Northwest's women came tantalizingly close against #4 Washburn before dropping an 82-79 heartbreaker to drop its second straight Saturday night. After starting off by winning its first four, they have dropped their last two. If winning is contagious, then losing is contagious as well -- Wednesday's game at Pittsburg State becomes a must-win for them. It will not come easy -- in the MIAA, every game is tough and anybody can beat anybody else on any given night. Just ask Missouri Western's women -- the recent doormats of the MIAA threw a scare on the road at Emporia Saturday, leading the Hornets at one point in the second half before falling by 10.
For the first time all year, Northwest lost the turnover battle, only forcing 11 Washburn turnovers while surrendering the ball 13 times. But they shot the ball well, shooting 47.5% from the field, which kept them in the game. They trailed by as much as 19 in the second half, came back to take a one-point lead, only to lose in the final seconds to the Lady Blues.
Washburn threatened to blow Northwest right out of the gym in the early going as 3-pointers by Laura Kinderknecht and two from Alyssa Mullen made it 9-2 right off the back. The lead grew to 15-7 behind free throws from Naudia Campbell before Kyla Roehrig's layup following a blocked shot that would have made it 17-7 began Northwest's comeback bid. Shelly Martin (21 points) found Roehrig again underneath, Roehrig scored again, and then Melissa Nyquist found Shelly Martin for a 3-pointer. Abby Henry's (20 points) jumper with 11:10 left put Northwest in front for the first time at 18-17.
Northwest pushed the lead up to four at 21-17 with 10:34 left as Abby Henry hit a 3-pointer and then Emily Hauder scored in the paint to make it 23-19 with 9:58 left. The score was stuck there for over two minutes until Alyssa Mullen and Dana Channel hit layups to tie it at 23 for Washburn with 7:04 left.
Abby Henry picked up her third foul with 5:56 left and Washburn up 26-24, but then Kyla Roehrig hit Gabby Curtis for a 3-pointer and then Shelly Martin found Kyla in the paint to put Northwest back up 29-26 with 5:03 left as the Bearcats rallied despite the absence of their leading scorer. Laura Kinderknecht hit a pair of free throws, sending Gabby Curtis to the bench with her third foul, but then Ashley Thayer came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer to make it a four point lead for Northwest at 32-28 with 4:32 left. But then Washburn struck back as they hit two straight 3-pointers, getting shots from Dana Elliott and Megan Lassley. Stevei Schultz added a layup as Northwest had two consecutive turnovers during the stretch. But Northwest closed the gap to two at the half as Meridee Scott hit a 3-pointer and Shelly Martin and Tara Roach hit jumpers as Northwest closed to within 41-39.
The key stat was the fact that Washburn was beating Northwest at its own game -- at the half, they had outscored Northwest 10-0 off turnovers and 5-0 in fast break points. Northwest led 16-12 in points in the paint and 11-7 in bench points.
In a lot of games between the favorite and the underdog, the underdog sometimes plays the favorite tough in the first half only to fold in the second. Washburn threatened to take control right off the bat as they got off to a fast start like they did in the first half. Stevi Schultz hit a 3-pointer just six seconds into the second half as Washburn opened the game on an 8-2 run that made it 49-41. Following a Northwest timeout, Shelly Martin hit a 3-pointer as Abby Henry found her open, but consecutive layups from Washburn gave them their biggest lead of the night at 53-44 with 17:35 left.
The avalanche continued as Washburn used a 13-0 run to take their biggest lead at 62-44. Northwest missed three layups during the run and everything Washburn was throwing up on the other end was going in. This was a typical game for Washburn -- get the one huge run that would crush the life out of the opponent.
Finally, Alexis Boeh came off the bench and hit Abby Henry for a layup to stop the bleeding and Henry converted a 3-point play to break the run with 14:25 left. There was a media timeout before the free throw and the boxing phrase "saved by the bell" was very relevant here.
Washburn pushed the lead back up to 66-47 behind free throws from Naudia Campbell with 12:46 left, but then Northwest made some momentum-changing plays that got them back in the game. Shelly Martin hit a 3-pointer and then got a steal and drive to make it 66-52 as Northwest finally began playing their game and forcing turnovers. Melissa Nyquist followed with another steal and Northwest converted that into a pair of free throws by Monai Douglass. Following another turnover by Washburn, Kyla Roehrig missed a layup but Abby Henry cleaned up and hit two free throws to make it 66-56 with 11:02 left.
Stevi Schultz hit a 3-pointer to put Washburn back up 13, but then Tara Roach grabbed a missed free throw and hit two free throws for Northwest. Roach then followed with a steal and drive to get the lead back under double digits at 69-60 with 9:14 left, still plenty of time.
All of a sudden, things began working in Northwest's favor. Kyla Roehrig cleaned up on a missed 3-pointer. Abby Henry followed with a 3-pointer and then Monai Douglass hit Henry for a 3-pointer that made it 69-66. Washburn then missed a layup and then Shelly Martin pushed it up the floor and turned it into a layup that made it 69-68 with 5:33 left. Laura Kinderknecht countered with a layup with 5:01 left, but then Shelly Martin answered again, this time with a 3-pointer to tie it at 71.
Laura Kinderknecht hit a jumper with 2:56 left to put Washburn back up 76-72, but then Northwest rallied again. Kyla Roehrig cleaned up on a missed 3-pointer and then Monai Douglass got a layup after a missed layup on the other end and a defensive board by Tara Roach to tie it at 76 with 1:57 left. Cassie Lombardo hit a layup for Washburn, but then the Lady Blues went for the dagger and missed as Alyssa Mullen missed a 3-pointer with 1:01 left. Seven seconds left, Abby Henry, one of the best clutch shooters in the MIAA, hit a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left to give Northwest its first lead since the first half at 79-78 with 54 seconds left.
But just like last time against Emporia, Northwest couldn't buy a stop when they needed one. Alyssa Mullen got a layup with 30 seconds left to put Washburn back up 80-79 and then Shelly Martin missed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left that would have put Northwest back up by two. Megan Lassley hit a pair of free throws for Washburn with three seconds left and then Henry's 3-pointer at the buzzer missed.
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