TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State  women's basketball team hits the road for a pair of weekend matches against MIAA foes. The RiverHawks (5-10, 2-7 MIAA) will first square off against No. 3 Fort Hays State (14-1, 8-1) at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 14 in Gross Memorial Coliseum before locking up with Nebraska-Kearney (8-7, 4-5) at 2 p.m. Jan. 16 inside Health and Sports Center.
 

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	15	Mary Jane Buschmann	5-11	Jr-TR	13.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg	St. James, Mo.
G	04	Alexis Hill	5-6	So-1L	2.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg	Garland, Texas
G	05	Kate Bellamy	5-9	Sr-3L	10.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg	NSW, Australia
G	20	Cailyn Long	6-0	Fr-HS	8.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg	Sparta, Mo.
G	22	Kylie Looney	5-8	Fr-HS	7.1 ppg, 2.1 apg	Adair, Okla.
#3 Fort Hays State's Probable Starters
G	03	Taylor Chandler	5-5	Jr.	5.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg	Wichita, Kan.
G	05	Beth Bohuslavsky	5-6	Sr.	11.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg	Dwight, Neb.
G	11	Chelsea Mason	5-9	Sr.	14.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg	Bellevue, Neb.
G	32	Jill Faxon	5-10	Jr.	12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg	Beatrice, Neb.
G	35	Paige Lunsford	5-11	Sr.	9.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg	Hays, Kan.

Fort Hays State is 5-2 all-time against NSU, which includes a current four-game win streak. FHSU and Northeastern State met three times last year, and all three contests were won by the Tigers. NSU's last victory came at home on Jan. 18, 2014 (49-48), and the green and white has never defeated FHSU in Hays.
 
UNK holds a slight 3-2 edge over NSU since the RiverHawks joined the NCAA. Northeastern State won the lone meeting during the 2012-13 season and won the first matchup in the 2013-14 season. The Lopers have won the three meetings since and are 2-0 all-time in Kearney against NSU.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT – #8 ESU 87, NSU 58
NSU fell 87-58 to No. 8 Emporia State Saturday afternoon inside the NSU Event Center. Senior guard Kate Bellamy tallied a career-high 19 points for the second-straight game. True freshman guard Cailyn Long added 14 points and junior forward Mary Jane Buschmann contributed 10. NSU shot 39.3 percent (22-for-56) from the field, 28.6 percent (4-for-14) from behind the 3-point line and made all 100 of its free throws. ESU converted on 44.1 percent (30-for-68) of overall attempts, 41.2 percent (14-for-34) from the arc and 86.7 percent (13-for-15) from the free-throw line. Sandra Ngoie led the Lady Hornets with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Kelly Moten registered 18 points, seven assists, four rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 30 minutes. Kelsey Barnwell added 13 points and Kathryn Flott scored 11. The RiverHawks led in points off the bench (19-15) and fewer turnovers (10-11). Emporia State led in rebounding (48-25), assists (20-14), blocks (8-3), steals (8-7), points off turnovers (13-6) and second-chance points (19-7).
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET - #4 FHSU 79, NSU 53
Northeastern State lost 79-53 to No. 4 Fort Hays State in the 2015 MIAA Championship quarterfinals inside Municipal Auditorium on March 6, 2015. Chelsey Beathard paced NSU with 12 points in her final collegiate game. Fontana Tate and Sarah Sagely combined for six points, six assists and four rebounds in their last game donning the green and white. 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. 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).
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET - UNK 63, NSU 52
NSU lost 63-52 to the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Feb. 26, 2015, inside the NSU Event Center. The RiverHawks were led by Fontana Tate who scored a season-high 19 points. 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 a 8-4 edge in steals.
 
SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
No member of the NSU women's basketball team averaged double-digit scoring a season ago, but the RiverHawks have two players who are scoring at least 10 points a game this year. Junior transfer Mary Jane Buschmann leads the team at 13.5 points per game, while senior Kate Bellamy is averaging a career-high 10.3 ppg. Buschmann has notched double figures in 11 games this year, including the last six. She also has three 20-point games. Bellamy owns eight double-digit performances, including reaching the 10-point plateau in each of her last six games. She has recorded and then matched her career high of 19 points in her last two outings. True freshman Cailyn Long is third on the team in scoring at 8.3 ppg and had a season-best 27-point explosion earlier this year. Only once last season did a member of the team score at least 20 points in a game.
 
ROAD STRUGGLES
The RiverHawks have not fared too well away from home over the past three seasons. NSU posted a 7-6 road record in 2012-13, but the green and white is just 10-29 away from the NSU Event Center since 2013-14. Northeastern State has gone 9-24 in true road games and 1-5 in neutral-site contests. The RiverHawks have been able to post two true road victories (61-43 over Northwestern Oklahoma State, 66-60 over Northwest Missouri State) and one neutral-site triumph (59-58 vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State) this season.
 
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN KC
The 2016 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 qualified for postseason play, with the top four earning byes to Kansas City. The first round will be contested at host sites Feb. 29, 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 3, 5-6. The RiverHawks have advanced to the MIAA Championship Quarterfinals in all three years since joining the league in 2012-13.
 
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.