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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team dropped a 69-36 decision to No. 2 Emporia State Wednesday evening inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks have now lost four in a row, and they sit at 8-9 overall and 4-6 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Lady Hornets improved to 15-1 on the year and 8-1 in the MIAA.
 
Freshman forward Destiny Strange came off the bench to lead NSU with a career-high 10 points.
 
Northeastern State shot 26.3 percent (15-for-57) overall and failed to reach 40 points for the third time this season. The team also shot just 20 percent (3-for-15) from behind the 3-point line and 37.5 percent (3-for-8) at the free-throw line. ESU shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) from the field, 45 percent (9-for-20) from deep and 82.4 percent (14-for-17) at the line.
 
Kelly Moten paced the Lady Hornets with 20 points. Kelsey Barnwell added 12 and Addie Lackey contributed 10. Kathryn Flott finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. ESU starting senior forward Merissa Quick entered the game averaging 11.6 points per game, but NSU held her to just two points. That marked the second-lowest output of her career and the first time she was held to two points or fewer in nearly two years (Jan. 27, 2013).
 
Emporia State led 25-15 at halftime, and the visitors outscored NSU 44-21 in the second half to earn the 33-point victory. The 25 points scored by the Lady Hornets in the first half marked the second-fewest they have registered in the opening 20 minutes against an MIAA opponent this year.
 
Northeastern State will remain in Tahlequah for a 1:30 p.m. contest Jan. 24 against Washburn.

NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Initial Statement...
"Emporia State is a good team. I thought our players came out and played hard. We defended them well, especially in the first half. We were just having trouble getting the ball in the basket. It's demoralizing in all aspects of play when you can't make baskets. You've just got to keep working and try to get some shots to fall. I give Emporia State credit, they defended well and they've got a lot of talent and experience. They have all aspects that you're looking for in a basketball team. We've just got to keep plugging away. If you can make some shots and everybody can relax a little bit as you get a flow to the game, that's when you have a chance. We've got to do that better."
 
On good defensive play...
"Our girls were playing hard. I don't think there was any lack of effort. I think we executed defensively for the most part. We broke down on the boards in the second half a little bit, but we did some things that we wanted to do defensively. We were able to stay competitive for a good while because of that. Emporia State is a good offensive team and after they got some shots to fall the game got away from us a little bit."
 
On improving offensively...
"We're working on catch-and-shooting and finishing at the basket. We've got to shoot the ball better in all phases. When we get looks, we've got to be competitively ready to make plays with the basketball. I think some of that is a function of experience. We have a lot of freshmen out there who haven't played before in this kind of an environment with the intensity of defense that we're going against. Some of it is a function of time. We've got to keep practicing hard and get ready to play the next one."
 
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