Kearney, Neb. – The Southwest Baptist University women’s basketball team picked up a big conference road victory over Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday evening 65-62. With the win SBU improves to 10-3 (2-2 MIAA) on the season.
The Bearcats came out of the gate strong after falling behind 2-0 in the early moments of the first quarter. A jumper by Caylee Richardson tied the game at 2-2 before a layup from Alex Botkin, a three from Megan Rosenbohm, and a jumper from Mackenzie Skupa gave SBU a 9-2 lead with 7:52 left in the first quarter. A layup from Natalie O’Keefe pushed SBU’s lead to nine (14-5) before the Bearcats would eventually take a 20-16 lead into the second quarter.
UNK opened up the second quarter with a 4-0 run over the first three minutes of the period, tying the game at 20-20. However, the Lopers would score only two more points in the remainder of the half, as SBU used a 14-2 run to close out the second quarter with a 34-22 lead heading into the break.
In the third quarter the Bearcats pushed their lead to a game high 15 points off of a layup from Richardson before UNK started to chip away at the SBU lead. The Lopers responded with a 7-0 run, and after a pair of free throws from Morgan Henderson, another 12-0 run by UNK put the Bearcats down 42-40 with 3:15 left in the quarter. Aliyah Isaac reeled off three straight points for the Bearcats, giving SBU a 43-42 lead, but UNK re-took the lead in the final minute of the quarter as SBU trailed 47-46 heading into the final period.
Nebraska-Kearney would hold a small lead for the first five minutes of the final quarter, leading 55-51 with 5:24 to go, before the Bearcats went to work. An Alex Botkin jumper cut the deficit in half, followed by a Richardson layup to tie the game at 55-55. Strong connected on two free throws, followed by an old fashioned three point play from Skupa to cap off a 9-0 run with SBU lead 60-55 with 2:46 remaining. UNK would continue to fight, connecting on three straight free throws, but a jumper from Richardson kept a four point advantage for SBU at 62-58 with 36 seconds remaining. The two squads shot a combined eight free throws in the final 30 seconds, but the Bearcats would come away with the 65-62 victory.
Caylee Richardson had a strong game for the Bearcats, scoring a game high 19 points to go along with a game high 13 rebounds. Megan Rosenbohm was also in double-figures for the Bearcats with 11 points and 4 assists, while Alex Botkin had a game high 5 assists. As a team SBU shot 44.2% from the field, 22.2% from beyond the arc, and 60.7% from the free throw line.
The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, January 7 when they travel to Fort Hays State. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. from Hays, Kansas.
