MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team dropped a hard fought battle to Missouri Southern, 62-55.
 
The Bearcats end the regular season with an overall record of 14-14 and a conference record of 9-13.
 
Missouri Southern had a 13-10 advantage after one quarter. MSSU hit six field goals in the quarter compared to Northwest's four, but two of the 'Cats buckets were from three.
 
After over 11 minutes of trailing, Northwest regained the lead off a Lindsey Kelderman three-pointer to bring the score to 20-18 with 4:49 to go in the half.
 
The 'Cats held onto the lead for the remainder of the half as they took a 24-22 lead into halftime. Northwest outscored MSSU 14-9 in the second quarter.
 
Both squads had eight made field goals in the first half, with MSSU shooting 34.8% from the field and Northwest shooting 32.0%. The Bearcats were assisted on six of the eight made field goals. Northwest forced seven Lion turnovers in the half.
 
With Northwest up 27-25, Missouri Southern went on a 9-0 run before Molly Hartnett ended it with a pull up jumper. After the run, MSSU led 34-29 with 3:34 to go in the third quarter.
 
The Bearcats cut the Lion lead to three twice in the third with a Lindsey Kelderman jumper with 2:58 to go in the quarter, and then once again with :03 remaining in the quarter as Molly Hartnett converted a three-point play with a layup and a foul.
 
MSSU opened the fourth with an elbow jumper, but Emma Atwood responded with her first three of the season to cut the lead down to two points at 41-39. The Lions came down and scored again, but this time Peyton Kelderman nailed a three to bring Northwest to within one point.
 
With 7:58 to play in the game, Hartnett was fouled on a layup and once again converted the three-point play to tie the game up at 45-45.
 
Missouri Southern responded with a 6-0 run to force a Northwest timeout with 6:34 to play. After another bucket by the Lions, Lindsey Kelderman ended their run with a floater to make the score 53-47. Caely Kesten had a huge block on the next defensive possession that eventually led to a Hartnett layup. After another defensive stop, Kelsey Fields knocked down a hook shot that cut the MSSU lead to two at 53-51 with 4:21 remaining.
 
Missouri Southern extended its lead to 58-51 with just over three minutes left in the game, but Northwest managed to cut it back to a one possession game with 59 seconds remaining at 58-55. The Lions went on to knock down four free throws to seal the 62-55 victory.
 
Molly Hartnett had a game-high 23 points going 6-for-6 at the free throw line and recording a team-high four assists. Jayna Green and Emma Atwood each added eight points and one steal. Green tallied six rebounds while Atwood had a team-high with seven boards. Lindsey Kelderman finished with seven points and two steals.
 
Northwest was 20-of-59 from the field while Missouri Southern was 20-of-44. The 'Cats won the rebounding battle for the 11^th time this season, 34-32. Both teams had 22 points in the paint, but Northwest had seven more second chance points than the Lions.
 
The Bearcats will be back in action at the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City next week.