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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team is set to return home after a three-game road swing in Missouri. The RiverHawks (14-6, 9-3 MIAA) will play host to Lindenwood (4-15, 1-10 MIAA) at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 7 inside Jack Dobbins Field House (1,000).
 
NSU won both meetings last season, picking up a 67-54 triumph Jan. 21, 2012, in St. Charles, Mo., and earning a 65-47 win Feb. 18, 2012, in Tahlequah. Those were the only two meetings between the two schools since NSU joined the NCAA in 1996-97.
 
LU was selected in the preseason MIAA coaches poll to finish 12th in the conference, while NSU was picked fourth.

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	24	Sarah Green	5-9	Sr-3L	7.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg	Tulsa, Okla.
F	44	Carrington Fox	5-11	Jr-2L	4.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg	Tulsa, Okla.
G	4	Fontana Tate	5-5	So-1L	6.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg	Muldrow, 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	11.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg	Vinita, Okla.
Lindenwood's Probable Starters
F	23	Sonya Milford	5-11	Sr.	3.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg	Wellington, New Zealand
F	40	Sarah Schnieders	6-0	Sr.	10.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg	St. Peters, Mo.
G	1	Jenny Rocha	5-4	Fr.	4.2 ppg, 2.1 apg	O'Fallon, Mo.
G	14	Marissa Lehnig	5-9	Jr.	9.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg	Imperial, Mo.
G	22	Meagan Hittle	5-5	So.	6.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg	Rushville, Ind.

SCOUTING THE LADY LIONS
Lindenwood sits at 4-15 overall this season and 1-10 in the MIAA. LU's lone league triumph came Nov. 12 against fellow 1-10 squad Central Oklahoma (81-77). Since then, the Lady Lions have dropped six straight. Five different members of the squad average at least nine points a game, led by Julie Hlinak's 11.4 ppg. She is also third in rebounding (5.2 rpg). Sarah Schnieders is second in scoring (10.8 ppg), while Tori Kuhn is third in scoring (10.4 ppg) and the team leader in rebounding (6.6 rpg). Kuhn did not play in LU's last game.
 
LEWIS LIGHTS UP
Senior guard Taylor Lewis has scored in double figures in all but one game this season, but she has been especially hot over the last 14 games. Ever since a 21-point outburst against Emporia State on Dec. 5, Lewis has averaged 18.1 points per game (254 total) with shooting percentages of 50.3 from the field (84-for-167), 53.1 from downtown (51-for-96) and 92.1 from the free-throw line (35-for-38). 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 18.3 ppg.
 
WHERE THEY STAND
Northeastern State currently owns an 9-3 record in its first season in the MIAA. The RiverHawks are in fourth place, a game behind league leader Washburn (9-1). Truman State and Central Missouri are tied for second at 9-2. NSU was selected to finish fourth in the conference this season by both the media and the league coaches.
 
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 55 starts. Lewis has made 81 career starts and has scored in double figures 68 times, which includes a stretch sophomore year where she recorded 11 straight. She has scored at least 10 points in all but one game this season, which includes the last 18 in a row. Green owns 50 starts, has scored in double digits 17 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 (255). Lewis surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career against Drury. She now has 1,269 points in her four-year career.
 
SENIORS FEEL RIGHT AT HOME
NSU has three seniors on this year's squad in Sarah Green, Taylor Lewis and Tosha Tyler. The trio of stars has been part of four years of dominance inside Jack Dobbins Field House. The RiverHawks are 7-0 at home this season and 42-3 over the career of the three veterans.
 
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. 28, and the RiverHawks are currently ranked fourth in the nation at just 12.1 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 11 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 273-127 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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