The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team outscored Northeastern State in every quarter to earn a 68-46 victory in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
 
The Bearcats improve to 13-11 overall and 8-10 in MIAA play.
 
Emma Atwood got the Bearcats going as she converted a three-point play with a layup and the foul to give Northwest an early 3-1 lead. After the RiverHawks had built up a five point lead, Northwest battled back and regained the lead with an Ella Moody layup with 2:30 to go in the quarter.
 
The 'Cats used a 13-4 run to close the first quarter as they held a 16-11 lead over Northeastern State heading into the second.
 
The Bearcats opened the second quarter with a 13-0 run to force an NSU timeout with 6:51 to play in the half. At the timeout, Northwest led 29-11.
 
The RiverHawks finished the first half on an 8-4 run, but Northwest took a 33-19 lead into the halftime break. The Bearcats led by as much as 19 points in the second quarter.
 
Emma Atwood led the team with eight points in the half as she got her first start of the season. Jillian Fleming and Kelsey Fields both tallied five points, and the trio of Ella Moody, Molly Hartnett, and Caely Kesten all had four points.
 
The Bearcats shot 45.2% from the field in the first half as they connected on 14-of-31 shot attempts. Northwest outrebounded NSU in the half by eight, had 12 more points in the paint, and forced the RiverHawks into eight turnovers.
 
The 'Cats outscored Northeastern State by three in the third quarter to increase the lead to 48-31 with one quarter to go. Northwest was held without a made field goal for the final 3:37 of the third until Peyton Kelderman knocked down her third three-pointer of the game with 34 seconds remaining in the quarter.
 
Peyton Kelderman opened up the fourth quarter just as she left the third as she drained her fourth three of the day on the Bearcats first possession. One minute later, Kelderman was left open and buried her fifth three-pointer of the game.  

Caely Kesten tallied seven points in the final 4:30 of the game. Northwest took its largest lead of the game at 68-43 with 2:16 left in the contest.
 
Northwest once again outscored the RiverHawks in the fourth quarter, 20-15. The Bearcats shot 57.1% from beyond the arc in the final quarter. 
 
Four different Bearcats finished with double figures in the scoring column. Peyton Kelderman scored a team-best 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three. Kelderman's five made three-pointers ties her season-high for made threes in a game. Caely Kesten finished with 12 points going 2-for-3 from three. Molly Hartnett added 11 points and a team-high six assists. Emma Atwood tallied 10 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Atwood led the team with two steals. Kelsey Fields set a career-high with 18 rebounds while adding nine points.
 
Northwest shot 38.8% from the field in the game and 38.1% from three-point range. The RiverHawks were held to just one made three-pointer in the matchup. The 'Cats outrebounded NSU by 18, had 10 more bench points, eight more points in the paint, and 12 more second chance points. Northwest won the turnover battle by four.
 
The Bearcats return to play Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Washburn at 5:30 p.m.