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CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team earned a 64-56 victory over Rogers State Saturday afternoon inside the Claremore Expo Center.
 
The RiverHawks (6-3) ended their non-conference schedule by winning their fourth-straight contest, while the Hillcats dropped to 1-6 on the year. This was the first meeting between the two programs.
 
Senior guard Chelsey Beathard led all scorers with 17 points. She has now scored in double figures in her last four outings. Fellow senior guard Fontana Tate added 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, while sophomore forward Mya Walker chipped in 12 points off the bench.
 
The RiverHawks shot 44.2 percent (23-for-52) from the field, 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from 3-point territory and 66.7 percent (10-for-15) at the free-throw line. RSU shot 29.3 percent (17-for-58) from the field, which was the lowest output of the season against NSU. The Hillcats also shot 17.2 percent (5-for-29) from deep and 70.8 percent (17-for-24) at the free-throw line.
 
Kami Bunch led Rogers State with 11 points, and Breanna Burford added 10 off the bench. Amari Jones scored eight points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the home team.
 
Junior guard Kate Bellamy converted a layup at the 17:01 mark of the first half to give NSU a 6-4 lead, and the RiverHawks carried the lead all the way to halftime at 21-20.
 
Rogers State took a 22-21 advantage early in the second half, but Northeastern State was able to build an 18-point lead before settling for the final eight-point margin.
 
Northeastern State returns to action with a road trip to northern Missouri. The RiverHawks will first meet Missouri Western State at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 18.

NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Opening Statement…
"It was a hard-fought game on the road against an area rival. We had to work for it, but I felt like our team put together a really good stretch of basketball outside of the last minute. The last 10 or 12 minutes of the game, I thought our players executed really well on both ends of the floor. They made some shots and defended and rebounded really well. It's a good win. It's always good to go on the road and get a win."
 
On extending the lead in the second half…
"We had some people that made plays and we ran our offense better. We got better offensive execution and got some good looks. We knocked the shots in and built the lead. We kept our defense solid, while we were making some shots. We didn't let up on defense which we've done at times. It was a good combination of playing solid on both ends of the floor."
 
On outscoring Rogers State in the paint…
"One thing was that we defended in the paint better, which is something that we've been trying to pay some attention to. We got the ball in there. We try to do it any way we can to find people in there. I'm glad we got to the basket and got some finishes. We're happy about that."
 
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