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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team posted a 49-48 upset victory over No. 23 Fort Hays State Saturday afternoon inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks (8-8, 5-4 MIAA) earned a league victory against a Tiger squad that entered the contest as the nation's leader in scoring average at 27.9 points per game. FHSU (12-3, 6-3 MIAA) was also on a four-game win streak, defeating the four opponents by a 30.0 point-per-game average.
 
The 48 points by the Tigers was the lowest total of the season by 16 points (previous season low was 64). FHSU also shot just 31.5 percent (17-54) from the field, second-worst of the season, and 50 percent (9-for-18) from the free-throw line, worst of the season. The team was 5 of 23 (21.7 percent) from downtown.
 
Northeastern State shot 38.6 percent (17-for-44) from the field, 40 percent (6-for-15) from behind the three-point line and 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from the line. Junior guard Chelsey Beathard led NSU with 16 points, and sophomore guard Kate Bellamy added 10.
 
Kate Lehman paced the visitors with a game-high 19 points, but she only had seven rebounds. The seven boards marked the first time since the season opener the nation's third-best rebounder did not reach double digits. Chelsea Mason finished with 11 points, which was four below her season average. Katelyn Edwards entered the game averaging 13.9 points per game, but she was held to a season-low four points.
 
The two teams jockeyed for position in the early going, and NSU used a 6-0 spurt late in the first half to take a 25-22 lead into halftime. The Tigers found themselves behind at intermission for just the second time this season.
 
Fort Hays State got to within one at 32-31 with 13:55 to play in regulation, but Northeastern State went on an 11-2 run to take a 43-33 lead with 8:17 left. The run was capped by a three from Beathard.
 
FHSU began to chip away at the lead and was able to tie the score at 45-45 with 1:56 to play.
 
Senior forward Carrington Fox converted a layup with 49 seconds left to put NSU back on top by two, but a free throw by Lehman and a fast-break layup by Taylor Chandler with 21 seconds to play gave the road team a 48-47 advantage.
 
On the final possession for the RiverHawks, Bellamy found herself trapped in the corner in the waning seconds. She put up a desperation shot and was fouled by Lehman with 3.5 seconds to play. Bellamy stepped to the stripe and calmly sank both free throws, and a last-second heave from Beth Bohuslavsky drew iron but did not fall as NSU earned the victory.
 
This is the second-straight season that Northeastern State defeated Fort Hays State in Tahlequah.
 
Northeastern State will remain home for another tough matchup when the No. 3-ranked Emporia State Hornets come to Tahlequah. NSU and ESU will tip at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 22.
 
Scoring Summary
Fort Hays State                    22        26        48
Northeastern State              25        24        49
 
Northeastern State Coach Randy Gipson
Opening Statement…
"This was obviously a big win for us. It got a little crazy at the end but up until the final few minutes, the game went exactly the way we hoped it would. I thought our kids were attentive to their post game, not only in defending (Kate Lehman), but in getting good help and rotation. We rebounded well for the most part. We knew points would be hard to come by. This is a difficult team to play against. Chelsey (Beathard) had a good game. Things worked out in the end. After some poor ball handling that helped let them get back into it, we made the play at the end with the free throws to win the game."
 
On Fort Hays State…
"(Fort Hays State) has been on a roll. They're in the top 25 this week. We're just learning how to win and how to play these kinds of games. It's certainly been an exciting week. In our last eight days we have lost two games in overtime, came back and won after trailing for 39 minutes, and then win this one today with free throws with 3.5 seconds left. Our players are being forced to grow up by playing in these tough games. It's nice to see progress being made. We're starting to make the last play instead of letting the other team make the last play."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-