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NWMSU Holds Off PSU to Advance to Semis
By David Boyce
Northwest Missouri's run-and-gun style builds big leads and lets big leads slip away.
That's exactly what happened Thursday afternoon in Northwest Missouri's 75-71 victory over Pittsburg State in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament.
"It's a difficult one to swallow," said Pittsburg State coach Lane Lord. "We had some great wins this year, but we've been inconsistent at times. I thought our three-point shooting let us down and I think that was the difference in the game."
The Bearcats held double-digit leads in both halves, but with 10 seconds left, Pittsburg State had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer.
The Gorillas missed their last chance to tie, allowing Northwest Missouri to maintain its 72-69 lead. Just five minutes earlier, the Bearcats were ahead 63-53.
"They did make several runs, but I thought we did a good job," said Northwest Missouri sophomore Abby Henry, who finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. "Coach called timeouts and we just had to calm ourselves down and come back at them. I thought we did a good job of handling their runs and coming right back at them."
Northwest Missouri, though, never let Pittsburg State tie or take a lead in the second half. The Bearcats improved to 14-14. Pittsburg State finished its season 14-14.
Northwest Missouri returns to action noon Saturday against No. 1 seed Washburn.
"I don't think we ever get intimidated," said Northwest Missouri sophomore Melissa Nyquist. "The key to our team is we have fun and push the ball."
Note to Washburn: the Bearcats are feeling very confident.
Will you be intimidated by Washburn, a team that has won 11 straight?
"No," Nyquist said.
"Never," said Henry.
Northwest Missouri coach Gene Steinmeyer quickly chimed in.
"We are going to give our best effort," Steinmeyer said. "If the stars part right we might win."
The Bearcats put their fans and coach on a wild, rollercoaster ride against the Gorillas.
Behind the hot start from Henry, Northwest Missouri jumped to a commanding 25-11 lead.
"We struggled taking care of the basketball early," Lord said.
The Bearcats were sailing along. But suddenly the fast-break points dried up and misses turned into Pittsburg State baskets. And just as quickly as Northwest Missouri built up a nice lead, it disappeared.
"In truth we were so close to keeping those leads," Steinmeyer said. "We had some good looks and good shots and some bounced around the rim. We just had to stay the course."
Pittsburg State closed to 30-24 and stayed relatively close the rest of the first half. The Gorillas went into half down 40-33.
"I wouldn't say it really hurt us because we've been in that position before," Pittsburg State senior DePrice Taylor said of the early deficit. "Going into the locker room we thought we could overcome it like we have before."
The second half was pretty similar to the first half. When it appeared Northwest Missouri had a comfortable lead, Pittsburg State made a run.
The 63-53 lead dropped to 68-65. And when Northwest Missouri was up 72-66 with 2:16 left, Pittsburg State closed to 72-69 with 43 seconds left.
Junior Laura Glenn came off the bench and had a huge game for Pittsburg State. She finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.
