ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Graduate guard Caely Kesten scored a game-high 20 points, and senior forward Kelsey Fields recorded her 12th career double-double, leading the Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team to a 54-47 victory over the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons in its opening game of the Central Region WBB Showcase at Civic Arena.
 
With the win, Northwest improves to 2-1 on the season, while Minnesota State Moorhead drops to 0-1.
 
Kesten was a standout offensively, registering a career-high six three-pointers (6-of-9) as part of her 20-point performance. Fields added 14 points, 15 rebounds (seven offensive), and three blocks, asserting her dominance in the paint. 
 
Northwest jumped out to an early 12-3 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter, thanks to Kesten's three early triples. The Bearcats managed just three more points in the final minutes of the quarter but still finished ahead, 15-7.
 
Kesten continued her hot shooting in the second quarter, hitting another three-pointer to start the period. Lindsey Kelderman extended the Bearcats' lead to 21-9 with a three-pointer of her own at the seven-minute mark. However, a scoring drought for Northwest allowed MSUM to close the gap, and the Bearcats led 23-14 at halftime.
 
At the half, Northwest had shot 8-of-30 from the field and 6-of-19 from three-point range, while holding MSUM to 4-of-28 shooting and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. Kesten led the way with 12 points, hitting 4-of-6 from deep. Brooklyn Stanley was the next highest scorer with four points, and although Molly Hartnett didn't score, she contributed with six rebounds and five assists.
 
Kesten's sixth three-pointer of the game—a new career high—gave the Bearcats a 35-29 lead with a minute remaining in the third quarter. Fields grabbed her 10th rebound, and the score remained 35-29 at the end of three.
 
In the fourth, Fields converted two free throws to push Northwest's lead to 37-29. However, MSUM responded quickly, closing the gap to 37-33 in just 49 seconds of game time. The Dragons hit their first three-pointer of the game around the five-and-a-half-minute mark, cutting Northwest's lead to a narrow 41-38.
 
Fields kept the Bearcats in control, grabbing Kesten's missed shot and scoring a putback with an and-one, increasing the lead to 44-38 with about four minutes left. Hartnett then drove to the rim for her first points of the game with 2:30 remaining. A 6-0 run by the Bearcats extended their lead to 50-40 with 1:50 left.
 
Free throws from Emree Zars and Hartnett in the final minutes sealed the 54-47 victory for Northwest.
 
The Bearcats finished shooting 17-of-58 from the field and 9-of-30 from three-point range. Meanwhile, they held MSUM to just 16-of-51 shooting and 2-of-8 from beyond the arc. Northwest capitalized on 17 MSUM turnovers, scoring 25 points off them.
 
Under head coach Austin Meyer, the Bearcats improve to 20-1 when holding opponents to under 50 points.
 
Up Next: 
Northwest will return to Civic Arena for its final game of the Central Region WBB Showcase tomorrow. Nov. 9 at 2:45 p.m., against the top-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks.