Maryville, Mo. – In a matchup between two schools with a Bearcat as the mascot, the purple Bearcats reigned victorious against Northwest Missouri State Saturday afternoon. The win improves SBU to 7-17 (3-12 MIAA).
 
The teams traded three pointers to begin the game, SBU's coming from Laura Vierkant. On Northwest's following possession, Vierkant stole the ball away and made a layup. The teams were neck and neck most of the first quarter with Northwest taking a 16-14 lead going into the second quarter. It took nearly two and a half minutes for either team to get on the board in the second, but Caylee Richardson made two free throws to tie things up at 16 each. Shortly after, Northwest took a 5 point lead on a layup and three pointer. Caylee Richardson then converted a successful and-one, making the score 19-21. Northwest missed a three on their following possession, leading to a Madison Strong good three pointer to take the lead. The teams would swap leads once more, with SBU taking a 30-29 lead into halftime.
 
The SBU Bearcats came out of the break extremely hot, doubling their score in the third quarter. The quarter started with two Caylee Richardson free throws and a barrage of three pointers from numerous Southwest Baptist players. Bailey Rezabek hit the first one, followed by Caylee Richardson, then Rezabek again, and then Tibbits. That stint gave SBU an 11 point lead with 6:19 remaining in the quarter, forcing Northwest to take a timeout and break up the flow of SBU's offense. Northwest was able to get within 7, but the three was deadly once again. Megan Worthington and Laura Vierkant hit back to back three's followed by a Caylee Richardson layup to boost SBU's lead to 15. Vierkant and Tibbits hit three's again before the quarter ended, stretching SBU's lead to 18 at the end of three.
 
If Southwest Baptist wouldn't have scored at all in the fourth, they still would have won thanks to the outstanding third quarter. However, the Bearcats did score more, starting with a Caylee Richardson layup from RayShee Smith. Northwest came within 14 a few times in the quarter, and getting within 13 once, but SBU maintained a steady lead. The game ended with a final score of 73-54.
 
Caylee Richardson picked up her 5^th double-double of the season, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the win. She also collected 5 assists, made 1 block, and stole the ball twice. Laura Vierkant had 13 points, going 3-4 from three point range. Regan Tibbits was the other Bearcat scoring 10 points.
 
SBU returns home for their final two home games, taking on Missouri Western on Thursday, February 21 at 5:30 PM.