Game Notes  I  Live Video  I  Live Audio  I  Live Stats  I  2015 MIAA Championship Central

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team returns to Kansas City, Missouri, for the 2015 MIAA Championship. The No. 9-seeded RiverHawks (12-15, 7-12 MIAA) are set for a quarterfinal matchup against top seed and No. 4-ranked Fort Hays State (26-2, 18-1 MIAA) at noon March 6 inside historic Municipal Auditorium.

The winner of the quarterfinal matchup will advance to the semifinals against either No. 4 Missouri Southern or No. 5 Central Missouri at 6 p.m. March 7. Fort Hays State holds a 4-2 series edge over the RiverHawks.
 
This will be the third meeting between the teams this season. The Tigers won both early-season matchups, 71-41 in Hays (Jan. 17) and 50-28 in Tahlequah (Feb. 28). Fort Hays State won the regular season MIAA Championship, only dropping one league game. The RiverHawks finished in a tie for ninth. NSU has advanced to the MIAA Quarterfinals in all three years since joining the league. The team lost to FHSU two years ago and was ousted by UCM last season. 

Tickets for the 2015 MIAA Championship are now on sale at the Northeastern State Ticket Office in the NSU Event Center. For more information, contact Scott Pettus or call 918.444.3901. Tickets can also be purchased inside the Municipal Auditorium Friday morning from the on-site NSU Representative.
 

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	23	Bria Pierce	5-10	Fr-HS	6.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg	Overland Park, Kan.
G	04	Fontana Tate	5-5	Sr-3L	9.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg	Muldrow, Okla.
G	05	Kate Bellamy	5-9	Jr-2L	7.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg	Cambewarra, NSW, Australia
G	14	Alexis Hill	5-6	Fr-HS	4.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg	Garland, Texas
G	21	Chelsey Beathard	5-8	Sr-3L	9.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg	Pryor, Okla.
#4 Fort Hays State's Probable Starters
F	33	Keriann Shaw	5-10	Sr.	5.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg	Deweese, Neb.
C	40	Kate Lehman	6-4	Sr.	19.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg	Newton, Kan.
G	04	Nikola Kacperska	5-6	So.	6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg	Tuszyn, Poland
G	11	Chelsea Mason	5-9	Jr.	12.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg	Bellevue, Neb.
G	35	Paige Lunsford	5-11	Jr.	5.4 ppg, 4.1 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 finished 26-2 in the regular season and posted a 18-1 record in MIAA play. FHSU won the MIAA Regular Season Championship and is the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The team has won its last four games. The Tiger's lone conference loss came against No. 10 Pittsburg State (Feb. 14). Kate Lehman (19.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg) is second in the league in both scoring and rebounding, and she was recently honored as the MIAA Player of the Year and the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year. Chelsea Mason (12.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg) also averages double figure scoring for the squad. Fort Hays State averages 74.1 points per game and shoots .425 as a team.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT – NSU 59, (RV) WU 46
Northeastern State upset Washburn 59-46 in the first round of the 2015 MIAA Championship Tuesday night inside Lee Arena. Junior guard Kate Bellamy led NSU with her first-career double double. She posted 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Senior guards Chelsey Beathard (12) and Fontana Tate (11) both scored in double figures, and they were joined by freshman forward Sara Fountain (11). The RiverHawks shot 34.6 percent (18-for-52) overall, 45.8 percent (11-for-24) from behind the 3-point line and 80 percent (12-for-15) at the free-throw line. The Ichabods shot just 27.3 percent (18-for-66) from the field, 12 percent (3-for-25) from distance and 87.5 percent (7-for-8) at the charity stripe. They were led by Honor Duvall's 12 points and nine rebounds. Allyssa Nikkel added 10 points off the bench, but WU was held to its second-lowest point total of the season. The team's leading scorer, senior Taylor Ignoto, was held scoreless in her final collegiate game. NSU held WU to just 21 points in the second half, which was the second-fewest scored against the RiverHawks all season. Washburn outrebounded Northeastern State 48-32 and dominated points in the paint 30-14, but NSU led in assists (14-8), points off turnovers (14-3), steals (4-1), bench points (23-15) and fewest turnovers (9-14).
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET – #4 FHSU 50, NSU 28  
The RiverHawks lost a 50-28 battle with No. 4-ranked Fort Hays State to close out the regular season Feb. 28 inside the NSU Event Center. The Tigers (26-2, 18-1 MIAA), winners of the MIAA regular season championship, were held to their lowest scoring output of the season. They entered the contest averaging a league-best 75 points per game. NSU held them to just 32.8 percent (19-for-58) shooting, which was their second-worst effort of the year. The 19 made field goals were also a season low. FHSU shot just 15 percent (3-for-20) from behind the 3-point line and 69.2 percent (9-for-13) at the free-throw line. FHSU center Kate Lehman came into the game as the league's No. 2 scorer (19.7 ppg) and rebounder (10.5 rpg). The RiverHawks made her completely ineffective, as she was held to a season-low six points and three rebounds. She also turned the ball over five times. Both her point and rebound totals were her fewest in a contest since her sophomore season. The three rebounds were the second-fewest in her entire four-year career. Chelsea Mason needed 27 shots to finish with a game-high 19 points. Nikola Kacperska also hit the 10-point plateau. Keriann Shaw scored just four points but finished with a game-high 12 rebounds. Paige Lunsford was also held to a marginal four points, but she hauled in 11 missed shots. Saturday's contest was Senior Day, and NSU honored its three seniors following the game. Chelsey Beathard, Sarah Sagely and Fontana Tate all played their final home game in the green and white. They combined for six points (all from Tate) and five rebounds. Northeastern State shot 18.2 percent (10-for-55) overall, 17.4 percent (4-for-23) from distance and 57.1 percent (4-for-7) at the free-throw line. Junior forward Danielle Robertson led NSU with eight points off the bench. The RiverHawks were outrebounded 57-30 but led in fewer turnovers (8-13) and bench points (18-7). Northeastern State trailed 24-13 at halftime but got within 29-24 with 13:54 to play. The Tigers closed the game on a 21-4 run.
 
KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
Northeastern State has been a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association since the 2012-13 academic year. The RiverHawks have nine athletics teams that are eligible for conference postseason tournaments. Both NSU basketball teams have qualified for their respective MIAA Championships, which means Northeastern State remained perfect and is now 22-for-22 in reaching postseason play since joining the league.
 
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 was contested at host sites March 3, with the fifth seed hosting No. 12, the sixth seed hosting No. 11, etc. The four winners will join the top four seeds in KC March 6-8. Fort Hays State, Pittsburg State, Emporia State and Missouri Southern State earned the four byes, and they are joined by Central Missouri, Central Oklahoma, Missouri Western State and Northeastern State. The RiverHawks were the only team - either men or women - to win on the road in the first round.

BEATHARD, TATE NAMED ALL-MIAA
A pair of senior guards for the Northeastern State women's basketball team landed all-conference accolades, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced Tuesday afternoon. Chelsey Beathard and Fontana Tate were both named All-MIAA Honorable Mention after helping lead the RiverHawks to an 11-15 overall record and the No. 9 seed in the 2015 MIAA Championship. Beathard earned all-conference recognition for the first time in her career, while Tate picked up honorable mention accolades for the second-straight year. The duo has combined to play in 208 career games for the green and white, while making 126 starts. Beathard has scored in double figures 14 times this season. She also posted her first career double-double early in the campaign against Southeastern Oklahoma State. She poured in a career-high 18 points in back-to-back MIAA contests in December. Tate has also scored double-digit points in 14 games this year. She registered a season-best 19 two games ago against Nebraska-Kearney.
 
NSU's GIPSON IN 16TH SEASON
NSU's Randy Gipson (Kentucky, '79) is in his 16th season as the RiverHawks head coach. He entered the year with a 289-146 record at NSU. He has recorded 14 winning seasons at Northeastern State, and he has led the program to seven appearances in the NCAA Championship. His NSU women's basketball teams have earned two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (2004, '10), while advancing to the NCAA Second Round each of the last two seasons (2011-12). Gipson came to Northeastern State in 1999-00, and he captured six Lone Star Conference North Division Championships in a 12-year span. He also led NSU to the 2003 LSC Tournament Championship, while finishing runner up in the conference tournament on three occasions (2004, '05, '10). He has coached two All-Americans (Jasmine Webb, Taylor Lewis), one MIAA Player of the Year, two LSC Players of the Year and numerous all-conference players during his tenure at Northeastern State.The 2012-13 campaign was the first for the RiverHawks in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, and the squad finished second in the regular season with a 14-4 league mark. The team landed in the top 10 nationally in six statistical categories, including fewest turnovers per game (3rd), fewest personal fouls per game (4th), three-point field-goal percentage (7th), assist-turnover ratio (9th), scoring defense (10th), and three-point field goals per game (10th). The 2013-14 team placed eighth overall in the conference and advanced to the MIAA Championship quarterfinals. He began his career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO), where he spent 11 years leading the Lady Norse. He took NEO to a National Runner-up finish in 1991, and he was named Region II Coach of the Year three times.
 
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.
 
THE EVENT CENTER
The Northeastern State basketball programs are in their second season competing in the 78,200 square foot NSU Event Center. The newly-constructed facility houses the basketball offices and the NSU athletic administration. The project has cost north of $21.2 million and the arena is located adjacent to Doc Wadley Stadium on the north side of the NSU campus.
 
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