Northwest's magic carpet ride continued as they set a school record for wins, getting their 26th win with their 92-73 dismantling of Texas Women's College in the first round of the National Tournament. They did it by shooting a torrid 72% in the first half against a scrappy Pioneer squad that Coach Gene Steinmeyer said resembled both Truman and Southern, two MIAA teams that had given Northwest trouble this year. But Northwest used a 27-point outing from Gentry Dietz as well as five players in double figures to get the win. Both Abby Henry and Gabby Curtis nearly got double doubles as Abby got nine assists and Gabby added eight as Northwest was able to feed both Kyla and Gentry at will. Northwest beat Texas Women's at the free throw line 23-7 and beat them on the boards 34-24. Kyla had 14 of her team's 34 boards and Dietz added eight. Northwest shot 65% from the field for the game after shooting "only" 58% in the second half. Every starter shot at least 50% from the field and Tara Roach game off the bench as Northwest's sixth option, getting seven points.
The 26 wins were the most from Northwest since the 1983-84 squad coached by Wayne Winstead got 25 wins after winning their first 20 games to start out with. The 2003-2004 squad that went to the nationals got 24 wins.
Northwest made their first six shots from the field in building up an 18-4 lead five minutes into the game. Gentry Dietz opened with a jumper right off the bat and then added two free throws and another jumper as gabby Curtis got her the ball. Abby Henry pushed it right up the floor after Taja Guerin had cut it to 6-4 for a layup and then added a jumper following a block from Gabby Curtis and defensive board from Kyla Roehrig. Kyla then fed Shelly Martin for a 3-pointer, followed by a free throw from Kyla. Gabby Curtis hit Gentry in the paint and then Abby Henry got a defensive board and fed Gabby Curtis in transition to make it 18-4 at the 14:56 mark.
Texas Women's fought right back as Northwest finally missed one and Brooke Shepherd for a jumper. Kayla Weaver added a fast break and then got a steal and hit a free throw. Taja Guerin got two free throws to make it 18-11 with 13:23 left. Gentry Dietz hit a layup off a pass from Abby Henry, but a jumper from Tabbatha Thurmond and a 3-pointer from Brooke Shepherd cut it to five at 21-16 with 11:59 left. The Pioneers had a chance to cut it to two, but Kyla Roehrig got a steal which led to a 3-pointer from Abby Henry to make it eight again at 24-16 with 11:22 left in the first half.
The lead stayed between six and eight as both teams went through a stretch where they turned the ball over a lot, but then Kyla got another steal which led to a jumper from Gentry Dietz off a pass from Abby Henry to get it back into double digits again at 28-18 with 9:15 left. Brooke Shepherd's 3-pointer cut it to 28-21 with 8:38 left but Abby Henry hit two free throws and then found Kyla Roehrig in the paint to make it 32-21 with 7:35 left following a TWU turnover.
TWU began following the lead of Missouri Western and pushing it right back up the floor following a make and Jessica Hanna's layup and 3-pointer cut it back to 32-26 at the 6:35 mark. Northwest had a pair of turnovers during that stretch, but then Abby Henry hit Shelly Martin for a 3-pointer to get them back on track. Gabby Curtis' 3-pointer put Northwest back up 41-30 with 4:03 left, but Tabbatha Thurmond answered with one of her own to make it 41-33 with 3:25 left.
Taja Guerin's jumper with 2:17 left brought TWU back to within five at 42-37 but Northwest finished strongly as Texan Women's missed four straight shots to end the half. In the meantime, Gabby Curtis found Gentry Dietz in the paint, Shelly Martin hit two free throws, Gabby Curtis hit a jumper, and Gentry Dietz hit a layup to put Northwest up 50-37 at the half.
Points in the paint were big for Northwest as they outscored TWU 25-12 in that category. They also outscored TWU 9-5 on points off turnovers and 9-4 in fast break points.
Taja Guerin opened the second half with a layup and then followed with a 3-pointer to make it 50-40, but Texas Women's could not get under double digits as Gentry Dietz hit Kyla Roehrig, who had been quiet in the first half, with a layup. The teams traded buckets but then Gentry Dietz hit a jumper and then Abby Henry hit two free throws following a turnover to make it 14 again at 58-44 with 16:03 left. The teams traded buckets for the next minute and a half as Kayla Weaver got a alyup and Jessica Hanna got layups for TWU and Gabby Curtis hit free throws and Shelly Martin found her for a layup for Northwest.
The Bearcats finally broke the 14 point barrier as Gabby Curtis got a steal and hit Tara Roach for a layup and Kyla Roehrig got two free throws following a missed 3-pointer as she cleaned up on the offensive glass to make it 66-48. Jessica Hanna countered with a jumper, but Kyla Roehrig found Gentry Dietz for a layup and Abby Henry found Gabby Curtis for a 3-pointer to make it 71-50 with 12:22 left. Jessica Hanna continued to have the hot hand for Texas Women's, but Tara Roach cleaned up on a miss to make it 73-52 with 10:20 left. Northwest continued to pull away as Abby Henry got a layup off an assist from Kyla following a ball that went out of bounds off TWU; Gabby Curtis hit Gentry Dietz for a layup, Abby Henry hit Shelly Martin with a 3-pointer and then Gentry Dietz for a layup to give Northwest its largest lead of the night at 82-52.
Northwest struggled through the next stretch as TWU made one last effort to get back in the game. Taja Guerin's 3-point play gave them new life again and Guerin got a layup following a turnover. Brooke Shepherd got a steal and drive and then a 3-pointer, Guerin got a pair of free throws, and Tiandrea Dixon got on the board for the first time of the game with a 3-pointer to make it 85-69 with 3:44 left.
TWU had a chance to get closer, but Gabby Curtis made an MVP play by getting a steal right at the right time and that turned into free throws from Gentry Dietz to break the run. Kyla Roehrig blocked Guerin's layup attempt to lead to a Curtis score to make it 89-69 and TWU didn't get closer than 18 the rest of the way.
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