MIAA PREVIEW: Northwest men look to rebound from rare MIAA loss
Jan. 22—The No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri State men will have an opportunity to bounce back from a rare loss Saturday afternoon when the Bearcats travel to Newman.
Northwest (16-2, 9-1 MIAA) fell 76-75 in overtime Thursday to No. 18 Central Oklahoma. The loss also snapped a 25-game MIAA winning streak and a 23-game road winning streak, and it's the second-straight game of shooting under 50% after 12 occurrences this year.
The Bearcats face a Newman (4-10, 1-8) team that has struggled but was off Thursday due to COVID protocols within the Missouri Western men's program.
Northwest brings in the best winning margin at better than 16 points per game, while Newman's minus-5.9 average is second-worst in the league. Northwest has won both matchups since Newman joined the MIAA in 2019.
Tip is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Wichita, Kansas.
Northwest Missouri State women at Newman
The Bearcats (12-5, 7-4) snapped a three-game losing skid by handing Central Oklahoma its first home loss Thursday night behind 22 points and six assists from Molly Hartnett.
Newman (2-14, 0-10) lost 70-37 to Missouri Western on Thursday.
Despite the three-game skid, Northwest is just one loss back of third place in the MIAA and is in sixth place.
The Bearcats tip off against the Jets at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Missouri Western women at Central Oklahoma
The Griffons (13-3, 7-3) snapped a two-game skid after a pair of top-25 losses with the blowout of Newman on Thursday.
It came without head coach Candi Whitaker, who remained in St. Joseph due to COVID-19 protocols. The game included a 30-2 run by the Griffons between the end of the second quarter into the third.
Central Oklahoma (11-7, 7-5) are one game back of Western for fourth in the MIAA, led by MIAA leading scorer Kelsey Johnson (20.9 ppg). Her 9.4 rebounds are second in the MIAA.
UCO has won the last three meetings.
Brandon Zenner can be reached at brandon.zenner@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowZenner.
