Northwest's women got off to a quick start against #10 Emporia, jumping out to a 9-4 lead early. But then they fell behind 34-23 against the Hornets and then could not get over the hump in the second half as they could not buy a critical stop in order to get back in the game as they dropped a 77-67 decision in the MIAA opener for both teams. The question going into the game was whether or not their 4-0 start was for real, since two of their wins were against NAIA foes and another was against an NAIA foe that is in transition to Division II. The answer, judging from this game, seems to be that Northwest has already established themselves as an upper level MIAA contender, depending on whether they can build on the positives from Wedensday's loss. The hope is that the team will do a lot of damage come January and February following the return of Gentry Dietz to the lineup.
The game started off in ragged fashion as Northwest missed three straight layups to open up before Kyla Roehrig started off the scoring with a 3-point play. The shots would clank off the rim all night for Northwest, who somehow managed to find a way to stay in the game despite shooting 28% for the night. Roehrig added another layup and then Gabby Curtis hit a jumper and then Abby Henry cleaned up on a miss by Shelly Martin to make it 9-4.
Northwest, which had a stated goal at the beginning of the year to play with more energy than their opponents, started Tara Roach for the first time this year. Roach, a high-energy reserve post player who has come in to spark the team with her highly physical style, started this time, played the whole game, and played one of the best games of her collegiate career, getting nine points and 10 boards while playing most of the game. Having added a sweet outside jumper to her arsenal, she showed signs of life in the previous game against Peru when she came off the bench and knocked down six straight points to put Northwest up after they had fallen behind 17-12 against the Bobcats. Alexis Boeh, who had also shown a lot of energy against Peru, saw some time off the bench.
But consecutive turnovers killed Northwest's early momentum and Kelsey Balcom's layup for Emporia following a steal make it 9-8 at the 15:05 mark. Alli Volkens hit a pair of free throws to put Emporia up for the first time at 10-9. Gabby Curtis hit to tie it back up at 11, but then consecutive turnovers by Northwest turned into a jumper from Rachel Hanf and a 3-pointer from Rachel Hanf to make it 16-11 as Emporia went ahead. But then Tara Roach brought some energy to the team as the Hornets missed a wide open layup with 9:49 left in the half that would have made it seven points; Roach beat the Hornet defense down the court and got the assist from Abby Henry for a layup. Kyla Roehrig cleaned up on her own miss to make it 18-17. Haley Parker hit a free throw for Emporia following a steal, but then Alexis Boeh hit Abby Henry for a layup to tie it at 19 with 7:49 left.
Abby Henry picked up her second foul with 6:11 left; she came out shortly afterwards. Emporia responded as Taylor Negesti's free throw made it 26-21. Roach kept Northwest in the game as she got a jumper and a pair of free throws following an Emporia turnover that made it 26-25, but then Rachel Hanf hit a 3-pointer to answer for Emporia as the Hornets began to pull away. Rheanna Egli and Jocelyn Cummings both connected in the paint following back to back turnovers by Northwest as Emporia took its biggest lead at 33-25 with 2:36 left. The lead stayed between 7 and 10 points until the 1:23 mark, when free throws by Alli Volkens made it 41-29. Monai Douglass came off the bench to answer for Northwest with a 3-pointer following an offensive board by Gabby Curtis, but Jocelyn Cummings hit a layup with 2 seconds left to make it 43-32 at the break.
The critical stat from Northwest's point of view was points in the paint -- the Hornets owned a 20-12 advantage in the paint; they also outscored Northwest 13-7 in points off turnovers and 11-5 off the bench.
Northwest opened the second half with an early run as Tara Roach collected a third chance board and converted it into two free throws to start out. Taylor Negesti countered with a layup, but then Abby Henry found Shelly Martin open for a 3-pointer and then added a free throw following a steal to make it 45-38. Rheanna Egli connected for Emporia, but then Shelly Martin hit two free throws and then Abby Henry got a layup following a steal from Martin to make it 47-42 with 17:02 left.
But whenever Northwest would get close, they could not buy a bucket or a stop at critical moments to catch the Hornets. Northwest got the ball back with a chance to make it a one-possession game, but missed two shots that would have done so; Alli Volkens made it 49-42 on the other end for Emporia. The score was stuck at 49-42 for the next 3 1/2 minutes as neither side could connect. But finally, Kelsey Balcom hit a free throw to open the lids for both sides with 12:18 left. Emporia's lead grew to 52-43, but then Abby Henry got a pass from Kyla Roehrig and then Tara Roach found Roehrig open inside to make it 52-47 with 10:55 left.
But once again, the lid went back on the basket and and Northwest could not bring the lead down to one possession. They missed three layups and two free throws that would have made it a one-possession game. Finally, Alli Volkens got a layup for Emporia to make it 54-47 with 9:12 left. Back came Northwest as Abby Henry converted a steal into a layup with 8:46 left and then Gabby Curtis got a free throw after she got a defensive board on the other end to make it 54-50.
The lead fluctuated between 6 and 8 until Alexis Boeh came off the bench to hit a pair of free throws for Northwest and make it 61-57. But with Northwest needing a stop and a bucket to cut it to one or two, Rachel Hanf hit a 3-pointer with 4:50 left to make it 64-57. Again Northwest came back, using a pair of free throws from Alexis Boeh to make it five and again Emporia countered, this time with a jumper from Hanf.
With just over two minutes left, and trailing by five, Northwest got a steal from Monai Douglass and a chance to cut it to three. But Alli Volkens, who had just checked in for Emporia, blocked Abby Henry's layup attempt and Jocelyn Cummings hit two free throws for a four-point swing with 2:05 left and Northwest was forced to foul and put Emporia on the line the rest of the way.
Abby Henry did all she could to get Northwest back in the game in the second half, getting 13 of her 19 points in that frame. Also getting double figures were Gabby Curtis (11 points) and Kyla Roehrig (10 points). Roehrig had 12 boards for Northwest and Tara Roach added 10. Henry had 3 assists and 4 steals for Northwest; Shelly Martin added 3 steals. Northwest shot 28% for the game, but managed to stay in the game because they won the turnover battle 19-13; the Bearcats have won the turnover battle in all of their games so far this year.
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