KANSAS CITY – (stats) Sophomore guard Meghan Brue posted her second double-double of the season, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball teams fell 68-58 to the No. 1 seed Missouri Western in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament.

The Bearcats drop to 18-11 on the season. Missouri Western improves to 29-2 and advances to Sunday’s MIAA Championship game.

“I have to give our kids a lot of credit,” said head coach Gene Steinmeyer. We held in there with some strange combinations. I have to give a lot of credit to their (Missouri Western) speed.”

Northwest dropped behind 4-0 before stringing together seven unanswered points, led off by a three-pointer from junior forward Lauren Williams. A layup from junior guard Kelli Nelson at 16:28 capped the scoring, signaling the last Northwest field goal for the next four minutes.

Missouri Western used an 11-2 run midway through the half to take a 23-14 lead with 8:21 remaining. Northwest limited the Griffons to free throws for the rest of the half to pull to a 28-21 deficit by the half.

Northwest was hampered with 13.3-percent (two-of-15) shooting from beyond the arch by halftime. Both teams committed 10 turnovers by the intermission and the Griffons held a slight advantage (28-26) advantage on the boards.

The Griffons managed a 16-2 scoring run beginning with a layup from Renata deAlmedia to take a 49-31 lead with 12:15 remaining. Within the run, Missouri Western converted on four consecutive three-pointers, each coming from a different player.

A 7-0 run by Missouri Western provided a 17-point lead with 4:36 left in the contest. The Bearcats closed within 10 with 32 ticks remaining off a layup from senior guard Katie O’Grady.

Brue notched the double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Northwest in both categories. Nelson scored 13 and O’Grady 12 to round out Bearcats with 10 or more points. Brue also recorded a career-high two blocked shots on the night.

The Griffons had all five starters reach double digits in scoring, lead by Ashleigh Curry with 16 points. Tera Petersen recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Missouri Western in rebounding.

Northwest will await word on a possible NCAA tournament invitation. The Bearcats were ranked No. 8 in the latest South Central Region poll released Feb. 28. The top eight teams in the region advance to postseason play, with each of the three conferences in the region receiving an automatic bid. The NCAA will announce the tournament field March 4 at 9:30 p.m. CST, online at www.NCAAsports.com/dii.

Northwest Women vs. Missouri Western – March 3, 2007 – Semifinals
Northwest Team Tournament Notes

*Northwest now 18-11 overall.
*Bearcats are 7-18 in the MIAA tournament.
*5-4 in Municipal Auditorium.
*Gene Steinmeyer is 5-5 in the MIAA tournament.
*Northwest is 2-8 in the semifinals.
*First meeting between the two teams in the MIAA tournament.
*The last Northwest win against the Griffons came Jan. 11, 2006 – current four-game losing streak against Missouri Western.
*Northwest is 2-2 as the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
*Fifth consecutive MIAA tournament appearance – longest Northwest streak since qualifying for seven tournaments from 1987-93.
*This is the first game between the two teams on a neutral court.
*Gene Steinmeyer is 4-13 against Missouri Western.
*Northwest is 0-7 against nationally ranked opponents this season.
*21 points scored at the half are the fewest as a team since Jan. 31 against Emporia State (21 pts.).
*Northwest is 1-10 when trailing at the half.
*56.3-percent (nine-of-16) from free throw line is the worse since Feb. 21 against Missouri Western (seven-of-13, 53.8-percent).
*51 rebounds are the most since Nov. 28, 2006 against William Penn (56).
*29.6-percent (21-of-71) from the field is the worse since Jan. 31, 2007 against Emporia State (16-of-57, 28.1-percent).

Northwest Individual Tournament Notes

*Kelli Nelson
-Fourth straight double-digit scoring game – 16th of the season.
*Meghan Brue
-10 rebounds are the most since Jan. 3, 2007 against Missouri Western (11).
-Her 10 rebounds and 15 points is her second double-double this season – first was against Missouri Western on Jan. 3, 2007 (11 rebounds/31 points).
*April Miller
-First career foul-out.