Women's Basketball: Hawks fall in opener at Northwest Missouri

The Rockhurst Hawks opened the 2006-07 regular season with a 73-53 loss at Northwest Missouri State Wednesday night in Maryville, Mo. Box Score

Rockhurst fell behind early as the Bearcats jumped out to a 15-4 lead. The Hawks outscored Northwest Missouri 8-1 in the final seven minutes of the first half to trail 31-20 at halftime.

A jumper by sophomore guard Erin Morrisey cut the Bearcats' lead to nine, 37-28, with 15:25 left to play. Northwest Missouri promptly went on an 8-2 run to grab a 45-30 lead at the 12:31 mark.

Morrisey led the Hawks with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Freshman center Meghan Hurley added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Rockhurst connected on 16 of 64 field goals for 25 percent shooting, while the Bearcats hit 25 of 70 shots for 35.7 percent field-goal shooting. Northwest Missouri captured the rebound battle by a 56-49 margin.

The Hawks will try to even their record at Southwest Baptist on Tuesday in a 6 p.m. tipoff.