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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team heads to Emporia, Kan., following a midweek bye. The RiverHawks (17-7, 12-4 MIAA) will meet Emporia State (16-7, 11-4 MIAA) at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 23 inside White Auditorium (5,000).
 
Northeastern State is 1-3 against Emporia State since the RiverHawks joined the NCAA in 1996-97. NSU picked up its first win in the series on Dec. 5 when the team earned a 63-51 win in Tahlequah. ESU took the first meeting, a 76-45 decision in the 2010 NCAA Sweet 16. The Lady Hornets also swept the home-and-home series last year.
 
Emporia State was selected in the preseason MIAA coaches poll to finish third in the conference, while NSU was picked fourth.
 

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	24	Sarah Green	5-9	Sr-3L	7.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg	Tulsa, Okla.
F	44	Carrington Fox	5-11	Jr-2L	4.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg	Tulsa, Okla.
G	10	Taylor Lewis	5-7	Sr-3L	16.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg	Broken Arrow, Okla.
G	12	Tosha Tyler	5-7	Sr-3L	11.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg	Vinita, Okla.
G	21	Chelsey Stricklen	5-8	So-1L	6.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg	Pryor, Okla.
(RV) Emporia State's Probable Starters
F	5	Jocelyn Cummings	5-10	Sr.	6.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg	Overland Park, Kan.
C	35	Merissa Quick	6-3	So.	11.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg	Cheney, Kan.
G	4	Rachel Hanf	5-9	Sr.	13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg	Paola, Kan.
G	10	Haley Parker	5-8	Jr.	4.0 ppg, 2.0 apg	Lawrence, Kan.
G	11	Laura Patrick	5-10	Jr.	14.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg	Hutchinson, Kan.

 
SCOUTING THE LADY HORNETS
Emporia State is currently 16-7 overall and 11-4 in the MIAA. The Lady Hornets recently had their nine-game win streak snapped by Pittsburg State in Emporia, which was also the first loss at home by ESU this season. Laura Patrick leads the squad in scoring at 14.4 ppg, while Rachel Hanf is second (13.0 ppg) and Merissa Quick is third in scoring and second in rebounding (11.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg). Desiree Wylie leads Emporia State in rebounding at 6.6 rpg.
 
LEWIS LIGHTS UP
Senior guard Taylor Lewis has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, but she has been especially hot over the last 18 games. Ever since a 21-point outburst against Emporia State on Dec. 5, Lewis has averaged 17.7 points per game (319 total) with shooting percentages of 47.3 from the field (106-for-224), 49.6 from downtown (62-for-125) and 88.2 from the free-throw line (45-for-51). For the season, Lewis is averaging 16.3 points per game to rank second in the MIAA. She is also the league's second-leading scorer during conference games at 17.8 ppg.
 
WHERE THEY STAND
Northeastern State currently owns a 12-4 record in its first season in the MIAA. The RiverHawks are in third place, sitting behind league leader Washburn (14-1) and second-place Central Missouri (13-2). Truman State and Emporia State (11-4) are both a half-game behind NSU. NSU was selected to finish fourth in the conference this season by both the media and the league coaches.
 
NSU KNOCKS OFF 5 RANKED FOES
NSU has defeated five ranked opponents this season. The RiverHawks have knocked off No. 9 Washburn (52-43), No. 10 Fort Hays State (54-44), No. 18 Pittsburg State (65-50), No. 19 Truman State (46-44), and No. 21 Emporia State (63-51). In all five upset victories, the green and white has held its opponent to a season low in scoring and no worse than the second-worst shooting percentage of the season up to that point.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE OUT OF THE POLLS
The NSU women's basketball team dropped out of the latest USA Today Division II Women's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Polls, released Feb. 19. NSU has been ranked or received votes in six polls this season, and the team was No. 23 in the preseason.
 
LEWIS, GREEN, TYLER ALL 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 joined her teammates with 100 career games played Jan. 23 against Pittsburg State. She has also made 59 starts. Lewis has made 85 career starts and has scored in double figures 71 times, which includes a stretch sophomore year where she recorded 11 straight. She has scored at least 10 points in all but two games this season, which includes a 19-game stretch. Green owns 54 starts, has scored in double digits 20 times and has also recorded four 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 (266). Lewis surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career against Drury. She now has 1,326 points in her four-year career.
 
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 Feb. 17, and the RiverHawks are currently ranked fourth in the nation at just 12.2 turnovers per game this season. NSU recorded a season-low five turnovers against Pittsburg State (Jan. 23, 2013).
 
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 15 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.
 
A RARE TWO-GAME SLIDE
Northeastern State dropped consecutive games at No. 21 Tarleton State Nov. 24 and at Drury Nov. 28. The RiverHawks lost to the TexAnns 59-57 and to the Lady Panthers 65-57. This marked the first time since the opening game of the 2009-10 campaign that the green and white lost back-to-back games. NSU lost in the last game of the 2008-09 season 66-61 to West Texas A&M (March 4, 2009) and the first game of the 2009-10 campaign 67-66 to Gannon University (Nov. 6, 2009). The RiverHawks ended their rare two-game slide with a 63-51 victory over No. 21 Emporia State on Dec. 5.
 
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 276-128 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.
 
ONE FINAL YEAR
The 2012-13 campaign marks the last in Jack Dobbins Field House. The field house has served as the home of NSU basketball since the 1954-55 season, and Northeastern State will move into its new home beginning in 2013-14. The $14.4 million event center has yet to be named and is currently under construction. The new home of RiverHawks basketball will seat 3,000 and will be located adjacent to Doc Wadley Stadium on the north side of the NSU campus.
 
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.
 
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