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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team lost 79-53 to No. 4 Fort Hays State in the 2015 MIAA Championship quarterfinals Friday afternoon inside Municipal Auditorium.
 
The RiverHawks saw their season come to a close with a 12-16 record, while the top-seeded Tigers (28-2) advance to face either No. 4 seed Missouri Southern State or No. 5 seed Central Missouri.
 
Senior guard Chelsey Beathard paced NSU with 12 points in her final collegiate game. Senior guards Fontana Tate and Sarah Sagely combined for six points, six assists and four rebounds in their last game donning the green and white. Freshman forward Bria Pierce also registered 11 points, and every player who attempted a 3-point shot saw at least one go in.
 
Northeastern State shot 34.5 percent (19-for-55) overall, 38.5 percent (10-for-26) from behind the 3-point line and 55.6 percent (5-for-9) at the free-throw line. FHSU shot 53.7 percent (29-for-54) from the field, 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from distance and 60 percent (12-for-20) at the charity stripe.
 
Kate Lehman led the Tigers with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Chelsea Mason added 23 points and Jill Faxon contributed 15 off the bench.
 
Fort Hays State jumped on top 20-2 in the game's first eight minutes and went on to lead 43-19 at the half. NSU was never to get the deficit to fewer than 20 points in the second half.
 
The RiverHawks led in points off turnovers (16-11) and steals (7-4), while committing fewer total turnovers (10-13), but the Tigers held advantages in rebounding (43-22), assists (18-9), points in the paint (34-12) and second-chance points (17-4).
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Initial statement...
"We knew going in that we were going to be playing an outstanding team today, and they lived up to their reputation. (Fort Hays State was) really ready to play. They were good today in all phases – offensively, defensively and rebounding. They shot the ball well. Our team was ready to play, and we played hard. We just got in a hole right from the start, and it was a tough one to dig out of. We competed well and hung in there. We played a pretty solid second half."
 
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