Rogers State women’s basketball (3-10, 1-6 MIAA) fell 53-50 in a hard-fought battle against Northwest Missouri (7-6, 2-5 MIAA) on Monday to close out a three-game road trip.
Bailey Kliewer led the Hillcats with her first 20-point game of the season and finished a rebound shy of a double-double with a team-high nine boards. Kaya Goldsby put up eight points with three rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block.
RSU began the game on a roll as they opened on a 7-2 run. The Bearcats responded and managed to cut the deficit to 7-6. However, the Hillcats pushed the lead back out to 11-6 going into the second quarter.
Tangee Gagau drained a three-pointer giving RSU a 14-6 lead to start the final 10 minutes of the half, but NWMSU answered with a quick 5-0 run to trim the margin to 14-11. The Hillcats countered with a 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 21-11 but would see it shrink to 21-18 going into the locker rooms.
Once again, RSU jumped out to a hot start in the third quarter with five quick points to go up 26-18. The two sides spent most of the period trading blows with short points runs. The Hillcats held a narrow 40-35 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
In the fourth quarter, the Bearcats cranked up the offensive intensity as they battled the Hillcats for the lead down the stretch. They managed to cut the margin to one point at 42-41 two minutes into the period and took their first lead of the game at 45-44 with just under five minutes left. From there, things grew tense with two lead changes and a tie over the course of the next 60 seconds. NWMSU took their largest lead of the game at 51-46 with 2:30 left in the game. Bailey Kliewer sank a layup to cut the deficit to 51-48, but the Bearcats pushed the lead back out to 53-48 with under a minute to play. Kliewer got off another jumper to get within three points at 53-50. With 11 seconds left, NWMSU turned the ball over and Kliewer pulled up from just beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded but couldn’t get the shot to fall.
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