Box score | Season stats

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The SBU Bearcat women got back on the winning track with a 66-53 victory over the Fort Hays State Lady Tigers. The Bearcats, who are fighting for a spot in the MIAA Tournament, pulled even with Missouri Western for ninth place, two games back of Missouri Southern and Nebraska-Omaha in seventh.

SBU (7-17, 5-12 MIAA) was led in scoring by Courtney Heady with 15 points. Kourtni Williams had a career high with 14 points while Rachel Graves added 10 points. Williams also had a career high with six rebounds and shared the team lead with Whitney Malone.

"We got so much better since the last time we played - we're whole different team offensively," said SBU head coach J.C. Carter. "We didn't change personnel, but we changed mindsets. Tonight we were playing hard and our defense was good. We can't settle for anything less right now. We're taking it one game at a time."

SBU was able to open up a ten-point lead with 3:30 remaining in the first half on a three by Heady and later extended it to 13 points on a trey from Ashleigh Gallio. The Bearcats led 31-20 at the half. SBU pushed their margin to 16 points in the early second half before the Lady Tigers rallied. FHSU cut the lead to 46-41 with 8:30 to go. But SBU answered with a 15-3 run over the next four minutes to put the game away.

"We were composed and able to score off turnovers," added Carter. "Limiting turnovers in the second half was crucial."

Erica Biel led the Lady Tigers (15-9, 8-9 MIAA) with 15 points and six rebounds. The Bearcats were able to hold Naomi Bancroft to nine points, which Carter also mentioned as a key stat.

SBU is right back in action on Saturday at Nebraska-Omaha. Tipoff against the Mavericks is 1:30 p.m. from Omaha.