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By David Boyce

MARYVILLE, Mo. - A 73-65 loss by Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team to rival Missouri Western Saturday afternoon puts the Bearcats in a must-win situation for their final two regular season games.
 
And if the Bearcats win both games, they still will need a little help to snag the final spot in the MIAA Tournament.
 
Step one in the process is Thursday evening at Southwest Baptist, a team the Bearcats beat earlier this season.
 
"We have to come to practice ready, competing with each other," said senior Ariel Easton, who finished with 15 points. "It is a must that we win. We have to leave it all on the court."
 
Northwest played with that type of desperation throughout Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.
 
"I felt like we played hard," Northwest coach Michael Smith said. "I never felt like we quit on the game. Our kids understood what was at stake.
 
"There were some things we couldn't have done any better. We had more points in the paint. We only turned the ball over nine times. I said in the pregame that the team that went to the free throw line the most was going to be the winner."
 
Western clearly won that statistical category. The Griffons were 22-for-29 from the line compared to 10-for-14 for Northwest.
 
After falling behind 36-32 early in the second half, Northwest played with determination. The Bearcats scored the next six points and took a 38-36 lead.
 
With 15 minutes left, the game started to slip away from the Bearcats because of the play of Western junior LaQuinta Jefferson. Northwest trailed 43-42 when Jefferson made a three-point play, increasing Western's lead to 46-42.
 
Jefferson followed with two more, giving the Griffons a 50-42 lead with 13:02 left.
 
The Bearcats still had plenty of time to make and move. Northwest scored the next three points and had two more opportunities to draw closer but failed to get a good shot off.
 
With 8:30 left, Northwest trailed 55-47. Time was running out on the Bearcats. They didn't quit. Junior Taylor Shull started the surge for Northwest with a basket and then added three more free throws, helping Northwest close to 55-52. The Bearcat had a chance to tie, but Shull missed a three-pointer in the corner.
 
"It would have been fantastic to hit that three," said Shull, who finished with a career-high 16 points. "It would have been a nice momentum change for us. Unfortunately, we can't rely on one shot to possibly win the game for us. We have to play the whole game and play with focus.
 
"Of course, it would have been nice to hit that three. I would have wanted anyone to hit that three, but it takes more than one possession to win a game."
 
Western scored the next three for a six-point lead. The Bearcats simply couldn't  string together enough baskets in the final 4 minutes to recover from the deficit.
 
The Bearcats were a bit more competitive in the first half. Northwest led for several minutes midway through the first half. In all, there were nine lead changes in the first half.
 
Northwest went into halftime trailing only 32-30. The Bearcats played well offensively, committing only five turnovers in the period. Junior Tember Schechinger and freshman Tanya Meyer made strong moves to the basket and converted. They combined for 15 points in the first half.
 
Defensively, the Bearcats had trouble slowing Western down. The Griffons made half their shots from the field in the first half.