TAHLEQUAH – Rylie Torrey had a team high 20 points but a strong shooting second half by Southwestern Oklahoma allowed for them to rally from 12 points back to beat Northeastern State 84-78 on Saturday afternoon at the NSU Event Center.  
 
Through five games in a NSU uniform Torrey is averaging just over 18 points a game and has hit double-figures in each of those contests.
 
"She (Torrey) is one ray of hope in terms of having someone who tries to compete," said head coach Randy Gipson.  "She did a pretty good job of defending their best player for the most part…she made some things happen offensively.  But we don't do it has a team, we don't stay hooked up and play as a team…we've got to get everyone involved and everyone focused."
 
"We're just going to work real hard, I'm going to work the heck out of them, and see who wants to stand up and compete in the next game."
 
NSU had three others in double-figures with Cailyn Long picking up 15 points, Mary Jane Buschmann had 13 and was a rebound short of a double-double with nine; Destiny Strange also scored 12 for NSU and added five boards.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma edged NSU in shooting with 44.3-percent (31-70) with the RiverHawks' 43.5-percent (30-69).   Most of the SWOSU shooting came in the final 20 minutes with the Lady Bulldogs going 53.6-percent. 
 
Northeastern State led in rebounding 21-to-19 at halftime but it would be the Lady Bulldogs controlling the glass in the second half 28-to-14. 
 
Outside of the opening bucket by SWOSU, the RiverHawks were ahead the entire first half and carried the momentum into the locker room thanks to a layup from under the basket by Hailey Chamberlin to give NSU a 37-26 lead.  Torrey sank a pair of treys and had ten points at the half with Strange having nine to help carry Northeastern State.   The RiverHawks were also aided to their lead with Southwestern Oklahoma going 1-for-10 from the arc and missing half of their ten free throws.  
 
Southwestern Oklahoma opened the second half with two straight buckets before Long sank a trey to get the NSU lead back up to 40-30.  The RiverHawks would take their largest lead of the game on a Buschmann three pointer to go up 59-47 on SWOSU with a minute left in the third period.  However, the Lady Bulldogs closed the period on a seven-point swing and started the fourth quarter with back-to-back buckets before Torrey hit a layup to give NSU a 61-58 lead with 8:02 left. 
 
After trading buckets, the Lady Bulldogs pulled even at 64 for the fifth tie of the afternoon and they went up by three on a bucket and a foul with 5:15 on the clock.  Kylie Looney in the next possession pulled the RiverHawks back even with a trey in front of the NSU bench but it would be the last tie of the game.  Southwestern Oklahoma followed up with five straight points and they shot 10-for-17 in the final quarter to complete the rally.
 
Buschmann had a pair blocks and three steals, Alexis Hill led the RiverHawks with six assists and she also added a pair of steals.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma's Tyra Aska was Saturday's leading scorer with 29 points.
 
The loss will send NSU to 2-3 overall while Southwestern Oklahoma will go to 3-2.
 
Northeastern State will return to the floor on Wednesday for their MIAA opener at 5:30 p.m. to host Missouri Western State. 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Cailyn Long has hit double-figure scoring in ten of the last 11 contests for NSU.
- NSU's bench had a 24-to-18 scoring edge on SWOSU.
- The RiverHawks led for 29:41 minutes.
- Both teams have split the last six meetings.
 
SOUTHWESTERN OKLA. (3-2)
Tyra Aska 13-16 0-0 29; Hailey Tucker 5-12 5-6 16; Hayden Priddy 2-15 5-6 9; Katie Percival 2-4 3-4 8; Taylor Hedrick 3-6 2-8 8; Whitney Dunn 3-6 1-2 7; Savannah Gray 2-9 0-0 5; Shalie McAlister 1-2 0-0 2; Nicole Middleton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-70 16-26 84.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE (2-3)
Torrey, Rylie 8-17 1-2 20; Long, Cailyn 6-13 0-0 15; Buschmann, Mary Jane 4-11 4-4 13; Strange, Destiny 4-4 3-4 12; Griffin, Miranda 4-7 0-1 8;Looney, Kylie 2-11 0-0 6; Chamberlin, Hailey 2-3 0-0 4; Bureau, Storm 0-1
0-0 0; Hill, Alexis 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 30-69 8-13 78.
 
Southwestern Okla.............   16   10   28   30  -   84
Northeastern State............   21   16   22   19  -   78
 
3-point goals--Southwestern Okla. 6-21 (Tyra Aska 3-3; Savannah Gray 1-6; Katie Percival 1-2; Hailey Tucker 1-4; Shalie McAlister 0-1; Hayden Priddy 0-5), Northeastern State 10-29 (Torrey, Rylie 3-6; Long, Cailyn 3-6; Looney, Kylie 2-8; Strange, Destiny 1-1; Buschmann, Mary Jane 1-4; Hill, Alexis 0-1; Griffin, Miranda 0-3).
Fouled out--Southwestern Okla.-None, Northeastern State-None.
Rebounds--Southwestern Okla. 47 (Hailey Tucker 9), Northeastern State 35 (Buschmann, Mary Jane 9).
Assists--Southwestern Okla. 15 (Hailey Tucker 4; Hayden Priddy 4), Northeastern State 21 (Hill, Alexis 6).
Total fouls--Southwestern Okla. 16, Northeastern State 18.
Technical fouls--Southwestern Okla.-None, Northeastern State-None.
A-632