BOLIVAR, Mo. --  SBU had six players in double figures and held off Northwest Missouri State 82-79 in a thriller Saturday in Bolivar.

Freshman Jaime Garrett led SBU with 18 points. Cortney Shewmaker had 14, Courtney Creed had 13, Rachel Graves and Jasmine Sanford each had 11 for SBU. Garrett also led SBU with 7 rebounds. Graves had 6 boards and 7 assists for the purple 'Cats. Rickeya McElroy had a career high 28 points for Northwest.

NWMSU would open up a 10-2 margin to start the game, but SBU would battle back to tie the game at 11 each behind the defense play of Jasmine Sanford and the SBU bench. The two Bearcat teams would remain close for the rest of the first half, with nine ties and six lead changes. The SBU bench outscored Northwest 16-0 in the first half, helping the home 'Cats to a 42-40 halftime lead.

The game remained close throughout the second frame, with the largest lead belonging to SBU, 55-49 with 13:01 left. NWMSU's final lead came with 5:47 remaining on a three-pointer by Meghan Brue. A three by Rachel Graves gave SBU a 75-72 edge with just under four minutes remaining. SBU would hit 7 of 10 free throws in last 2:20 to seal the victory.

SBU out-rebounded Northwest 41-37 and made 10 three pointers to six for NWMSU. Neither team led by more than eight points in the game.

“Jamie stepped up for us tonight,” said coach J.C. Carter. “She is playing with more confidence. She had to play a lot tonight and she delivered.  It was important for us to give Shewmaker a rest. So  the bench stepped up for us and gave us big minutes. You can look down the lineup – they all stepped up tonight. We were big on the boards tonight.  (Courtney) Creed crashed the offensive boards hard for us.”

SBU improves to 7-9 and 4-5 in the MIAA while Northwest drops to 6-10 and 2-7 in the MIAA.

SBU returns to action on the road this Wednesday from St. Joseph when they take on the Missouri Western Griffons in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.

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