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Courtney Lee vs Lincoln -- 1-20-24
Karen Penner
Courtney Lee (21) matched her season scoring high with 18 points against Northwest Missouri State.
54
Northeastern St. NE 12-12,8-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
72
Winner Northwest Mo. St. NMSU 20-5,14-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Northeastern St. NE
12-12,8-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
54
Final
72
Northwest Mo. St. NMSU
20-5,14-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Northeastern St. NE 15 14 19 6 54
Northwest Mo. St. NMSU 15 14 25 18 72

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

NW Missouri State pulls away late to down RiverHawks

MARYVILLE, Mo. (Feb. 17, 2024) – An 8-0 run midway through the third quarter put Northwest Missouri State ahead and the Bearcats followed with a dominant fourth quarter to pull away for their fifth straight win, beating Northeastern State 72-54 on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

Junior Courtney Lee matched her season high with 18 points for NSU (12-12, 8-10 MIAA). The RiverHawks are tied for eighth in the conference standings with Emporia State (Kan.). The top 10 teams in the regular season will advance to the MIAA tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

With four games remaining, NSU is three games ahead of the 11th-place team in the standings, Central Oklahoma. The RiverHawks are seeking their first MIAA tournament berth since 2018.

Northwest Missouri State (20-5, 14-5) and NSU were tied 15-15 after the first quarter and 29-29 at halftime. A pair of free throws by Lee put the RiverHawks ahead 37-36 with 6:43 left in the third quarter, but Caely Kesten hit a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play during the Bearcats' run that put them ahead 44-37 with 4:19 left in the quarter.

Patrycja Pawlata's layup pulled NSU within 44-43 before another run by Northwest Missouri State pushed its lead to 54-48 by the end of the quarter. The RiverHawks came no closer than four points the rest of the way and endured a nightmarish fourth quarter, making only 1 of 16 shots, allowing Northwest Missouri State to stretch its lead.

Kesten had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Bearcats while Jayna Green added 13 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. The Bearcats posted a 45-31 edge in rebounding and went 13 of 30 from 3-point range, compared to 4 of 15 for NSU.

Besides Lee, Halie Jones was the only other double-figure scorer for the RiverHawks, finishing with 12 points.

NSU will host its final two home games of the season next week, against Newman (Kan.) on Thursday and Central Oklahoma on Saturday, then will be back on the road for the final week of the regular season for games at Lincoln (Mo.) and Central Missouri.
 
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