Kearney, Neb. – Junior forward Elisa Backes had her second double double of the year and No. 14/28 Nebraska-Kearney finished strong to get by a pesky Missouri Western State team, 66-62, Saturday afternoon in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Lopers end the regular season at 19-3 and will be the third seed in the MIAA Tournament. UNK will host sixth-seed Pittsburg State (14-8) Wednesday at a time to be announced.
The Griffons, playing for the third time in four days, ended up at 6-16 but played well down the stretch. They beat Pitt on February 13 and took No. 5 Fort Hays State to the wire Thursday before falling, 77-69. Their last five losses each came by 10 points or less.
“They’ve been playing well and are well coached. They found a group that plays really hard,” UNK assistant coach Devin Eighmey said on the KRVNradio post game show. “They battled and gave great defensive effort.”
Mo West, on “Senior Day”, threw a curve ball at UNK by playing man-to-man defense instead of its patent zone. The Lopers shot a respectable 46 percent (23 of 50) but committed 17 turnovers, two off its season high. The Griffs turned those miscues into 21 points and 11 more shot attempts. Things were also tied on the glass at 35; the Lopers were plus 24 in that area in the earlier meeting between the two.
“We had a chance to stretch it but couldn’t convert at the free throw line. I thought we did enough to win the game,” Eighmey said. “We turned it over at times because of our own doing and not theirs.”
UNK led by nine in the first half but the Griffs came back and held a one-point lead early in the fourth. Things were tied at 46 when the Lopers went on a 5-0 run to get control of things. A put back bucket by Crofton senior Kelsey Sanger started the spurt and then Backes (Salina, Kan.) sunk her second triple of the day.
The lead grew to eight but the Lopers had to go to the line to keep the Griffs at bay. Kearney went 7 of 10 at the line in the fourth with Backes (6 of 8) doing most of the work. She finished with a team-high 24 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal. Backes has now been in double figures in six straight and in nine of the last 10 games.
South Dakota sophomore Trinity Law had her second straight big effort off the bench, tying her career-high of 13 points while also having four steals. She made 4 of 9 shots including a 3 of 6 effort from behind the arc. UNK was a solid 10 of 22 from long distance to have one of its best shooting days of the year.
“Elisa was great tonight and Trinity was special. She gave us some great minutes,” Eighmey said. “We’re seeing the growth in her and are excited about her future.”
Next, point guard Haley Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) 16 points on 4 of 7 three-point shooting with the Loper defense limiting Mo West to a 4 of 20 effort from downtown. Finally, Kearney held the Griffs to just eight points in the second quarter thanks to 3 of 15 shooting.
“We feel very fortunate to finish the year 19-3. This is the best Division II league in the country so it’s a testimony to our kids,” Eighmey said. “Winning is hard.
Starter Mychaell Gray and reserve Brionna Budgetts had 14 apiece to pace the Black & Gold.
