Box Score (PDF)

The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team narrowly missed an opportunity to knock off MIAA No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney in Bearcat Arena.

The Bearcats jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the first three minutes of the period. The Lopers slowly chipped away, trailing just 9-6 in the final 30 seconds before Mia Stillman drained a three-pointer right before the buzzer to give Northwest a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Lopers tied the game at 14 off a Kelsey Sanger layup and free throw with 5:56 remaining in the half. Nebraska-Kearney took their first lead off a Brooke Carlson layup and followed with a Sanger three-pointer to lead 19-14 with 4:40 left.

The top-ranked MIAA scoring defense held Northwest to just seven second-quarter points, keeping the Bearcats scoreless for six and a half minutes until Jaelyn Haggard hit a three-pointer with one minute before halftime. The Lopers led 24-19 at the break.

UNK worked their way to a 32-22 lead with 4:25 left in the third period off baskets from four different players. Molly Hartnett found a way to string together a few points for the Bearcats, scoring eight of her team-high 19 points in the period. The Bearcats trailed 37-31 with one quarter to play.

A Hartnett triple pulled Northwest within five before a Loper layup extended the lead back to seven. Back-to-back layups from Mallory McConkey and Jayna Green pulled the Bearcats within three and forced a Loper timeout with 5:31 left to play.

The Bearcats continued to trade baskets back and forth until another Stillman triple forced UNK to take a timeout with 55.1 seconds remaining while the Bearcats trailed 51-48. Each team missed key jumpers in the final minute of play before Northwest was forced to foul to stop the clock. Trinity Law made two free throws with 10.2 seconds left to give the Lopers the five-point advantage. Molly Hartnett made a layup, but the Bearcats were unable to foul Law, allowing the Lopers to escape with the 53-50 win.

Hartnett led the Bearcats with 19 points while McConkey chipped in 12 to go along with three assists. Stillman pulled down a team-high six rebounds. 

The Bearcats are back in action Saturday for their final regular season and Pink Out game against Fort Hays State. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m.