---

Story Headlines
- The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team rallied late but ended up just short, losing to Lincoln, 66-56, Saturday afternoon in Jefferson City, Mo.
- After trailing by as many as 16 points midway through the second half, the Bearcats put together a 25-11 run over a stretch of 11 minutes to close the gap to two with 2:48 to play.
- Ariel Easton led the Bearcats with 19 points and six rebounds.

Northwest Highlights
- Forward Tanya Meyer scored 15 points in the contest, all of which came in the final 13 minutes of play. The freshman hit 6-of-10 shots, including draining her only three-point attempt from the corner late in the contest. She added three rebounds and one steal.
- In addition to her 19 points, Easton added a season-high five assists and made four steals on the day. This is the sixth straight game the senior has scored 17 or more points.
- Jefferson City, Mo. native Shelby Mustain scored eight points and corralled five rebounds.
- The Bearcats outscored the Blue Tigers in the paint, 34-24.
- Northwest came away with 28 rebounds, two less than Lincoln's 30 boards.
- The Cats came out of the intermission on fire, hitting 14-of-24 shots in the second half (58.3 percent).

Key Sequence
- The Bearcats found themselves behind by 16 when Kelsey Williams hit a short range jumper for the Blue Tigers. After Coach Michael Smith called a timeout to rally the troops, Tanya Meyer went on a shooting spree. Morgan Walker found Meyer underneath for an easy layup. Meyer then hit an 18-footer from the top of the key two possessions later. Alexandria Blaurock made a layup and the ensuing free throw to close the gap to 47-36. Meyer then scored the next six points for the Bearcats, seemingly scoring at will in the paint. Ariel Easton drove to the rim and hit contested layups on the next two Bearcat possessions to make the score 50-46 with five minutes to play. A three-pointer from the corner by Tember Schechinger decresed the deficit to two, but the Blue Tigers hit 7-of-10 free throws down the strech to seal the victory.

Up Next
- The Bearcats will look to return to the victory column when they head to St. Joseph, Mo. on Wednesday (Feb. 4) to play the Griffons of Missouri Western. The women's game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.