MARYVILLE, Mo. – The No. 9-ranked Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team (7-2) dropped its MIAA opener to the Missouri Western Griffons, 57-48, Tuesday night. 
 
Caely Kesten led the Bearcats with 15 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Lindsey Kelderman posted nine points, three assists and three rebounds, as Molly Hartnett pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds. 
 
Brooklyn Stanley got the Bearcats on the board after an early scoring drought, as Northwest missed its first seven shots to start the game. The Griffons boasted out to a 22-4 lead after one quarter of play. 
 
A quick second quarter bucket from Kelderman and a triple from Kesten eventually ignited a short spurt from the Bearcats, cutting it to 12 with 7:50 to go in the first half. Kesten got Bearcat faithful on its feet after a three in transition, forcing a Griffon timeout, cutting the deficit to nine with 6:03 remaining. 
 
Griffon guard Alyssa Bonilla was a first-half force to be reckoned with, scoring 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, eight rebounds and four steals. Kelderman led the Bearcats with seven points, as Northwest trailed Missouri Western 34-21 at the break. 
 
Kesten helped cap a 10-0 scoring run midway through the third, cutting the Western lead to one, 36-35, with 2:23 to go. Emree Zars drew a foul with a tenth of second to go in the third, knocking down one, trailing 41-36 heading into the final quarter. 
 
Evelyn Vazquez dropped a half-court dime to Aaliyah Riley to make a two-point game with eight minutes to go. A couple of turnovers down the stretch for Northwest made it difficult to overcome its deficit throughout the fourth quarter, as the Griffons came out with the victory. 
 
The Bearcats shot a season-low 36% (18-of-50) from the floor and converted only seven of its 17 total free throw attempts. Meanwhile, Missouri Western shot an efficient 40.8% and 13-of-19 from the charity stripe. Bonilla finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals. 
 
Up Next: 
Northwest will hit the road to take on Emporia State at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 5 at White Auditorium in Emporia, Kan.