TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's basketball team will battle to get back into the hunt for a postseason berth this weekend when two schools from the eastern half of Missouri come to the NSU Event Center. The RiverHawks (5-14, 2-11 MIAA) are first set to compete against Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 28, and they will then meet Lincoln at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 30. Both the Lions and Blue Tigers have identical 7-12 overall records and 3-10 marks in the MIAA. Lindenwood (eight games) and Northeastern State (six games) are currently on the two longest losing streaks in the league.
 

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	15	Mary Jane Buschmann	5-11	Jr-TR	13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg	St. James, Mo.
F	34	Hailey Chamberlin	6-2	Fr-HS	1.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg	Broken Arrow, Okla.
G	04	Alexis Hill	5-6	So-1L	3.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg	Garland, Texas
G	05	Kate Bellamy	5-9	Sr-3L	9.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg	NSW, Australia
G	22	Kylie Looney	5-8	Fr-HS	6.9 ppg, 2.3 apg	Adair, Okla.
Lindenwood's Probable Starters
F	13	Beth Maenpaa	6-1	So.	2.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg	Reedsburg, Wisc.
G	01	Jenny Rocha	5-4	Sr.	12.8 ppg, 4.3 apg	O'Fallon, Mo.
G	02	Charisse Williams	5-8	Fr.	9.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg	Ellisville, Mo.
G	05	Kylie Ferguson	5-9	So.	6.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg	Neola, Iowa
G	15	Kassidy Gengenbacher	5-10	Jr.	18.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg	Quincy, Ill.

NSU and LWU have matching 2-2 records against one another since they became MIAA members in 2012-13. All four wins have come via the home team. Lindenwood defeated NSU 57-52 earlier this season in St. Charles.
 
The RiverHawks and Blue Tigers are also knotted at 2-2 since 2012-13. Lincoln is 2-1 against NSU over that span in Jefferson City, which includes a 63-52 triumph earlier this season. Northeastern State won the only meeting in Tahlequah, which was a narrow 69-68 victory Dec. 4 of last year. In that contest, Alexis Hill made a layup and the requisite free throw after being fouled with less than a second to play to lift NSU over LU.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT – SBU 67, NSU 56
The RiverHawks lost to Southwest Baptist 67-56 Saturday afternoon inside the NSU Event Center. NSU (5-14, 2-11 MIAA) lost its sixth-straight game, while the Bearcats (11-7, 6-6) won their fourth in a row. Junior forward Mary Jane Buschmann led all scorers with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She also tallied four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Senior guard Kate Bellamy added 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. NSU shot 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the field, 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from behind the 3-point line and 75 percent (12-for-16) at the free-throw line. SBU shot 36.4 percent (20-for-55) overall, 35 percent (7-for-20) from distance and 83.3 percent (20-for-24) at the charity stripe. No Bearcat starter scored in double figures, and two (Alex Botkin, Mackenzie Skupa) were held scoreless. Aliyah Isaac led the visitors with 15 points off the bench, while Megan Rosenbohm added 11. NSU led in assists (19-11), steals (10-6), points in the paint (30-20) and fast-break points (4-2). The two teams tied in rebounds (36-36), blocks (6-6) and turnovers (15-15). SBU led in points off turnovers (20-14), second-chance points (12-1) and bench points (43-17).
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET - LWU 57, NSU 52
NSU lost to Lindenwood 57-52 inside Hyland Arena on Dec. 12, 2015. Junior forward Mary Jane Buschmann paced NSU with 19 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes. Senior guard Kate Bellamy added 10 points. Northeastern State shot just 28.8 percent (15-for-52) from the field, 16 percent (4-for-25) from behind the 3-point line and 72 percent (18-for-25) at the free-throw line. LWU shot 31.7 percent (20-for-63) overall, 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from behind the arc and 83.3 percent (15-for-18) at the line. Vanessa Zailo led Lindenwood with 17 points and 21 rebounds, while Kassidy Gengenbacher chipped in 17 points. The home team jumped on top of NSU 16-7 after the first quarter and was able to fend off all charges from the visitors. Northeastern State outscored Lindenwood in each of the final three quarters, but the RiverHawks were never able to take a lead or tie the game after the first quarter. LWU led in rebounds (52-32), assists (11-8), steals (5-2), points in the paint (30-12), and second-chance points (15-1). NSU led in blocks (9-2), fewer turnovers (11-12) and bench points (10-4).
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET - LU 63, NSU 52
Northeastern State lost to Lincoln 63-52 inside Jason Gym on Dec. 14, 2015. True freshman guard Cailyn Long paced NSU with a game-high 19 points. She was 7 of 11 from the field and 5-for-9 from behind the 3-point line. True freshman forward Hailey Chamberlin added 10 points off the bench. Northeastern State shot 43.4 percent (23-for-53) from the field and 28.6 percent (6-for-21) from behind the arc. The RiverHawks failed to make a free throw (0-for-2). Lincoln shot 36.4 percent (24-for-66) overall, 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from distance and 62.5 percent (5-for-8) from the free-throw line. Hunter Yoakum led LU with 17 points, while Zuri Hill added 14. Lincoln led in rebounding (44-29), fewer turnovers (8-10), points off turnovers (16-6) and second-chance points (16-2). Northeastern State led in points in the paint (34-24), bench points (33-10), assists (18-13), blocks (8-1) and steals (6-4).
 
SCORING IN DOUBLE FIGURES
No member of the NSU women's basketball team averaged double-digit scoring a season ago, but the RiverHawks have one player who is averaging double figures and one who is on the cusp. Junior transfer Mary Jane Buschmann leads the team at 13.0 points per game, while senior Kate Bellamy is averaging a career-high 9.9 ppg. Buschmann has notched double figures in 13 games this year. She also has three 20-point games. Bellamy owns 10 double-digit performances. True freshman Cailyn Long is third on the team in scoring at 8.6 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.
 
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.