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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team heads to Maryville, Mo., for the first round of the 2014 MIAA Championship. The RiverHawks (10-16, 7-12 MIAA) will meet Northwest Missouri State (10-16, 7-12 MIAA) at 7 p.m. March 3 inside Bearcat Arena (2,500).

NWMSU and NSU tied for eighth place in the final MIAA standings with identical records, but the Bearcats earned the No. 8 seed in the tournament due to a 57-51 overtime victory over Northeastern State on Jan. 13 in Maryville. The winner of the contest will advance to Kansas City to face No. 1 seed and 11th-ranked Central Missouri at noon March 6 in Municipal Auditorium. Northwest Missouri State is 8-7 at home this season, while the RiverHawks are 1-9 on the road.

Northeastern State is 3-2 against the Bearcats since joining the NCAA in 1996-97. The two squads met in Hawai'i on Dec. 20, 2005 (56-50), and NSU won on both team's home courts in 2011-12. The first was a 69-42 triumph Nov. 15, 2011, inside Jack Dobbins Field House. The second meeting was a 58-55 win Feb. 1, 2012, inside Bearcat Arena. NWMSU earned its first victory in the series Jan. 31 of last year, picking up a 67-64 win in Maryville, and the team defeated NSU in the regular season earlier this year. The Bearcats were selected in the preseason MIAA coaches poll to finish seventh in the conference, while NSU was picked sixth.

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	23	Che'Ron Lewis	5-11	Fr-HS	8.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg	Cushing, Okla.
F	44	Carrington Fox	5-11	Sr-3L	5.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg	Tulsa, Okla.
G	04	Fontana Tate	5-5	Jr-2L	10.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg	Muldrow, Okla.
G	05	Kate Bellamy	5-9	So-1L	6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg	NSW, Australia
G	21	Chelsey Beathard	5-8	Jr-2L	8.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg	Pryor, Okla.
Northwest Missouri State's Probable Starters
F	34	Annie Mathews	5-10	Jr.	8.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg	Plattsmouth, Neb.
C	24	Shelby Mustain	6-2	Fr.	6.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg	Jefferson City, Mo.
G	10	Ariel Easton	5-6	Jr.	15.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg	South Bend, Ind.
G	13	Ashleigh Nelson	5-9	Jr.	12.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg	Omaha, Neb.
G	21	Monique Stevens	5-3	Sr.	6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg	Victoria, Australia

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Northwest Missouri State (10-16, 7-12 MIAA) ended the regular season with an identical record to Northeastern State, both in the regular season and in the conference. The Bearcats enter the postseason with losses in four of their last games. The lone victory was against Southwest Baptist (76-72), and the losses were to Missouri Southern (64-60 OT), Lindenwood (79-74 OT), Missouri Western (68-47), and Central Missouri (77-56). NWMSU is led in scoring by Ariel Easton (15.9 ppg) and Ashleigh Nelson (12.9 ppg). The squad is led in rebounding by Annie Mathews (8.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg).
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - FHSU 55, NSU 39
Northeastern State ended the regular season with a 55-39 loss to Fort Hays State on Feb. 28 inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The RiverHawks concluded the year on a six-game losing streak, and they also finished on an eight-game losing skid on the road. Northeastern State was led by Courtney Cowan, who finished with 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds off the bench. 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 LAST TIME THEY MET - NWMSU 57, NSU 51 (OT)
NSU dropped a second-straight overtime decision, this one a 57-51 contest against Northwest Missouri State on Jan. 13 inside Bearcat Arena. Jamie Jackson led all scorers with a career-high 16 points, and Fontana Tate came back from injury to add 10 points. Both players came off the bench, and NSU's starters combined for just 21 points on 6-for-28 shooting overall and 0-for-11 from three-point territory. Northeastern State posted a 32.7 (18-for-55) shooting percentage overall, while also hitting just 4 of 22 (18.2 percent) from downtown and 11 of 20 (55.0 percent) at the free-throw line. NWMSU shot 37.8 percent (17-for-45) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from downtown and 63.0 percent (17-for-27) at the line. Annie Mathews registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Ashleigh Nelson and Monique Stevens led the Bearcats with 14 points each. This was the first time in the Randy Gipson era that Northeastern State played back-to-back overtime games, and the contest also tied Gipson's mark for most overtimes in a single season (3, 2005-06 and 2008-09). NSU is 0-3 in OT this season.
 
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP FAN LODGING AVAILABLE
The 2014 MIAA Basketball Championships at Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium will be held March 6-9. Fan lodging at the Downtown Marriott is now being accepted for the upcoming event. The fan rate is $137 per night and fans have until Wednesday, February 12 to receive that rate. Lodging is available here: https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=10982278. Through this website you can book, modify or cancel your hotel reservations at any time and receive updated information about the event.
 
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN KC
The 2014 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 3, 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 6, 8-9.
 
THE HISTORIC ROAD LOSING STREAK
The NSU basketball programs lost six-straight road doubleheaders, with sweeps coming at Northwest Missouri State (Jan. 13), Washburn (Jan. 25), Pittsburg State (Jan. 29), Emporia State (Feb. 12), Central Oklahoma (Feb. 22), and Nebraska-Kearney (Feb. 26). This was the first time during the Gipson Brothers' era (since 1999) that the two teams have lost six-straight doubleheaders. The women's basketball team has also lost eight-straight road games, which is the longest road losing streak for the RiverHawks since the year before Randy Gipson took over as head coach (1998-99). The last time NSU won a road game was a 66-53 victory on Dec. 5 at Lincoln.
 
GIPSON'S UNCHARTED TERRITORY
Northeastern State currently sits at 10-16 on the season and will finish with a losing record for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign (6-19 that year). NSU coach Randy Gipson took over the reins the following year and has led the RiverHawks to 14-straight winning seasons. He also coached at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M prior to coming to Tahlequah and had winning seasons all nine years in Miami. This would mark the first time in Gipson's historic career that he was unable to lead a team to a winning record.
 
FOX SETS BLOCKS RECORD
Carrington Fox registered a career-high eight blocks on Jan. 16 in a win over Nebraska-Kearney. The block total tied the school record for most in a single game (Kathy Brock vs. John Brown on Dec. 8, 1983). She also finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Fox currently has 129 career blocks and now owns the school record that was previously held by Gaile Cook (1989-91). Fox set the all-time career blocks record with a six-block effort on Feb. 15 at home against Washburn. She has played in 108 career games, with her 100th appearance coming on the road against the Ichabods on Jan. 25.
 
THE STARTING FIVE
Randy Gipson-coached teams are usually known for consistency at the top of the lineup. This year, however, has been much different for Northeastern State as the team has utilized 10 different starting lineups through the first 26 games of the season. There have been three starting lineups that have been used more than once. The starting lineup that has been used the last 10 games includes Fontana Tate, Chelsey Beathard, Kate Bellamy, Che'Ron Lewis, and Carrington Fox. NSU is 3-8 in games started by those five. Beathard owns the most starts this season with 22. Others to earn at least one start this year are Sarah Sagely, Courtney Cowan and Jamie Jackson. Mya Walker is the only member of the team who has yet to start a game this season.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR
Northeastern State University Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online and has launced its new, one-of-a-kind online shopping site, goriverhawksgear.com. NSU fans have another avenue for acquiring Northeastern State apparel and accessories. The store is loaded with options for fans of all ages, ranging from T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts, to home office supplies, drinkware and kitchen essentials. Every item is branded with official Northeastern State athletics and university logos, and select RiverHawks gear and accessories are customizable. The new online store can be accessed by simply visiting www.goriverhawksgear.com. The shop can also be viewed by clicking on the shopping cart at the top right of www.goriverhawksgo.com, the static graphic underneath the main picture or the rotating horizontal carousel just above the video player.