ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Northeastern State trimmed a halftime deficit to one entering the fourth quarter, but Missouri Western used a strong closing stretch to defeat the RiverHawks 79-70 on Saturday afternoon at MWSU Fieldhouse.

NSU (16-10, 8-9 MIAA) shot a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line and received 31 points from its bench, but Missouri Western (11-15, 7-10 MIAA) outscored the RiverHawks 24-16 in the final period to secure the MIAA win.

Reese Shirey paced Northeastern State with 16 points, matching her career high in MIAA play. She connected on 6-of-11 from the floor and buried four 3-pointers while adding six rebounds. Gabrielle Tilley also finished with 16 points, going 6-for-6 at the line.

After trailing 36-32 at halftime, NSU responded with its most efficient quarter of the afternoon in the third, shooting 52.9 percent and outscoring the Griffons 22-19 to pull within 55-54 heading into the fourth.

Missouri Western answered in the final 10 minutes behind Mia Morel, who scored a game-high 26 points. The Griffons capitalized on opportunities and controlled the final two minutes to stretch the lead to nine.

Northeastern State will return home on Wednesday to host Rogers State at 5:30 p.m. inside the NSU Event Center.