Kyla Roehrig Gets 23; Bearcat Women Down Desperate Truman

The Northwest women downed a desperate Truman squad that had everything to lose as they beat them 87-69 last Wednesday to stay a game ahead of Washburn. Truman had taken Northwest to double overtime earlier this year in Kirksville; they could have won it but timely clutch shooting in both overtimes kept that from happening and Northwest came away with the 73-72 win. Truman had everything to lose as they were fighting for their playoff lives; with the loss to Northwest, last Monday's loss to Washburn, and a loss to Western in St. Joe Saturday, the Bulldogs are now tied for 8th with Hayes. Truman owns the tiebreak over Hayes by virtue of a season sweep, but must win out to be sure of the Conference Tournament.

Northwest did a much better job of playing the game at their pace this time as they put up 87 points against Truman after the game was in the low 50's in regulation last time. Having 3-point shooter Shelly Martin helped as she caught fire at the right time. Kyla Roehrig led the way with 23 points as Truman did not have an answer for her down low; she paced four Bearcats in double figures.

The game was tied at 4, but then Gabby Curtis scored off a drive and then Kyla Roehrig scored from inside and drew the foul. She missed the free throw but Gentry Dietz was there for the putback and the four point play to make it 10-4 with 16:17 left. Truman then began playing with a sense of desperation as Jennifer Conway got the hot hand and got eight Truman points in the next three minutes to keep her team in the game. She got a drive, a putback, a shot from the right side, and a pair of free throws for Truman. But Northwest countered with points from four different players as they were able to maintain a 1-5 point lead over Truman, who tried to match Northwest's torrid place.

Abby Henry's drive led to a layup from Roehrig and then Northwest switched to a zone and forced a shot clock violation; Abby Henry's driving layup made it 24-19. Alexis Boeh came off the bench and provided a ton of energy that gave Northwest a needed lift; Gentry Dietz hit her twice on kickouts; the second was when Gentry scored from inside, missed the chance for the 3-point play, rebounded her own miss, and then kicked it to Alexis. Alexis then kicked it out to Gabby Curtis for a 3-pointer to put Northwest up double digits for the first time at 33-21 with 6:48 left in the first half.

Truman tried to switch to a zone defense and rip the post hard, but then Gabby Curtis got the bal in transition, drove down the left side of the lane, and made it to the right side for a layup. Alexis Boeh then got a leaping tieup of a Truman player which led to an inside shot from Kyla Roehrig from Gentry to make it 37-23. Northwest led by as much as 16 as Abby Henry scored off a drive over three defenders and then another Henry drive created a kickout for Alexis Boeh, who hit again for Northwest to make it 43-27 before Nicole Gloor's 3-pointer made it 13 at the break.

Northwest continued to pull away at the start of the second half. Gabby Curtis scored from the right wing after a Kyla Roehrig kickout and then added a 3-point play after a drive to make it 48-30. Truman was trying to drive on Northwest to create some points but Northwest was getting the ball inside again as both Gentry Dietz and Kyla Roehrig scored inside to make it 54-25; Northwest was lobbing the ball at will inside. Shelly Martin, who had not scored up to that point, got kickouts from Gabby Curtis off a drive and Kyla from the post to make it 62-41 with 14:03 left.

Truman began doing a much better job of crashing the boards at will, going right back to what hurt Northwest in the first game; Becka McHenry, Nicole Gloor, and Amy Galey all got putbacks as Truman finally started showing the kind of scrappy play from their first meeting. Megan Sharpe scored off a steal with 9:49 left to make it 65-49 after a long scoring lull by both teams, but Gentry Dietz scored from inside and then Tara Roach kicked it out to Abby Henry for a 3-pointer and then took on two defenders and scored to make it 72-52 with 7:40 left. But then Truman began driving and crashing at will as McHenry, Breanna Daniels, and Nicole Gloor all got going as Truman closed to within 72-58.

Truman was putting in fresh legs and put on a half court trap, but Northwest was able to attack the trap and get four free throws from Abby Henry and one from Gentry Dietz to keep the game between 12 and 15. Truman was hanging around as McHenry got a steal off the trap and then added another shot from the top of the key but then Northwest went to their delay game and Abby Henry drove the middle of the lane and kicked it out to Gabby Curtis for the dagger as the MVP chants started to come down. Abby Henry then drove the lane, kicked it out to Shelly Martin, who got it to Kyla Roehrig inside with 1:04 left and Northwest cleared their bench shortly afterwards. Meridee Scott hit Candace Boeh inside in the closing seconds for Northwest.