the Maui Invitational by winning a game it was supposed to and lost in embarrassing fashion in the semifinals.

The Panthers closed out their trip to paradise by playing their best game of the season.

James Robinson had 14 points and six assists, and Pittsburgh was sharp at both ends to beat Kansas State 70-47 Wednesday in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational.

“That’s a very good team, Kansas State, that we beat and we beat it the way we wanted to do it as far as defense, execution on the offensive end and smart play throughout,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Inconsistent to start the season, Pittsburgh (4-2) pulled it all together against the Wildcats, working the ball around for good shots inside and out, while limiting Kansas State’s chances at the other end.

The Panthers shot 55 percent and made 8 of 15 3-pointers after a lackluster shooting performance against No. 15 San Diego State in the semifinals.

Ryan Luther and Michael Young had 13 points apiece for Pitt.

Pittsburgh was solid at the defensive end, too, holding Kansas State (3-3) to 32 percent shooting, including 2 of 13 on 3-pointers.

The Panthers were particularly good against Marcus Foster, preventing K-State’s dynamic guard from getting loose for open shots. He had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Thomas Gipson led Kansas State with 13 points and six rebounds.

“We had to share the ball better,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “When we move the ball and get it to open people, we’re a better team.”

The Wildcats held their composure down the stretch in the Maui opener against Purdue and were right with No. 3 Arizona in the semifinals, losing a hard-fought game 72-68.

Pittsburgh rolled over Chaminade in its opener behind a dominating performance on the glass, but couldn’t keep up when the intensity rose in the semifinals, losing 74-57 to No. 15 San Diego State.

The Panthers were manhandled in that game by the big, strong Aztecs, unable to do much at either end of the floor.

Pittsburgh held its ground better against another physical team in the third-place game, refusing to get pushed around by K-State’s beefy big men, Gipson and Stephen Hurt.

The Panthers led 30-27 at halftime and locked the Wildcats down to open the second half, holding them without a field goal — 0-for-5 shooting, two turnovers — over the first five minutes.

“First five minutes of the second half, we just couldn’t seem to get over the hump,” Weber said. “We just didn’t make the right read, the right play.”

Pitt pushed the lead to 41-30 on Luther’s straightaway 3-pointer and kept hounding the Wildcats into missed shots to maintain its cushion.

The Panthers held Kansas State to 23 percent shooting in the second half while making 15 of 23 shots at the other end.

Not a bad way to end a road trip, especially after being humiliated the day before.

“We came out and played really, really hard on defense,” Young said. “We paid attention to detail and got the job done.”

—

TIP-INS

Pittsburgh: The Panthers were outrebounded for the first time in the tournament. Kansas State had a 32-22 edge, including 14 offensive boards. … Pitt had a 28-10 advantage off the bench.

Kansas State: The Wildcats went 1 for 6 from 3-point range in the second half. … Nino Williams had the only blocked shot of the game by either team.

UP NEXT

Pittsburgh plays at Indiana on Tuesday.

Kansas State faces Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday in Knoxville, Tennessee.

FOSTER’S NIGHT

Foster averaged 22 points and hit 16 of 28 shots in K-State’s first two games in Maui. He went 1 of 4 from 3-point range after a 6-for-9 performance against Arizona.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State to host 112th Sunflower Showdown Saturday

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Kansas State and Kansas face off Saturday afternoon in the 112th edition of the Sunflower Showdown.

Kansas leads the all time series, 64-42-5, but Kansas State has won 18 of theKSU FOOTBALL TEAM last 23 meetings, and is on a perfect 5-0 run since Snyder returned to the sidelines in 2009.

Although Kansas has struggled over the last five seasons, going 17-54, don’t let that make you think Kansas State will take the Jayhawks lightly on Saturday.

“You’ve heard me say so many times, and you’ve seen it happen week in and week out, anybody can beat anybody on any given day if they prepare as well as they can, play well,” said Coach Bill Snyder. “That’s always been our approach, no matter who the opponent is.”

After having the Governors cup in the lobby of the Vanier Complex for the past five years Snyder was asked Tuesday if he could imagine not seeing that trophy when he walked into the complex next week.

“I haven’t thought about it that way, which doesn’t mean anything, don’t read into that. I would hate for it to happen, I can assure you of that.”

Saturday will also mark the home finale for 21 Wildcat seniors. The 2014 senior class has led K-state to a 37-12 record over the past four seasons, which includes four bowl games and a conference title back in 2012.

Kick off is scheduled for 3 p.m. from Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1.

Chiefs’ Charles dedicates game to drowning victims

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ChiefsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles is dedicating Sunday night’s game against Denver to two teenagers who drowned in a Missouri farm pond over the weekend.

Charles met one of the boys, Andre Lance, a few years ago at training camp and remembered taking a photo with him. The 17-year-old Lance and his high school classmate, Tyler Brandt, were found in the ice-covered farm pond Sunday night near Savannah in northwest Missouri.

Charles said that he learned of the drowning through social media.

The Chiefs were already playing with heavy hearts after learning safety Eric Berry has a mass in his chest that could be lymphoma. Berry was still undergoing tests Wednesday but will miss the remainder of the season.

Bearcats upset No. 4 Drury, 60-47

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NWMSUSomething special is brewing inside Bearcat Arena.

The season is still very early, but Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team looked in postseason form Tuesday evening when it knocked off No. 4 ranked Drury 60-47 to improve to 4-1.

Sure, it is a bit of hyperbole to say the Bearcats, who have four new starters, are playing at that level.

After the game, senior guard Matt Wallace brought reason to the thought of the Bearcats are ready for postseason before playing a conference game.

“No,” Wallace said with a grin. “This is a big win, but we still have a long ways to go, a lot of improving to do.”

The manner in which Northwest pulled away in the second half against a high-quality team was cause to get giddy.

Certainly, Northwest head coach Ben McCollum will find some fault. He doesn’t want this young to think they already belong in elite company.

McCollum, though, will need a microscope to find the miscues. The Bearcats got after it on defense and shared the basketball on offense.

The combination allowed Drury to only one lead in the second half at 38-37 and only 19 points. Northwest went right back in front 39-38 on an inside field goal by freshman forward Brett Dougherty, who played like a beast in the paint. He came off the bench and finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

“I think I am getting a little more comfortable,” Dougherty said. “Previously, I wasn’t finishing as well. I think I sped up sometimes because this is my first year. But tonight I finished a lot better. I feel like I am settling down a little bit.”

Freshman Justin Pitts followed Dougherty’s field goal with a basket, giving the Bearcats a three-point lead.

The daggers came with 9:20 left when Pitts hit a three-pointer, making it 44-39. A minute later, sophomore Zach Schneider hit a three-pointer, increasing the Bearcats lead to 47-39.

The Panthers never threatened again after the enormous plays by two freshmen and a sophomore.

The two seniors did their part. With just over 5 minutes left, Wallace stole the ball, raced down the court and made a layup. He was fouled on the play. He converted the free throw, putting Northwest up 52-41.

“I think Matt’s and-1 layup was kind of a turning point,” Dougherty said. “We kind of kept rolling and finished it out.”

After a basket by Drury, Conzad nailed two free throws, putting Northwest back up by double digits for good. Cozad finished with nine points and Wallace added six.

The scoring stars for Northwest was Pitts with 17 and Dougherty with 13. They both were 6-for-10 from the field.

The first half was close throughout. The lead changed six times. The last one was by Northwest, which carried a narrow 31-28 lead into halftime.

Drury scored the first basket of the game on a three-pointer. The Bearcats responded with a three-pointer by Schneider, and the stage was set for a classic battle between two well-coached teams.

Northwest took its first lead on another three-pointer by Schneider, making it 6-5. The Panthers answered with their best run of the first half, building a 12-6 lead.

The Bearcats quickly fought back and scored the next seven points for a 13-12 lead. Drury managed a couple of more leads until Northwest went ahead 22-21 and slowly expanded it to 28-23 late in the first half.

Drury battled back and scored the next five points to tie the game at 28-28. The back-and-forth between the two teams made for an exciting 20 minutes of basketball.

“Being young, well I’m not young, but the rest of the team is young,” Wallace said. “If you face adversity early in the year and beat a good team and close out a game that is going to be big for us in postseason. It felt good to win.”

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

Missouri gets routed by Purdue for second straight loss in Maui

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riggertMizzouLAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Purdue lost its Maui Invitational opener in the worst possible way: By not playing hard enough in the first half.

Stung by the slow start in their loss to Kansas State, the Boilermakers made sure there was no easing into their game against Missouri.

Rapheal Davis scored 22 points and Purdue ran away from Missouri in the first half for an 82-61 win over the Tigers Tuesday in the Maui Invitational loser’s bracket.

Coming off a tough loss to Kansas State in its opener, Purdue (4-1) was sharp at both ends against the young Tigers while building a 25-point halftime lead.

The Boilermakers struggled at times during the second half, but were so far in front that it didn’t matter.

“We watched film yesterday and we kind of saw that we didn’t play hard. And that is one thing that’s unacceptable,” Purdue guard Jon Octeus said. “You never want to say we lost the game because we didn’t play hard enough. So we just took that approach.”

Missouri (2-3) had no answer for Purdue’s physical, aggressive defense in the first half while falling into a big hole. The Tigers played better over the game’s final 10 minutes, but had no chance of finishing off the comeback from a deficit that climbed to 34 points in the second half.

Johnathan Williams III had 14 points and Keith Shamburger added 11 for Missouri.

“The first half was embarrassing,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “We didn’t play very well. I thought Purdue did a great job. They had us back on our heels. We didn’t execute very well, obviously.”

The Tigers kept up with No. 3 Arizona behind their defense in the Maui opener, using a variety of looks to frustrate the Wildcats in the first half.

Missouri lost grip of the game in the second half, when Arizona started hitting shots and the Tigers couldn’t hold onto the ball. Missouri had 17 turnovers that led to 24 points for Arizona in the 72-53 loss.

Purdue’s turnover problems were even worse in its loss to Kansas State.

Kansas State scored 15 of its first 19 points off Purdue turnovers and built a 20-point lead before the Boilermakers shot their way back behind Kendall Stephens. He had 14 of his 21 points in the second half, but Purdue came up short, losing 88-79.

The Boilermakers had a much easier time of it against Missouri, pressuring the Tigers into mistakes and missed shots while turning the game into a runaway quickly.

Missouri missed seven of its first eight shots and went nearly six minutes without a field goal as Purdue built a quick 11-point lead. The Boilermakers kept adding to it, pushing the lead to 45-20 by halftime as the Tigers continued to clank away.

“I thought today we were ready to go and we really competed,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “You can learn a lot from one loss. There is no need to have two losses, but you can learn a lot from one loss.”

Missouri shot 7 of 29 in the first half while Purdue went 15 for 26 to put the game out of reach before the second half even started.

—

TIP-INS

Purdue: The Boilermakers had a 41-28 rebounding advantage. … Davis made 14 of 18 free throws.

Missouri: The Tigers had one fewer turnover than Purdue (16-15), but the Boilermakers turned those into 23 points while Missouri had 12 points off turnovers. … The Tigers made 12 of 26 shots in the second half and were 16 of 20 on free throws overall.

UP NEXT

Purdue moves on to face BYU in the fifth-place game on Wednesday.

Missouri faces Chaminade in Wednesday’s seventh-place game.

MONTAQUE’S QUIET GAME

Freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar was Missouri’s leading scorer through the first three games of the season and had a team-high 13 against Arizona. He was far less aggressive against the Boilermakers, scoring two points on 1-of-6 shooting.

“When you look on the score sheet it says Montaque Gill-Caesar is a leading scorer, so they’re going to guard you,” Anderson said. “When you’re young, you’ve got to learn how to overcome that. You have to learn how to move harder, how to come off screens better, how to guard better. It’s not just him, it’s everybody.”

— Associated Press —

Kansas State’s upset bid comes up short against No. 2 Arizona

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riggertKStateLAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Arizona came to Maui to face adversity. There was some back in the desert through the first four games, though most of that was self-inflicted.

Faced with their first big challenge of the season, the third-ranked Wildcats went toe-to-toe with Kansas State and put themselves on the brink of a tournament title.

Kaleb Tarczewski scored 18 points, Gabe York added 15 and No. 3 Arizona hung on to win its first close game of the season, beating Kansas State 72-68 Tuesday in the Maui Invitational semifinals.

“We’re very, very proud of tonight’s win,” coach Sean Miller said. “We feel like we beat a great team, and that’s why you come to Maui: to challenge (yourself).”

Arizona (5-0) rolled through its first four games despite some slow starts and shot 53 percent against Kansas State, yet couldn’t shake the scrappy Wildcats.

Trailing by nine in the second half, Kansas State (3-2) whittled the lead down to a single possession in the final minute behind Marcus Foster.

Arizona rose to the challenge.

Freshman forward Stanley Johnson spent most of the second half in foul trouble, but came up with some of the biggest plays down the stretch. He had a key steal and hit three free throws in the closing seconds, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Tarczewski held his own against Kansas State’s hulking duo of Stephen Hurt and Thomas Gipson, making seven of nine shots while playing steady post defense

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had two monster dunks midway through the second half and hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to seal Arizona’s victory.

Next up is a chance to win the program’s second Maui Invitational on Wednesday night at Lahaina Civic Center.

“It kind of shows how resilient this team is,” said Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell, who had seven points and six assists. “The score was going back and forth, and you weren’t really sure which way the score was going to go. I mean, we just played hard.”

So did Kansas State, which held on down the stretch to beat Purdue in its Maui opener and didn’t wilt under Arizona’s pressure.

K-State answered nearly every time Arizona tried to pull away, mainly behind Foster.

He held the Wildcats together against Purdue and had 23 points against Arizona, going 6 for 9 from 3-point range.

Kansas State is headed to the third-place game, but had no reason to be down after keeping up with the No. 3 team in the country.

“I told them if we play like yesterday and today, we’re going to beat a lot of good teams,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.

Arizona has been plagued by slow starts this season, and the Maui opener against Missouri was no different. The Wildcats, as they did in previous games, pulled away in the second half for a 19-point win — but they probably couldn’t have afforded another uninspired start against Kansas State.

In their tournament opener, the Wildcats jumped on Purdue early and kept the Boilermakers at arm’s length in the second half to pull out a physical victory.

A fast start was no problem for either team in the semifinals.

Playing quickly in both directions, Arizona and Kansas State traded athletic plays — Johnson’s tomahawk dunk down the lane was a highlight — and baskets in an entertaining opening 10 minutes.

Neither team was able to get much separation, and the half ended with Hurt jamming in a putback at the buzzer to pull Kansas State to 31-30.

The second half continued the same way until McConnell and York hit consecutive 3-pointers to put Arizona up 52-43 midway through.

Kansas State clawed its way back, pulling to 66-64 on a 3-pointer by Foster with 2:30 left.

K-State kept fighting back each time, but couldn’t complete the comeback as Arizona hit six of eight free throws in the final 22 seconds.

“Just some little plays here and there that we could have easily found a way to win it,” Weber said. “Just a little more discipline and some little execution.”

TIP-INS

Kansas State: Foster is a combined 16 for 28 the past two games after going 1 for 13 in a loss to Long Beach State.

Arizona: Johnson was called for two fouls 90 seconds into the second half and had to sit down with four. He returned 6 minutes later for a short stint and came back with 7:15 left. … Hollis-Jefferson had six points and eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

Kansas State faces Pittsburgh in Wednesday’s third-place game.

Arizona will play No. 15 San Diego State in Wednesday night’s title game.

ARIZONA’S FREE THROWS

Arizona has struggled shooting free throws most of the season, but had a good night against K-State. The Wildcats made 20 of 28 and hit the big ones they needed down the stretch.

— Associated Press —

Shields leads Nebraska past Omaha, 80-67

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NebraskariggertLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska coach Tim Miles was quick to spell out the key to Nebraska’s 80-67 come-from-behind win over Omaha on Tuesday.

“The story of the night is what Shavon did,” Miles said. Shavon is Shavon Shields, who scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Huskers past Omaha.

Shields scored 21 of those points in the first half to pull Nebraska out of a first half deficit and into a lead it never relinquished.

“I just tried to play within the offense and take shots as they came,” Shields said. “They were falling tonight. I didn’t change anything. Sometimes it takes us awhile to get going. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to find a way to play with urgency. We didn’t do that at the start of the game.”

Nebraska (3-1) trailed by as many as 16 early but opened up a double-digit lead late in the first half.

Omaha (2-2) cut the Nebraska lead to 47-43 on C.J. Carter’s layup with 13:15 left.

Shields then hit Nebraska’s first field goal of the second half and followed that with a 3-pointer to push the Husker lead back to 52-43 with 12:25 remaining. Nebraska went up 61-50 on Shields 3-pointer with 9 minutes left. Omaha didn’t get any closer down the stretch.

Omaha opened the game hot, hitting eight of its first nine shots, four of them 3-pointers, in the first five minutes to take a 23-7 lead. Nebraska, which made just 1 of its first 10 free throws, stormed back with a 23-2 run to take a 30-25 lead on Terran Petteway’s breakaway dunk with 6:21 remaining in the half.

The Huskers never trailed again, going up 40-29 after a pair of Shields free throws with 2:36 left in the half. Omaha scored just 11 points in the final 15 minutes of the first half.

“I thought we needed a quick start and we got that,” said Omaha coach Derrin Hansen. “I thought our guys played with a lot of confidence. I thought defensively, we were really dialed in. As the first half wore on, we weren’t quite as good on our switches…. The second half, I liked our fight.”

The Huskers, Miles said, may have come out flat because of Saturday’s overtime loss at Rhode Island. But they also took a punch from the Mavericks.

“They made some tough shots,” Miles said. “We also made some defensive errors. After that we got our heads calmed down. We’re not four minutes into it and they’ve got 21 points. I’m like `what’s the record…Then we got 11 straight stops. That’s not bad defense after you’ve given up 23 (points) in 12 (possessions)”

And Miles had Shields, his most consistent performer this season, playing at the top of his game.

“I’m scared to think of the consequences of him not being steady, if he was EKGing like the rest of them,” Miles said. “He’s really been the rock for us, our go-to guy.”

Devin Patterson had 20 points to lead Omaha. Carter finished with 13 points for the Mavericks and Tyus had 12.

Petteway had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Tai Webster added 10, all of them in the second half, for Nebraska.

TIP INS

Nebraska: The 16-point comeback matches Nebraska’s largest at Pinnacle Bank Arena (vs. Indiana on Jan. 30, 2014). Shields’ 35 points ties the PBA record, held be Pittway against Minnesota on Jan. 26. The Huskers are 18-1 in PBA. Their only loss in the arena, which opened at the start of the 2013-2014 season, was to Michigan, 71-70 on Jan. 9.

Omaha: Formerly known as Nebraska-Omaha, the Mavericks have never defeated Nebraska. The Mavericks are either 0-3 or 0-4 against the Huskers, depending on who’s counting. Nebraska’s 2006 win over UNO counted for the Huskers. It was an exhibition game for the Mavericks.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts Tennessee-Martin Friday

Omaha hosts Nevada Saturday

— Associated Press —

Northwest women roll to big win against Saint Mary

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NWMSUMidway through the first half, Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team built a 10-point lead against Saint Mary and then saw it shrink to one.

A basket by freshman Elizabeth Finn got the Bearcats rolling and rolling and rolling to an impressive 78-33 victory Tuesday evening at Bearcat Arena.

“We talked about doing our job, everybody stepping up and doing their job and people not trying to do other people’s job,” Northwest coach Michael Smith said. “Tonight was about us. It wasn’t about our opponent.

“In the first half, we played pretty timid. The second half opened my eyes up a lot as far as getting up and down the floor and pushing it.”

From the tail end of the first half through the first 6 minutes of the second half, Northwest scored 23 straight points, turning a 19-18 advantage to an insurmountable 42-18 lead.

The Bearcats continued to pour it on over the next 10 minutes, winning their second game of the season over the Spires from Leavenworth, Kan.

Northwest’s other win this season came against Saint Mary from Nebraska.

The impressive thing about Tuesday’s victory was the way the Bearcats executed on offense once St. Mary challenged them.

Northwest did nothing special to methodically build a 16-6 lead at the start of the game. A lack of execution on offense allowed St. Mary to close to 19-18.

“At that 4 minute timeout, we came out with a lot of energy,” said senior guard Ariel Easton. “We came out and brought energy from every aspect.”

In the last 4 minutes of the first half, the offense clicked for the Bearcats. Good ball movement created open shots. After Finn’s basket, junior guard Taylor Shull made a basket.

A few seconds later, sophomore forward Ashley Guenther hit a 5-foot, baseline jumper and then Easton drained a three-pointer. The half ended with a three-pointer by Shull, making it 31-18.

Northwest continued its strong offensive play at the start of the second half. The scoring started with a bucket from junior center Maggie Marnin.

“Looking into the post is something we need to do,” Easton said. “We did it tonight and we got to continue to carry on with it throughout the season.”

In all, five different players scored for the Bearcats in their 11-0 spurt to start the second half.

It is significant that Marnin had two baskets during that run. Marnin is playing her way back into game shape after missing the entire season last year because of an ACL injury.

“It felt good getting back,” Marnin said. “Coach pulled me aside and told me I was the biggest girl on the floor. Most girls won’t take that so well. I saw that as his confidence in me and wanting me to step up and help the team win.”

The huge lead allowed Smith to use his entire bench. Every player played at least 8 minutes and 11 players scored, led by 15 from junior Tember Schechinger and 12 from Easton. Sophomore center Shelby Mustain also scored in double figures, finishing with 10.

“I thought it was a well-balanced offense in the second half,” Smith said.

Schechinger tied a career-high in three pointers, making three in five attempts.

“She has been struggling from the confidence standpoint, too,” Smith said. “She went three for five for threes and she hadn’t attempted a three in our first five games and she had the same type looks. She didn’t feel as much pressure.

Northwest returns to action 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Bearcat Arena against Rogers State (Okla.).

“Hopefully, we can maintain this when we come back after we eat a bunch of turkey and see if we can keep the same type of intensity,” Smith said.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

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