William Jewell hands Bearcat women first loss

Northwest Missouri State's undefeated start came to an end Saturday night with a tough-to-swallow 59-55 loss to William Jewell in the final game of the Winstead-Reeves Classic at Bearcat Arena.

The Bearcats took a 54-45 lead with 4:29 left, but were outscored 14-1 the rest of the way.

Their lone point in that span came on a free throw by Monique Stevens to go ahead 55-54 lead with 21 seconds left.

On the next possession, William Jewell's Jessie Wheeler made her third three-pointer of the game with five seconds left to put the Cardinals on top 57-55.

Northwest committed its 25th turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Jewell's Chelsea Meeks hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left to effectively end it.

Northwest fell to 3-1 on the year, losing for the first time under new head coach Mark Kellogg after three straight wins by an average of 34.7 points.

This was Northwest's second consecutive loss to William Jewell at their home tournament.

Northwest shot a higher percentage from the field and from three than Jewell, but was undone by a season-high 25 turnovers and six missed free throws. Jewell, which shot just 33 percent and 4-17 from three, made 17-23 free throws and 12-15 in the second half.

Starting her first game, Meridee Scott led Northwest with 14 points on 6-9 shooting.

Ashleigh Nelson came off the bench for 12 points, a night after hitting six first half three's and scoring a career-high 18 points.

They were the only two Bearcats in double-figures.

Meeks led all scorers with 18 points, with half of that coming at the foul line. Holly Switzer pitched in 17 points and was 7-9 at the foul line. Wheeler was Jewell's third double-digit scorer with 13 points.

Northwest jumped out to leads of 6-0 and 10-3 and stayed in front for the first 19-plus minutes of the half.

Jewell took its first and only lead of the half on a pair of Switzer free throws with 54 seconds left.

A three by Ashley Thayer with four seconds left gave the Bearcats a 23-21 halftime lead.

Jewell grabbed a brief two-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half and didn't lead again until the closing seconds.

Northwest returns to the hardwood Friday to play Texas Women's College in the opening game of the Colorado Christian Tournament in Denver, Colo.

Friday's Results

The Northwest Missouri State women's basketball team opened up the Winstead-Reeves Classic with a 93-46 victory over Southwest Minnesota State Friday night.

Ashleigh Nelson led all scorers at the half with career-high 18 points, all coming in the first half on six three-pointers.

Northwest shot 52.6 percent from the floor as they went into halftime with a 53-21 lead.

The Bearcats didn't let up in the second half as they added 40 points and held Southwest Minnesota State to only 25 points of their own.

In all, the Bearcats had five players in double figures.

Annie Mathews and Maggie Marnin both finished the game with double doubles. Mathews had 10 points and 11 rebounds as Marnin posted 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Northwest shot 50 percent as a team from the field.