TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team earned a 68-53 victory over Bacone College in the home opener Tuesday night inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks (3-0) remained unblemished on the young campaign, while the Lady Warriors fell to 3-3 on the season.
 
NSU was led by junior forward Mary Jane Buschmann, who tallied 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. She added five rebounds in 24 minutes. Buschmann was the only member of the team in double figures. Twelve of NSU's 13 players scored in the contest.
 
The RiverHawks shot 39 percent (23-for-59) overall, 22.6 percent (7-for-31) from behind the 3-point line and 57.7 percent (15-for-26) at the free-throw line. The Lady Warriors shot 31 percent (18-for-58) overall, 27.6 percent (8-for-29) from deep and 60 percent (9-for-15) at the charity stripe.
 
Bacone was led by Ashley Barry-Wallace, who led all scorers with 20 points.
 
NSU led 17-11 after the first quarter of play, but the visitors were able to battle back and trail just 31-29 at half. The RiverHawks took the lead for good late in the first quarter, but the Lady Warriors would not go away until the home team pulled ahead by 14 early in the third quarter.
 
Northeastern State stretched its lead out to as many as 18 points before settling for the 15-point triumph.
 
The RiverHawks will remain home for a bout against Arkansas-Fort Smith. The contest is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 21 inside the NSU Event Center.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Opening statement...
"This was our first home game and I think we may have had a little home court jitters. We have a lot of new players and we're getting used to playing together. I think we started a little slow then we had a good run and then we didn't play well with the lead the latter half of the first half. We started the third quarter pretty well and we did the things that we needed to do. We guarded better in the second half and we rebounded well. We didn't shoot as well as we think we can but we played solid enough to get the win."
 
On holding Bacone to 31-percent shooting…
"We did a pretty good job staying in front of (Bacone). They're a team who likes to drive the ball and get to the basket. I think in the latter part of the first half we didn't do very well, but we tightened up and adjusted on that in the second half. We rebounded pretty well and those were the things that helped us hold them at bay. We made enough shots but never broke through and scored like I think we'll be able to."

On the 47-37 rebounding advantage…
"Well it's something we haven't been used to. We didn't rebound the ball very well last year and so far we've been at least even on the boards through our first three games and had an advantage tonight. It's something you have to do to be a good team and I think it's something we can continue to get better at as well."
 
On the team's depth…
"We like our team all the way down to the last spot. We do have more depth and size than what we've had in the past. We're still learning how to play together but certainly we're excited about the potential this team has."
 
On the 31 3-point attempts…
"Those were shots that were there. That wasn't necessarily the plan going in. We had the looks and we want to take rhythm shots in our offense. Some days it may be more inside and some days it may be more outside. We're getting the looks and we had people shooting them that we think can make them. That's the thing about shooting is sometimes it's a little off, but we're going to keep trying to take good shots."
 
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