MIAA Women's Basketball Wrap: December 13

Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009

Fort Hays State 75, Missouri Western 61
HAYS, Kan. (FHSU Sports Information) -- Fort Hays State built a 17-point halftime lead and led by as many as 28 points in the second half before going on to defeat Missouri Western, 75-61.

Naomi Bancroft led the Lady Tigers with 18 points. She was 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the 3-point line. Kara Champlin came off the bench to contribute 13 points. Kara McFarland also reached double figures with 10 points. Erica Biel pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, and Kayla Klug had team highs in assists (5) and steals (4).

Jessica Koch led Missouri Western with 17 points, followed by 14 from Lauren Nolke and 12 from Kristin Bush.

Pittsburg State 77, Southwest Baptist 68
BOLIVAR, Mo. (SBU Media Relations) -- The SBU Bearcats dropped their MIAA home opener to the Pittsburg State Gorillas 77-68. SBU led 57-54 with 7:42 remaining before the Gorillas went on a 13-0 run to take control of the game.

Rachel Graves led the Bearcats with 21 points. Courtney Heady was the only other Bearcat in double figures with 12 points. Heady also led the 'Cats with six rebounds while Graves had four assists. Graves and Whitney Malone led with three steals each. Graves knocked in five treys while Heady hit four from long range.

DePrice Taylor led Pittsburg State with 18 points. The Gorillas outrebounded the Bearcats 44-23. SBU forced 20 turnovers from the Gorillas while only committing nine turnovers. Pitt State led at halftime 45-38.

Washburn 74, Truman 56
TOPEKA, Kan. (WU Sports Information) -- The 11th-ranked Lady Blues shot 77 percent from the floor in the second half and ran away from Truman 74-56 on Saturday night at Lee Arena.

Dayna Rodriguez led three Washburn players in double figures with 19 points and pulled down six rebounds. Amanda Fessenden scored a career-high 15 points, all in the second half, on five three-pointers and Hope Gregory chipped in 14. Gregory matched Rodriguez with a game-high six boards.

Jenny Dorman led TSU with 13 points off the bench, while Laura Joya, the MIAA's leading scorer, was held to a season-low five points.

Emporia State 72, Central Missouri 66
EMPORIA, Kan. (ESU Media Relations) - The Emporia State women's basketball team used a 42-31 rebounding margin to come from behind to beat Central Missouri 72-66. ESU was outshot in the game .443 to .391.

Alli Volkens scored 20 points to lead the Lady Hornets. Cassondra Boston added 16 points for ESU.

Northwest Missouri 78, Nebraska-Omaha 69
MARYVILLE, Mo. (NWMSU Media Relations) -- Gabby Curtis scored a career-high 27 points to lead Northwest Missouri to a 78-69 victory over Nebraska-Omaha Saturday evening in Maryville.

Twenty-two of Curtis' points came in the second half where she shot 8-of-12 from the floor. Curtis also led the Bearcats with five steals and added four boards and three assists. Gentry Dietz had her second consecutive double-double with 17 points and hauling down a career-best 14 rebounds. Dietz also had a career-high six blocks in the win. Abby Henry had 13 points of her own and Emily Hauder added 10 on a perfect 4-4 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe, Hauder also had six rebounds.