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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team is set to close out a three-game road stint in Edmond, Okla. The RiverHawks (9-5, 4-2 MIAA) will face Central Oklahoma (8-6, 1-5 MIAA) at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 16 inside Hamilton Field House.
 
NSU and UCO have met 30 times in the Randy Gipson era (since 1999), and the RiverHawks own a 20-10 record in that time frame. The green and white took three of four meetings a year ago and owns a 7-3 mark in the last 10 matchups.
 
The Bronchos were selected in the preseason MIAA coaches poll to finish eighth in the conference, while NSU was picked fourth. UCO is receiving five votes in the most recent USA Today Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll released Jan. 8.
 
The new polls will be released later today, and the Bronchos are 0-2 since the latest polls were released.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCHOS
Central Oklahoma boasts an impressive 8-6 overall record but sits just 1-5 in the MIAA this year. UCO's lone conference win came Dec. 6 at Pittsburg State (70-62). Since then, the team has dropped league contests to Southwest Baptist (75-71), Missouri Western State (78-76), Washburn (62-58), Truman State (72-39), and Lindenwood (81-77). Alyssa Fuxa leads the Bronchos in scoring (12.9 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.1 rpg). Courtney Harper is the team leader in rebounding at 6.3 rpg, but she has only played four games this season. Jill Bryan averages 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg.
 
LEWIS WINS WEEKLY MIAA ACCOLADE
Taylor Lewis was named the MIAA Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week on Feb. 7. The senior guard from Broken Arrow, Okla., led Northeastern State to two victories this past week, which included a 54-44 upset over No. 10 Fort Hays State. She recorded 17 points, four rebounds, three steals, and three assists against the Tigers. FHSU was held to its lowest point total of the season in the team's first loss of the 2012-13 campaign. Lewis then scored a season high 26 points in an 85-57 win over Nebraska Kearney in just 21 minutes. She went 9-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from behind the three-point line. On the week, Lewis averaged 21.5 points, while shooting 58 percent from the field and 64 percent from downtown. This was the first weekly honor for an NSU player in the MIAA, and it was also Lewis' first weekly accolade. The last time a RiverHawk women's basketball player picked up a weekly conference laurel was Feb. 8, 2011, when Jasmine Wright was honored as the Lone Star Conference North Division Offensive Player of the Week and Cristy Nitz was named the LSC North Division Defensive Player of the Week.
 
TOPPLING A GIANT
NSU defeated No. 10 Fort Hays State 54-44 on Jan. 3. The RiverHawks held the Tigers to their lowest scoring output since Feb. 26, 2011, a span of 41 games. The win was the first for Northeastern State over a top-10 team since the squad took down No. 7 Washburn on March 13, 2010. FHSU center Kate Lehman entered the game as the nation's leading shot blocker and the second-best scorer in the MIAA. NSU held the 6-foot-4 sophomore to a season-low seven points and two blocks. She was held to her lowest point total since Dec. 30, 2011, a span of 29 games.
 
NSU RAINS SCHOOL RECORD 15 TREY'S
Northeastern State tied the school record for three-point baskets made in a single game in an 85-57 win over Nebraska Kearney Jan. 5. The RiverHawks finished 15-for-26 from behind the arc to finish with a season high in points. Senior guard Taylor Lewis led the way with six trey's. Sophomore guards Chelsey Stricklen and Fontana Tate both made three from downtown, junior guard Taylor Collins added two and senior guard Tosha Tyler added one.
 
STRICKLEN, TATE SET CAREER HIGHS
Chelsey Stricklen and Fontana Tate both scored a career-high 13 points in NSU's 85-57 win over Nebraska Kearney on Jan. 5. The duo of sophomore guards combined to shoot 9-for-15 from the field and 6-for-11 from downtown. They combined for seven rebounds, and Stricklen also dished out a career-best five assists. Tate tied her career high with 13 points against Southwest Baptist Jan. 12.
 
LEWIS, GREEN SURPASS MILESTONES
Senior guard Taylor Lewis and senior forward Sarah Green both recorded their 100th career game in the green and white Nov. 24 against Tarleton State. Senior guard Tosha Tyler is set to join her teammates with 100 career games played against Pittsburg State on Jan. 23. She has currently played in 97 career games and has made 49 starts. Lewis has made 75 career starts and has scored in double figures 62 times, which includes a stretch sophomore year where she recorded 11 straight. Green owns 44 starts, has scored in double digits 16 times and has also recorded three double-digit rebounding efforts. Lewis also knocked down her 200th career three-point basket Nov. 20 against Northwestern Oklahoma State. She owns the school record for three's made in a game (8), season (87) and career (234). Lewis surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career against Drury. She now has 1,152 points in her four-year career.
 
VETERANS PACE THE RIVERHAWKS
Six members of the Northeastern State women's basketball are currently averaging at least 4.5 points per game, with five being upperclassmen. Leading the way for NSU is senior guard Taylor Lewis, who is averaging 15.4 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game. Not far behind is fellow senior guard Tosha Tyler and her 11.8 ppg and 3.2 rpg. Senior forward Sarah Green checks in at 7.3 ppg and a team-leading 5.1 rpg, junior forward Carrington Fox currently sits at 5.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg, and junior guard Taylor Collins adds 4.7 points a night.
 
ONE OF THE BEST IN BALL CONTROL
The first NCAA statistics were released Dec. 2, and Northeastern State ranked as the top team in the country in terms of fewest committed turnovers per game. The most recent national rankings were released Jan. 13, and the RiverHawks are currently ranked fifth in the nation at just 12.1 turnovers per game this season. NSU recorded a season-low six turnovers against Southwest Baptist (Jan. 12, 2013).
 
FOX GOES OFF FOR CAREER HIGH
Junior forward Carrington Fox recorded a career-high 13 points against Emporia State Dec. 5. She shot 6 of 9 from the field and added a career-high-tying seven rebounds to lead NSU to the 63-51 upset victory over the Lady Hornets. Fox also contributed two assists and two blocks in 27 minutes.
 
SAME STARTING FIVE
The RiverHawks have used just three starting lineups all season. The first eight games featured a starting group of three seniors (guards Taylor Lewis and Tosha Tyler, forward Sarah Green) and two juniors (forward Carrington Fox and guard Katy Harsen). The last five games have seen a starting lineup of Lewis, Green, Tyler, Fox, and sophomore guard Fontana Tate. The only other starting lineup utilized this year came Dec. 14 at University of Arkansas - Fort Smith when Lewis, Green, Fox, and Tate were joined by sophomore guard Chelsey Stricklen.
 
NSU's GIPSON IN 14TH SEASON
NSU's Randy Gipson (Kentucky, '79) is in his 14th season as the RiverHawks head coach. He currently owns a 267-126 record at NSU. He has never recorded a losing season in his 13 prior campaigns at Northeastern State, and he has led the program to seven appearances in the NCAA Championship. His NSU women's basketball teams have earned two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (2004, '10), while advancing to the NCAA Second Round each of the last two seasons (2011-12). Gipson came to Northeastern State in 1999-00, and he captured six Lone Star Conference North Division Championships in a 12-year span. He also led NSU to the 2003 LSC Tournament Championship, while finishing runner up in the conference tournament on three occasions (2004, '05, '10). Gipson's 2011-12 squad ranked in the top 25 nationally in eight statistical categories. NSU was second in all of NCAA Division II in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.26), fourth in turnovers per game (12.7), fifth in scoring defense (52.2), 12th in three-point field goals made per game (7.9), 13th in field-goal percentage defense (.347), 14th in won-lost percentage (.833), 23rd in assists per game (16.1), and 24th in scoring margin (11.1). He began his career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO), where he spent 11 years leading the Lady Norse. He took NEO to a National Runner-up finish in 1991, and he was named Region II Coach of the Year three times.
 
REACHING THE 25-WIN MARK
NSU has recorded at least 25 wins and a spot in the NCAA Second Round each of the last three years. The RiverHawks posted a 28-7 mark in 2009-10, and they also advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Northeastern State finished with a 25-5 record each of the last two seasons, and the team reached the NCAA Second Round both years.
 
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN KC
The 2013 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship is set to take place inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The top 12 teams in the regular season all qualify for postseason play, with the top four earning byes to Kansas City. The first round will be contested at host sites March 5, with the fifth seed hosting No. 12, the sixth seed hosting No. 11, etc. Those four winners will join the top four seeds in KC March 8-10.
 
TRIVIA NIGHT PREMIERE
NSU Athletics will host “Trivia Night” on Saturday, Jan., 19, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center's Herb Rozell Ballroom. Jay Hannah, NSU alum, will serve as master of ceremonies. This fundraising event features a fun-filled evening complete with hors d'oeuvres, beverages for purchase, a silent auction and much more.
 
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