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Date: February 1, 2018
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Bolivar, MO

Bolivar, Mo. - Southwest Baptist (12-8, 4-7 MIAA) hosts a conference home game against Northeastern State (9-9, 5-6 MIAA) Thursday evening.

Previewing the Bearcats:
The Bearcats hold a 12-8 (4-7 MIAA) record on the season. They recently lost a road game against Emporia State by a final score of 81-67. Over their 20 games, the Bearcats boast the second highest points per game in the conference with 76.5 ppg and the highest free throw percentage in the conference of 83.6%. Megan Rosenbohm and Caylee Richardson make the Bearcats go. Rosenbohm is the 35th best scorer in the NCAA and the 3rd leading scorer in the MIAA with 18.8 points per game. She also collects 5.9 rebounds per game, 4.0 assists per game, a conference leading 2.9 steals per game, and makes 90.6% of her free throws. Caylee Richardson averages a near double double with 16.4 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game on 57.4% shooting from the field and 88.1% at the line.

Previewing the Riverhawks:
Northeastern State enters the matchup with a record of 9-9 (5-6 MIAA). The Riverhawks are coming off a 65-50 defeat at the hands of Pittsburg State. Cailyn Long is averaging 11.8 points per game on 44.4% shooting from the field and 78.1% at the line. Cenia Hayes chips in 9.9 points per game, while shooting 38.9% from three and makes 36.8% from the field. Lauryn Blevins averages 10.2 points per game while shooting 71.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Northeastern State scores 64.9 points per game on 40.7% shooting from the floor. They also shoot 33.9% from the three point line. They also gather 48.9 rebounds per game.

The Coaches:
SBU head coach Kelsey Keizer is in her fourth season on the Bearcat bench after leading SBU back to the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City for the first time in three years. Coach Keizer led the Bearcats to back-to-back winning seasons (16-14, 7-12 MIAA last year) in 2015-16 and 2016-17. A feat that had not been done since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Coach Keizer holds a career coaching record of 55-52 and a 26-44 mark in the MIAA.

Fala Bullock was named head women's basketball coach on April 1, 2017 by Director of Athletics and Chief Athletics Officer Tony Duckworth. With six years of head coaching experience, Bullock is 98-74 overall and within conference play she is 61-53. In her first season at Armstrong State, she led the Pirates to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, and reached the Sweet 16.

All Time Series:
The Bearcats lead 9-7 against the Riverhawks in their all time series. Southwest Baptist won both games last season by a score of 76-55 and 77-68 but lost 69-52 back in December.

Last Time Out for SBU:
(1/28/18) - Emporia, Ks. - A week after setting her career high in points against Lincoln, Bailey Rezabek reset that mark Sunday afternoon with 29 points including seven made threes. Unfortunately, the 29 points was not enough as Emporia State defeated Southwest Baptist, 81-67. With the loss, SBU's record now stands at 12-8 (4-7 MIAA) while ESU's record goes to 13-5 (8-3 MIAA). 
Rezabek scored her 29 points going 11 of 15 from the floor and 7 of 9 from deep. She added two steals in the game as well. Caylee Richardson scored 12 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Ray'Shionne Smith was the only other Bearcat in double figures with 11 points to go along with 4 assists. For the afternoon, SBU shot 43.5% (27-62) on field goals, 45.0% (9-20) on threes, and 66.7% (4-6) from the line. Points in the point were in favor of the Hornets, 52 to 26. Emporia State also won both the turnover margin and rebounding margin in the game. SBU turned the ball over 19 times while ESU gave it away 15 times. Then the Hornets owned a 46 to 26 advantage on the boards.
The first quarter both teams sprinted out the gate, scoring a combined 46 points in the quarter. With 3:08 remaining in the first frame, Rezabek banged home her second consecutive triple to hand the Bearcats an early 20-11 advantage. Rezabek scored 11 points in the quarter to help SBU to a 26-20 lead at the end of one. Early into the second quarter, Emporia State grabbed a 28-26 lead. Behind seven straight points from Rezabek, SBU regained a 37-32 lead with 4:41 left in the half. SBU extended that advantage as high as nine points and would take a 48-40 lead into halftime.
Immediately out of the break, Richardson scored a basket to hand SBU a 10 point advantage, their largest of the game. After the Hornets cut the SBU lead down 57-53, Megan Rosenbohm answered with a jumper to make it a 59-53 game. However, the Hornets would score the last four points of the quarter to give SBU only a two point lead going to the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter was all Emporia State as the Hornets outscored the Bearcats by a 24-8 margin. SBU only made three field goals in the final quarter, which led to Emporia State coming out with the 81-67 victory. 

Last Time Out for NSU:
(1/27/18) - Tahlequah, Ok. – An offensive lull in the middle quarters set Northeastern State back on Saturday, falling 65-50 to Pittsburg State at the NSU Event Center. Bailee Eldred paced the RiverHawks (9-9, 5-6 MIAA) with 13 points and finished the two game homestand with a split; Lauryn Blevins added 11 and Cailyn Long had nine.
The Gorillas (16-5, 9-3 MIAA) had a pair with 20 point afternoons with Shelby Lopez having a game high 22 points.
 Northeastern State ran out early with the lead thanks to solid inside play by Eldred who had ten points in the opening quarter, and maintained a 16-14 advantage over the Gorillas.  The RiverHawks' full head of steam came halt in the second quarter with Pitt State overtaking the lead with nine unanswered points.  A Lauryn Blevins layup with 16 seconds to the half halted the run but they trailed PSU 30-25 into the locker room.
In the second half, the RiverHawks missed their first six shots and didn't hit a bucket until Cailyn Long connected on a layup with 3:10 in the quarter. Trailing 41-28, following the Long shot, the RiverHawks closed the period on a 7-2 run to get back within eight of the Gorillas. 
Following the quarter stoppage, Pitt State opened with an 8-2 run on a pair of key three-pointers to take a 51-37 lead on the RiverHawks; Northeastern State would trail by double digits the rest of the way.
The RiverHawks finished the afternoon shooting 34.5 percent on the floor (19-55) and only connected on 3-for-12 attempts from the arc; Pitt State was 43.5 percent (27-62) on their side of the court.