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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team is set to host No. 4 Fort Hays State in the final game of the 2014-15 regular season. The RiverHawks (11-14, 7-11 MIAA) will meet the Tigers (25-2, 17-1 MIAA) at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in the NSU Event Center. Seniors Fontana Tate, Chelsey Beathard and Sarah Sagely will be honored following the contest.

Fort Hays State holds a slight 3-2 series edge over the RiverHawks. The Tigers won the matchup in Hays earlier this year (Jan. 17). Northeastern State was picked eighth in the preseason MIAA coaches' poll, while FHSU was slated fourth.
 

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	23	Bria Pierce	5-10	Fr-HS	7.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg	Overland Park, Kan.
G	04	Fontana Tate	5-5	Sr-3L	9.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg	Muldrow, Okla.
G	05	Kate Bellamy	5-9	Jr-2L	8.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg	Cambewarra, NSW, Australia
G	21	Chelsey Beathard	5-8	Sr-3L	10.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg	Pryor, Okla.
G	22	Sarah Sagely	5-6	Sr-1L	3.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg	West Fork, Ark.
#4 Fort Hays State's Probable Starters
F	33	Keriann Shaw	5-10	Sr.	5.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg	Deweese, Neb.
C	40	Kate Lehman	6-4	Sr.	19.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg	Newton, Kan.
G	05	Beth Bohuslavsky	5-6	Jr.	8.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg	Dwight, Neb.
G	11	Chelsea Mason	5-9	Jr.	11.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg	Bellevue, Neb.
G	35	Paige Lunsford	5-11	Jr.	5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg	Hays, Kan.

 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Fort Hays State University is located in Hays, Kansas, and the team competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Tigers (17-1 MIAA) have clinched the MIAA Regular Season Championship and will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. They are 25-2 overall and beat Central Oklahoma in their most recent game. The team's lone conference loss came against No. 10 Pittsburg State (Feb. 14). Kate Lehman (19.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg) is second in the league in both scoring and rebounding. Chelsea Mason (11.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and Jill Faxon (10.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg) also average double figure scoring for the squad. Fort Hays State averages 75.0 points per game and shoots .428 as a team.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT – UNK 63, NSU 52
Northeastern State lost 63-52 to the University of Nebraska-Kearney Thursday evening inside the NSU Event Center. The RiverHawks were led by Fontana Tate who scored a season-high 19 points. The senior guard was 4-for-7 on 3-point tries. Freshman forward Bria Pierce pulled down a career-high 12 boards. NSU shot 29.5 percent (18-for-61) from the field, 37.5 percent (9-for-24) from behind the arc and 70.0 percent (7-for-10) at the line. UNK shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-for-21) from 3-point range and 80.0 percent (8-for-10) at the charity stripe. Amarah Williams led the Lopers with 18 points. McKenzie Brown and Laramey Lewis both added 15 points. Five Lopers had five or more rebounds, led by Tori Payne who pulled down 11 boards off the bench. Nebraska-Kearney outrebounded the RiverHawks 51-28. UNK also held the edge in points in the paint (28-8), assists (13-8) and second chance points (13-1). The RiverHawks forced 18 Loper turnovers while only turning the ball over seven times themselves. NSU also held an 8-4 edge in steals.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET – FHSU 71, NSU 41  
Northeastern State lost 71-41 to Fort Hays State Jan. 17 inside the Gross Memorial Coliseum. Chelsey Beathard had 16 points to lead NSU. The senior guard was 7-for-12 from the field in 33 minutes. Kate Bellamy had 10 rebounds. NSU shot 27.6 percent (16-for-58) from the field, 28.0 percent (7-for-25) from behind the arc and 100 percent (2-for-2) at the line. FHSU shot 38.2 percent (26-for-68) from the field, 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from 3-point range and 78.9 percent (15-for-19) at the charity stripe. Kate Lehman led the Tigers with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Chelsea Mason also had 18 points. Fort Hays State outrebounded the RiverHawks 51-33. The Tigers also held the edge in points in the paint (24-10), assists (14-7) and blocks (6-0). NSU had more turnovers than its opponent (13-7) for the first time since Dec. 18, 2014 against Missouri Western.
 
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Northeastern State University Director of Athletics Tony Duckworth announced Jan. 10 the 2015 NSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductees. The newest class includes three All-Americans, one national championship team, one World War II veteran, and a former member of the field hockey and volleyball teams. The additions to the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame are Mike Adams, Jim Bittle, Eric Moore, Keith Miller, and the 1994 Football Team. Rose Cheek has been selected as the first Spirit of Excellence member. The class will be enshrined at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet at 11 a.m. Feb. 28 in the community room of the NSU Event Center. The banquet will precede the Northeastern State basketball team's contests against Fort Hays State University.
 
NSU AGAIN STUNS EMPORIA STATE
Northeastern State took down No. 9 Emporia State 58-56 in overtime Feb. 12 inside White Auditorium. The RiverHawks were able to avenge a 69-36 home loss to the Lady Hornets from earlier this season. NSU is now 4-2 against ESU since 2012-13, and the green and white has now beaten a ranked Lady Hornet squad each of the last three years. The victory also snapped NSU's six-game losing streak in overtime dating back to Jan. 6, 2011. Northeastern State held Emporia State to its worst shooting output of the season at 27.1 percent (19-for-70) and its second-worst effort from behind the 3-point line at 17.2 percent (5-for-29). ESU also shot just 68.4 percent (13-for-19) at the free-throw line. This marks the second-straight season that the worst shooting game of the season for the Lady Hornets came at the hands of NSU. Bria Pierce led the RiverHawks with 12 points, while Danielle Robertson contributed 10 points to the winning cause. Fontana Tate tallied eight points and nine rebounds, while Kate Bellamy posted nine points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals. NSU shot 37 percent (20-for-54) from the field, 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from distance and 65 percent (13-for-20) at the free-throw line.
 
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.
 
IF THE SEASON WERE TO END TODAY
NSU is currently 7-11 in league play and sits in a tie for ninth place in the MIAA standings. If the season were to end today, the RiverHawks would earn the No. 9 seed and would travel to No. 8 seed Missouri Western on March 3 in the first round of the MIAA Championship. The winner of that contest would join seven other schools in Kansas City for the remainder of the tournament. Fort Hays State, Pittsburg State, Emporia State and Missouri Southern are all slated to earn the four byes to KC. With one game left in the regular season, NSU could finish between No. 7 and No. 11 in the final standings.
 
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 13 different lineups in the first 25 games in 2014-15. Fontana Tate leads NSU with 65 career starts, and Chelsey Beathard is second on the squad with 49 starts. Kate Bellamy (38), Sarah Sagely (19), Bria Pierce (14) and Sara Fountain (10) also own double-digit starts. Alexis Hill (7), Mya Walker (5), Destiny Strange (1) and Danielle Robertson (1) have also started games for NSU this season.
 
SENIORS AT HOME
Chelsey Beathard and Fontana Tate are the two four-year seniors on the squad this year. They posted a 22-1 record inside Jack Dobbins Field House, and they are currently 16-9 inside the NSU Event Center. The RiverHawks seniors have tallied a 38-10 record at home in their careers.
 
TICKETS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY IN 2014-15
All fans wishing to attend an NSU home basketball contest this season will be required to show a ticket prior to entering the facilities. NSU students and faculty/staff will still be allowed free admittance, but NSU ID's will no longer be accepted as a form of entry. Tickets can be purchased at NSU's ticketing Web site, goriverhawkstickets.com. NSU students and faculty/staff can access goriverhawkstickets.com and secure their free tickets (either printable or downloaded to your smart phone) through their goNSU accounts. For questions regarding ticket options, please contact Brynn Hamner at 918.444.3901.
 
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