Missouri Western had been an MIAA tailender the past few years after having been a perennial powerhouse for a long time, but proved that they were a team on the rise when they handed nationally ranked Washburn its first loss of the season, a 60-41 drubbing in St. Joe. The Griffons also lost by only seven to Division I Missouri, 67-60. They have been a dominant team at home, winning all their games and going 6-0. However, they have struggled on the road, only going 1-4. Having a core group of people who have played together under new coach Lynn Plett for the last three years, they were bound to do better this year.
Northwest jumped out to a 6-0 lead aided by the strong early play of Tara Roach and Gabby Curtis; Curtis' drive and lob to Kyla Roehrig started the scoring; Roach kicked out to Curtis on the wing and then cleaned up after an Abby Henry steal. But then Western came back as they showed the kind of play that made them one of the top teams in the MIAA for the last decade before rebuilding the last few years. During those years, they always had a ton of 3-point shooters and were capable of lighting it up at anytime; Breanna Saline knocked down a 3-pointer and then Mound City product Kallie Schoonover hit another one as the Griffons fought back to tie at 10.
Western gave Northwest all sorts of problems on defense as they would simply push it right down the court the second the ball went in the net for Northwest and create all sorts of matchup problems for them. Consequently, they were able to match Northwest's pace for the next five minutes and take a 21-19 lead at the 10:27 mark. But Northwest began to get on the line and went back in front despite struggling from the free throw line during the next stretch; free throws by Tara Roach, Gentry Dietz, and Kyla Roehrig and a pass from Meridee Scott to Dietz inside put Northwest back in front 24-21. Scott then cut backdoor following an offensive glass from Kyla Roehrig and then Abby Henry, who had been missing a ton in the early going, finally got untracked with a pullup three as she caught Western napping on defense to make it 29-21 with 2:14 left.
But then Western played their typical opportunistic ball as they took Henry's shot out of the net, pushed it right back up the floor, and got it to Breanna Saline for a baseline 3-pointer to get them the momentum going into the lockerroom. The Griffons continued to chip away as Jessica Koch broke down the floor after another Northwest make with 18 seconds left and converted it to cut the lead to 36-33. Koch then followed with a steal and drive to make it 36-35 to start the second half and then pushed it up the floor following another Northwest basket and got it to Rachel Luteyn in the high post to make it 38-37 with 19 minutes left in the game. This was the sort of opportunistic basketball that led Northwest coach Gene Stienmeyer to predict to the News-Press that the Griffons would finish in the top four in the conference this year after the game.
But then a five-point play for Northwest swung the game in their favor as Gabby Curtis found Kyla Roehrig inside. Western snatched it out of the net and tried to push it up the floor like they had so many times to that point, but then Kyla Roehrig hustled back on defense and blocked a shot on the other end and triggered a fast break for Northwest. Abby Henry pushed it up the floor to Gabby Curtis, whose 3-pointer gave Northwest some breathing room again at 43-39. From there, Northwest began to establish its post game inside as Gentry Dietz scored the next five points as Gabby Curtis found her inside, Dietz hit a free throw, and then grabbed a putback to make it 48-41. Alicia Bell slipped inside to cut it to five, but then Gentry worked a perfect high-low with Kyla Roehrig to draw the foul and then Gabby Curtis got the putback and made one out of two. Roehrig then converted a putback into a 3-point play to make it 54-43 with 12:27 left. It was this sort of offensive rebounding cited by Western's players and coach as one of the main reasons for their loss.
Gabby Curtis took over from there, getting a drive and fingerroll to go in, making one out of two free throws off an Abby Henry steal, and then getting an inbounds pass from Henry to make it 59-46. Breanna Saline hit a baseline 3-pointer, but then Tara Roach skipped it to Abby Henry to counter it with a 3-pointer of her own to make it 62-49 with 10:32 left.
But then Alicia Bell did all she could to get her team back in the game as Western went back to pushing it up the floor after made shots on the other end as she hit a pair of free throws. She then followed with a reverse layup and then Lauren Nolke hit a 3-pointer from the left side to make it 62-56 with 9:33 left. Western put on a half court trap to try and extend the run and they got a steal, but then Abby Henry blocked Jessica Koch's shot and Shelly Martin drove the left wing on the other end to make it eight again. But then Nolke hit another 3-pointer with the taller Tara Roach in her face to make it a five-point game at 64-59 with an eternity, 8:35 left.
Kyla Roehrig got a pair of putbacks to make it 68-59, but then Western kept right on coming as Luteyn hit from the right baseline and then Bell slipped inside yet again to make it five again. Shelly Martin found Kyla Roehrig inside and Gentry Dietz got a putback to make it 72-63, but then Alex Noble hit her only shot of the night and then Bell slipped inside yet again to make it 72-67 with 3:32 left. Gentry Dietz was fouled and only made one out of two free throws, meaning that Western could make it a one-possession game with a 3-pointer. But Kallie Schoonover missed the 3-pointer and Northwest broke the ensuing press and Abby Henry hit two free throws to make it 75-67. But then Breanna Saline hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to make it 75-70 with 2:14 left.
All Western needed was a pair of stops and they would be caught right back up. Abby Henry missed a runner after Northwest ran down the clock to 1:44, but Gentry Dietz was there for the offensive board and hit one out of two to make it 76-70. Dietz missed the back end of the 1-1 and Jessica Koch had a layup attempt, but she missed it with 1:37 left, allowing Northwest to run some more clock. But Northwest missed three layup tries at the basket and Breanna Saline converted a putback into a 3-point play to make it 76-73 with 51.9 seconds left.
Missouri Western put on the press and Northwest had trouble getting it in, spending the first 18 seconds in the backcourt (there is no 10 seconds rule in women's basketball in the NCAA). But with Northwest in danger of a shot clock violation, Western bailed them out as Alicia Bell committed a foul and put Abby Henry on the line with 27.9 seconds left and Henry made out out of two to make it 77-73. That was a critical mistake as Western still needed two trips down the floor to catch Northwest. Western called timeout and set up a play, but for some reason, Alicia Bell, who had done so well in getting her team back into the game, didn't run the play and instead, freelanced and tried for an out of control runner that was not there as Western coach Lynn Plett slammed his clipboard on the scoreboard table in frustration. Gabby Curtis got the ensuing board and hit both free throws to make it 79-73. Lauren Nolke missed a long runner on the other end and Gentry Dietz got the defensive board and got it to Curtis, whose free throws with 5.4 seconds left put the game out of reach.
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