Press Release

Jayson Huett

Feb. 21, 2011

This week in Bearcat Athletics

Dillon Starzl

Northwest Missouri State basketball will finish its regular season, track and field heads to Central Missouri for the indoor MIAA Championships and baseball begins its 2011 season in Texas this week in Bearcat Athletics.

The Bearcats men's and women's basketball teams will end their regular seasons this week with a pair of conference doubleheaders. First, on Wednesday evening it is Senior Night from Bearcat Arena as Northwest hosts Southwest Baptist. The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow.

On Saturday, Northwest travels to Joplin, Mo., to face Missouri Southern in the finale. The Bearcat men look to be playing for a spot in the MIAA Tournament next week, while the Northwest women hope to clinch their first MIAA title since they were co-champions with Central Missouri in 1983-84 season.

The men (9-15, 7-13 MIAA) are coming off of a split last week, where they crushed Truman 89-46 and fell at Central Missouri 66-56. DeShaun Cooper averaged 26 points per game last week and scored 31 points for the second time in three games. The Baptist men are 11-15 overall and 8-12 in the MIAA. Southern is 21-3 overall, 17-3 in the league and are ranked eighth in the country.

The Bearcat women (21-3, 17-3 MIAA) won both of their games last week, defeating Truman 87-69 and Central Missouri 88-74. Kyla Roehrig averaged 21 points, 9.5 rebounds and four blocks per game last week. Roehrig is now the new single-season record-holder for blocks in a season at Northwest with 63 rejections. Southwest Baptist is 8-16 overall and 5-15 in the MIAA. Missouri Southern is 15-9 overall and 13-7 in conference play.

Indoor track and field will head back to Warrensburg, Mo., for the second-straight weekend and third time this season for the MIAA Indoor Championships held Friday-Sunday. Northwest is coming off a very solid weekend at Central this past week. Kate Walter took first in the weight throw with a throw of 56-5.75 feet. Eric Rickert was second in the shot put, with a toss of 52-6.75, Tyler Shaw won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.11 seconds and Rachel Lewis took first in the 60-meters with a time of 7.70. All four provisionally qualified this past weekend in their respective events.

Northwest baseball will begin its 2011 season on Saturday and Sunday as the Bearcats travel to Canyon, Texas, to face West Texas A&M in a pair of doubleheaders. Each day will begin at noon. The Bearcats are led by Darin Loe who enters his 12^th season as the skipper for the Bearcats. Northwest finished last season 20-34 and qualified for the MIAA Tournament in the final series of the season, taking three-of-four against Washburn.

Softball heads to the Missouri Southern Tournament this weekend and will face Rockhurst, Southwestern Oklahoma, Quincy and Wisconsin-Parkside. The Bearcats are 2-2 on the season after a trip to Oklahoma last week.

Schedule of events: