Kearney, Neb. – Redshirt sophomore reserve Shiloh McCool had another big game and No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney held Northwest Missouri State to 19 percent shooting to roll to a 59-35 win Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.
The Lopers (10-0) are off to the third best start in school history with Carrie Eighmey recording her 100th win as UNK head coach. She is now 100-57 in her sixth year; her overall head coach mark stands at 168-88 over nine seasons.
“I had no idea I was close to 100 … it’s not something I pay close attention to. I always tell our team my career is over and it’s not about my wins. It’s about their experience and what they are able to accomplish,” Eighmey said.
Kearney flashed its usual tough defense, stifling the Bearcats (4-7) to 12 of 62 from the field including 3 of 25 from behind the arc. Northwest was held to single digits in three quarters and becomes the second straight Loper opponent held under 38 points. Crofton senior Kelsey Sanger and South Dakota junior Klaire Kirsch shut down the ‘Cats top two scoring options, Molly Hartnett and Mallory McConkey, to the tune of 5 of 29 (0 of 5 threes) from the field.
“Defensively we were really good. They have the potential to score a lot of points … they have some kids that can shoot it and drive to the basket,” Eighmey said. “Our team continues to buy in at defending and rebounding at a high level and letting that carry us.”
UNK led by as many as 28 points and for 38 minutes. They were plus 14 on the glass, got 36 points in the paint and had 11 different players in the score. McCool (Pleasant Hill, Ia.) tallied a team-best 14 points 6 of 11 shooting. The forward also had four rebounds in 19 minutes and has now reached double digits in three of the last four games.
Next, junior reserve forward Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) found McCool several times for easy layups and ended with nine points, seven boards and five dimes with sophomore reserve guard Trinity Law (Brandon, S.D.) at six points and two assists. Among the starters Elkhorn junior Brooke Carlson had eight rebounds and six points in 16 minutes.
Hartnett tallied eight points, grabbed five boards and had three assists to lead the Bearcats.
“Klaire and Kelsey are both really good defenders and kind of lead us that way. They take a lot of pride in it and draw the other team’s toughest offensive players every night,” Eighmey said. “They want the assignment. It was a task today because those players were physical and take a lot of shots.
UNK heads to Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern State next week.
Kearney, Neb. – Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State got 25 points from senior forward Ryan Hawkins and 20 from sophomore forward Luke Waters to hold off Nebraska-Kearney, 73-63, Saturday evening at the Health & Sports Center.
The No. 1/3 Bearcats improve to 8-1 and are now 139-7 since the start of the 2016-17 season. Northwest won the 2018-19 Division II National Title with last years tourney being canceled. UNK, playing yet another game decided by 10 points, falls to 4-7.
“What they did to us in the last three minutes (patient offense) is what we want to be able to do other teams moving forward. They took a situation where if we hit a three its a one possession game with two minutes left … they turned that into a 10-point win,” UNK head coach Kevin Lofton said. “Thats experience, they are a well-coached team, and they obviously have good players.”
Both teams were a bit short-handed as the Cats were minus star guard Diego Bernard for 40 minutes with Loper senior forward Austin Luger (Alliance) not able to go the final 4:51 after landing on a Northwest player.
The Lopers never led and fell behind by as many as 16 points but kept battling and clawing their way back. California redshirt sophomore Myles Arnold, after scoring a season-best 16 points Thursday in a win over No. 16/22 Missouri Western, went for a team-high 23 today with Luger (16) and Bellevue lefty Cedric Johnson (12) also hitting double digits.
Northwest, who was plus seven on the glass and tallied 44 of its points down low, was up 15 early in the second half and then by eleven, 63-52, with 5:52 when the Lopers made its final move. A 9-4 spurt featured five points from Luger and two free throws by Arnold. Down 65-61 at the 3:00 minute mark, UNK saw the Cats hit six straight free throws and grab a key offensive rebound to close things out.
“It helps when you have one of the best players in the country (Trevor Hudgins) at the free throw line. He didnt miss one,” Lofton said. “They got a couple of key offensive rebounds … one they went and got and one they tipped out. They then were able to run the shot clock down.”
Hawkins went all 40 minutes and was 10 of 19 and 5 of 6 at the line to reach his point total. He also had five boards and drew five fouls. Waters sunk 8 of 12 shots and managed four rebounds in 33 minutes. Finally, Hudgins went all 40 minutes as well an had 12 points, five assists and drew six fouls. Northwest finished 15 of 16 at the line.
For UNK Arnold was 9 of 14 from the floor and 4 of 4 at the line in playing 34 minutes off the bench. Luger had six rebounds and three dimes to go along with his offensive output with Johnson making 5 of 8 shots and grabbing six boards.
“Huge game for Myles and the thing were excited about is that he did this against the top half of the league. He really showed this weekend he needs to be on the floor a lot more and thats what we plan on doing,” Lofton said.
The Lopers head to Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern State next weekend.
