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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team earned its first victory of the season by defeating Tarleton State 62-51 Tuesday night inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks (1-4) led by as many as 21 points in the ballgame and were led by junior guard Fontana Tate's 16 points. The TexAnns (3-1), who are currently receiving votes in the WBCA national polls, were done in by a 1-for-18 effort from behind the three-point line (5.6 percent).
 
Tarleton State held an 8-6 advantage with 16:10 to play in the first half following a layup by Shanae Lowrance, but a three-point basket from junior guard Sarah Sagely at 15:22 gave NSU a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the game.
 
Northeastern State used a 13-2 run to push ahead 24-13, and the home team would take a comfortable 31-22 lead into halftime.
 
TSU was able to get the score back within seven at 37-30, but a jumper from junior guard Chelsey Beathard at 16:38 sparked a 16-2 run that lasted all the way to the 7:53 mark.
 
The RiverHawks sat on their 21-point lead and, despite allowing Tarleton State to score a few buckets late, maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
 
Kiara Wright scored 17 points for the TexAnns, but nine of those points came at the free-throw line as she finished 4-for-12 from the field. She also pulled down eight rebounds.
 
TSU shot 32 percent (17-for-53) from the field and 89 percent (16-for-18) from the free-throw line. NSU shot 49 percent (23-for-47) from the field, 33 percent (5-for-15) from distance and 52 percent (11-for-21) at the charity stripe.
 
Tate was the only RiverHawk in double figures, but the other four starters had at least eight points. Freshman forward Che'Ron Lewis finished with nine points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Both teams turned the ball over 18 times, and Tarleton State held a 34-32 rebounding advantage.
 
Northeastern State will now take a week off before playing host to Arkansas-Fort Smith at 6 p.m. Nov. 26.
 
Scoring Summary
Tarleton State            22      29        51
Northeastern State    31      31        62
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Opening Statement…
"I felt like we were ready to win. Our performance Saturday (against Drury) was encouraging. Our kids seemed focused and hungry. I thought we played a real solid game on both ends of the floor. We sustained it until the last couple of minutes of the game. For the first 38 minutes, we played the way we wanted to play."
 
On playing so many tough teams early in the season…
"Time will tell on how much playing these types of teams will help us grow, but I think it has helped us get better faster. Our record doesn't show all of the good work yet. I've always been one to play good competition so that you can figure out what you have to get better at. I think we've done that, and I think our team is making progress on both ends of the floor. We've had all of our people (healthy and practicing) for the last several days now, and hopefully we can get some good practices in before our next games. I'm looking forward to this week of being able to practice. We've had a hectic schedule up to this point, and now we've got a chance to really get some good repetitions in practice. We need to make those (practices) count."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-