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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team is set to travel to Kearney, Nebraska and take on the University of Nebraska-Kearney in MIAA play. The RiverHawks (8-6, 4-3 MIAA) will meet the Lopers (8-7, 3-4 MIAA) at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 15 in the Health & Sports Center.

Northeastern State and Nebraska-Kearney have met three times since the RiverHawks joined the NCAA in 1996-97. NSU won the first two meetings, first an 85-57 victory on Jan. 5, 2013 and then a 64-61 triumph on Jan. 15, 2014. The Lopers won 61-58 in the most recent matchup on Feb. 26, 2014. Northeastern State was picked eighth in the preseason MIAA coaches' poll, while UNK was slated 13th.
 

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	20	Sara Fountain	5-11	Fr-HS	4.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg	Stilwell, Okla.
F	23	Bria Pierce	5-10	Fr-HS	4.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg	Overland Park, Kan.
G	4	Fontana Tate	5-5	Sr-3L	10.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg	Muldrow, Okla.
G	14	Alexis Hill	5-6	Fr-HS	5.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg	Garland, Texas
G	21	Chelsey Beathard	5-8	Sr-3L	11.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg	Pryor, Okla.
Nebraska-Kearney's Probable Starters
F	23	Kelsey Fitzgerald	6-0	So.	11.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg	Yankton, S.D.
F	45	Amarah Williams	6-2	Sr.	16.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg	St. Louis, Mo.
G	10	McKenzie Brown	5-10	Fr.	13.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg	Grand Island, Neb.
G	12	Alexa Hogberg	5-5	So.	10.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg	Chandler, Ariz.
G	20	Taylor Neilson	5-6	Fr.	2.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg	Meeker, Colo.

 
SCOUTING THE LOPERS
University of Nebraska-Kearney is located in Kearney, Nebraska and the team competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Lopers are 8-7 in the 2014-15 season and have put up a 3-4 record in MIAA play. Most recently, UNK has beaten Northwest Missouri State (71-54) and Missouri Western (86-81). The Lopers have five players that average in double figures and they are Laramey Lewis (17.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg), Amarah Williams (16.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg), McKenzie Brown (13.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Kelsey Fitzgerald (11.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and Alexa Hogberg (10.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg). Nebraska-Kearney averages 74.3 points per game and shoots .428 as a team.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT – (RV) MSSU 50, (RV) NSU 34
Northeastern State team lost a 50-34 decision to Missouri Southern State Jan. 10 inside Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Freshman guard Alexis Hill led NSU with seven points. Sharese Jones for MSSU was the only player in double figures for either team. She finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. NSU shot 21.7 percent (10-for-46) from the field, 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from 3-point territory and 58.8 percent (10-for-17) at the free-throw line. Missouri Southern State shot 43.9 percent (18-for-41) overall, 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from deep and 85.7 percent (6-for-7) at the charity stripe. The Lions never trailed in the game and led by as many as 21 in the contest. They took a 28-9 lead into halftime and NSU was only able to pull within 11 points in the second half. The RiverHawks were held to their lowest scoring output of the NCAA era (since 1996-97). The contest also marked just the fifth time in the Randy Gipson era (since 1999-00) that NSU was held to fewer than 40 points.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET – UNK 61, NSU 58
Northeastern State team fell 61-58 to Nebraska-Kearney Feb. 6, 2014 inside the Health & Sports Center. The Lopers used 18 offensive rebounds and a season-high 20 turnovers from Northeastern State to come from nine points down in the second half to earn the victory. Forward Mya Walker paced NSU with 19 points. She started the game 7 of 8 from the field but missed her last three shots. Guard Fontana Tate added 13 points, while forward Che'Ron Lewis tallied 11 points. NSU shot 48.9 percent (23-for-47) from the field, 28.6 percent (4-for-14) from downtown and 80 percent (8-for-10) at the line. UNK shot 29.2 percent (19-for-65) from the field, 24 percent (6-for-25) from behind the arc and 73.9 percent (17-for-23) at the free-throw line. Nebraska-Kearney dominated NSU in points off turnovers (26-10), second-chance points (23-2), offensive rebounds (18-3), and fewest turnovers (11-20). The Lopers were led by Amarah Williams and Shelby Zimmerman, who dominated the glass and both finished with double-doubles. Williams registered 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Zimmerman added 12 points and 10 boards. Laramey Lewis added 11 points for the home side.
 
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN KC
The 2015 MIAA Women's Basketball Championship is set to take place inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. 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. Both NSU basketball programs have advanced to the MIAA Championship Quarterfinals in Kansas City in each of their first two years in the league.
 
RIVERHAWKS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The NSU women's basketball team has received votes in the USA Today Division II Women's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Polls three times this season. The RiverHawks picked up 19 votes January 6 and 17 votes on both December 16 and November 25.
 
THE STARTING FIVE
Randy Gipson-coached teams are usually known for consistency at the top of the lineup. The past two years, however, have been much different for Northeastern State. The team utilized 10 different starting lineups last season and has used 10 different lineups in the first 14 games in 2014-15. Fontana Tate leads NSU with 55 career starts, and Chelsey Beathard is second on the squad with 39 starts. Kate Bellamy (31) and Sarah Sagely (14) also own double-digit starts. Sara Fountain (7), Mya Walker (5), Bria Pierce (4), Alexis Hill (3) and Danielle Robertson (1) have also started games for NSU this season.
 
NSU SELECTED 8TH IN MIAA PRESEASON POLLS
The Northeastern State women's basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the MIAA by the league coaches. The RiverHawks earned 83 points and are projected to finish one place higher than their ninth-place effort from a season ago. Emporia State topped the coaches' poll with 160 points total and five first-place votes. Northeastern State finished 11-17 last season and 7-12 in the MIAA. The RiverHawks return their two top scorers in senior guards Fontana Tate (11.2 ppg) and Chelsey Beathard (9.0 ppg).
 
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