Box Score

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EDMOND, Okla. – Senior guard Taylor Lewis rattled home a 10-foot jumper with 2.8 seconds to play to lift the Northeastern State women's basketball team to a 54-53 victory over Central Oklahoma Wednesday night inside Hamilton Field House.
 
The RiverHawks (10-5, 5-2 MIAA) held their largest lead of the game at 16 points with just 9:33 left in the contest, but the Bronchos (8-7, 1-6 MIAA) went on a 22-6 run over the course of the next 8:18 to tie the contest at 50-50.
 
Senior forward Sarah Green converted a layup with 40 seconds left, but a three from Chelsi Dennis with just 17 seconds to play gave the home side its first lead of the game at 53-52.
 
NSU coach Randy Gipson called a timeout to calm his team down, and the RiverHawks looked the part in the final ticks off the clock.
 
After the team broke the press and set up the offense, Lewis collected the ball on the right wing and proceeded to dribble through the top of the post on the left side.
 
Lewis was being heavily guarded, but a well-timed pump fake forced her defender to jump early. She was able to rise above and get off a clean shot, and the ball bounced on the rim and went down as NSU regained the lead with 2.8 seconds left to play.
 
Central Oklahoma was unable to attempt a clean look as Northeastern State thwarted the comeback.
 
Lewis finished the contest with a game-high 19 points on an efficient 7-for-13 shooting. She was also 5-for-10 from distance. Sophomore guard Chelsey Stricklen tied her career high with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Fellow sophomore guard Fontana Tate scored six points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds.
 
The RiverHawks went 10-for-34 from downtown in the game. The 34 attempts were the most since a meeting with Cameron on Feb. 24, 2010.
 
The Bronchos were led in scoring by Rachel New's 13 off the bench. Whitney Dunn added 12 and Alyssa Fuxa contributed 10.
 
NSU returns to Jack Dobbins Field House for a matchup with No. 9 Washburn at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 19.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
On Chelsi Dennis hitting the three with 17 seconds left to give UCO its first lead of the game…
“Like everybody on the Northeastern State side, your heart sinks when that happens. You just have to regroup and know that there is 17 seconds left. We had an opportunity to execute something, so we just tried to get our kids together and get them calmed down. (Central Oklahoma) went to a press several possessions before that, and it slowed down our offensive momentum. We wanted to make sure we broke through their press quickly so we could get some cuts made and get a look. Fortunately, it worked out for us.”
 
On what he said to the team in the timeout following the shot…
“I told them that we've got the ball and the game was ours to win. I told them to run good offense, and not to stand around waiting for something to happen. We needed to make good cuts and take the ball to the basket. I felt like we had become tentative and I thought we needed to come out and be aggressive. We're a motion team, so we didn't really have a set play called. But we emphasized certain cuts we wanted to make.”
 
On the game-winning play…
“Taylor (Lewis) made a great cut to get open. She set her man and came across. We drove the ball and Taylor broke loose. We were able to get her the ball and she created a shot. She made an up-fake and hit the clutch shot.”
 
On getting 13 points from Chelsey Stricklen and 11 rebounds from Fontana Tate…
“It's a team game. We have different people who are off one night, and we have girls that can pick up the slack. I think that's a great sign for our team. Tosha (Tyler) has carried us plenty of times, too. I'm not concerned about her only having three points tonight. If you look around college basketball, it gets really tough playing this conference rivalry games on the road. I'm not concerned with the individual production. I just want our team to be able to collectively find a way to win. A one-point win is just as good as a 20-point win this time of the year.”
 
On facing No. 9 Washburn at home Saturday…
“Winning is good, and we've come up on the short end enough to know that we know we like winning better. There is a lot to be said for winning on the road. I think our kids are in it for the long haul. These are just going to be 40-minute battles, and you have to play the whole game. I don't care if you're at home or on the road.”
 
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