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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team had four players score in double-figures as the RiverHawks defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State 78-65 Monday evening inside the NSU Event Center.

The RiverHawks (5-3, 2-0 MIAA), playing their third game in five days, earned their third-straight victory. The Bulldogs (0-2 GAC) fell to 2-5 on the year.

Senior guard Fontana Tate led the way for NSU with 13 points and seven rebounds, while freshman guard Alexis Hill scored 12. Senior guard Chelsey Beathard added 12 points and nine rebounds to record her third straight-game with double-figure scoring. Sophomore forward Mya Walker chipped in 12. Of the 11 RiverHawks that saw time on the court, 10 put points on the scoreboard.

Northeastern State shot 46.3 percent (31-for-67) from the field, 37.5 percent (12-for-32) from downtown and 57.1 percent (4-for-7) at the free-throw line. Southwestern Oklahoma State shot 31.9 percent (22-for-69) overall, 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from three and 60.9 percent (14-for-23) at the charity stripe.

Jade Jones had 17 points for the Bulldogs, while Jessica Penner recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

The RiverHawks built a lead in the first half with hot shooting from beyond the arc, hitting five out of their first eight three-point tries. NSU held a 21 point lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Bulldogs used full-court pressure and offensive rebounding to pull within seven with 6:55 to play. A three-pointer by Hill with 1:13 remaining pushed the RiverHawks back to a 10-point lead that they would not relinquish. NSU finished the game on a 7-1 run to earn the 13-point non-conference victory.

Northeastern State held a 47-42 edge in rebounding, winning the battle of the boards in both halves.

Northeastern State will next travel to Claremore, Oklahoma, to take on Rogers State at 2 p.m. Dec. 13.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Statement...
"The second half was pretty ugly. Southwestern Oklahoma State did some things to try to play catch up by applying some pressure and changing defenses and those are things that we hadn't seen in a game situation yet. Sometimes you just weather the storm and our kids did that tonight. We're really happy to get the win today. I'm proud of our kids for keeping the focus today with finals starting. We finished out the home-stand on a good note."
 
On making adjustments in response to SWOSU's pressure…
"We were trying to attack the basket to either get a high-percentage shot or get the ball back out and work it around. We didn't make real good decisions when they were making their run. We made a few careless passes. Sometimes we did what we wanted to do and just missed the shot. That's just basketball. Defensively we got scattered a little bit and didn't get back as well as we should have at times in the second half and they got easier shots than they should have. In the end though, I'm pleased. It was a good team effort for us. We had contributions from a lot of people off our bench. It was a good win and a good way to finish out this home-stretch."
 
On having four players score in double-figures…
"It is very important for us. The more, the better. We feel like we have a lot of people that can put the ball in the basket and we did tonight. I thought our bench picked us up and came in and scored and helped us expand our lead. I'm happy to see the balance."
 
On positives to take from the three game stretch…
"I think the balance and the way we got the whole roster playing tonight is a positive. We got to see some things from some kids tonight that we hadn't seen previously. I think we guarded the dribble better, which we have been working on."
 
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