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HAYS, Kan. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team ended the regular season with a 55-39 loss to Fort Hays State Friday night inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.
 
The RiverHawks (10-16, 7-12 MIAA) concluded the year on a six-game losing streak, and they also finished on an eight-game losing skid on the road. They finished ninth in the final MIAA standings and are now scheduled to travel to Maryville, Mo., for the opening round of the MIAA Championship March 3. However, due to inclement weather, the game between No. 9 seed NSU and No. 8 seed Northwest Missouri State could potentially be pushed back a day.
 
The Tigers (19-7, 12-7 MIAA) secured no worse than a top-five finish in the league standings.
 
Northeastern State was led by redshirt freshman guard Courtney Cowan, who finished with 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds off the bench. Junior guards Fontana Tate and Chelsey Beathard were both held scoreless. This marked the first time since their freshman year (Feb. 16, 2012) that at least one of the two did not record a point in a game. Freshmen scored 32 of the 39 points for the RiverHawks (Cowan, Mya Walker, Che'Ron Lewis, Jamie Jackson).
 
NSU shot 21.4 percent (12-for-56) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from behind the third-point line and 81.8 percent (9-for-11) at the free throw line. Fort Hays State shot 32.3 percent (20-for-62), 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from downtown and 68.8 percent (11-for-16) at the line.
 
Beth Bohuslavsky led FHSU with 12 points. Kate Lehman finished with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks, while Katelyn Edwards added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The eight game road losing streak for Northeastern State is the most since the 1998-99 season.
 
Scoring Summary
Northeastern State              15        24        39
Fort Hays State                    24        31        55
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Opening Statement…
"Our team played very hard and I was proud of our effort tonight. We played really well on the defensive end holding down a high-scoring team. We had trouble scoring, but (Kate) Lehman had a phenomenal game on the defensive end. We missed some open shots that we didn't hit, but it wasn't for lack of execution or effort. I'm proud of the effort I got out of this team on this long road trip."
 
On playing Northwest Missouri State in the first round…
"We competed well in (Maryville earlier this season). The next game is one that our players have to believe that they can go in there and win. It doesn't matter if you're home or away at this time of the year. Every team you play is going to be difficult to beat. Playing at home or away won't be that big of a factor on Monday."

On closing out the season with six straight losses…
"It's been disappointing to say the least. We had some games we could have won, and it turns out we just needed to win one more game in order to host. Losing all these close games with such a young team is just a reflection of the difficulty of our season and this league."
 
On how the young players will use this season…
"Time will tell, but these kids are getting real experience in the fire. They're getting tested in some very difficult places to play against some good teams. Always when you have new players, you can preach and teach about what needs to be done and how and why. But until they experience the difficulty of competing in these situations, they still just don't get it. I've seen some light bulbs kind of flicker on here lately. They are starting to understand how important it is to do the little things on both ends of the floor, but it's hard to flip a switch and all of a sudden it's there. It takes time. We are going to fight through as best we can. We have some great experience this year that we can carry to next year that we should benefit from."
 
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