EMPORIA, Kan. – Northeastern State couldn't slow down #13 Emporia State as they fell on the road 98-52 on Thursday night.
 
The RiverHawks grabbed the first two buckets on the Lady Hornets and they responded back with 13 unanswered to lead the rest of the way.
 
Cailyn Long and Rylie Torrey both paced NSU with 16 points.  Long returned to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering an injury on Jan. 25, 2017 at Missouri Southern.  Torrey sank all six shots from the free-throw line to move her season percentage to 89.5 (111-124).
 
Northeastern State was limited to a season low 18 rebounds while allowing Emporia State to grab 53 off the glass.  On the offensive boards, ESU pulled down 22 to Northeastern State's four, and they were able to score 24 second chance points; the RiverHawks were limited to two.
 
On the shooting side, NSU made only five buckets in the first half, while coming out in the final 20 minutes going 48-percent from the field.  Despite, NSU finding an offensive rhythm in the second half, Emporia State shot 52.2-percent (35-67) from coast-to-coast.
 
Entering the final weekend of play, the RiverHawks needed wins and plenty of help in-order to qualify for the MIAA postseason.  Despite losses by Lincoln and Northwest Missouri on Thursday night, the RiverHawks are two games back of the Blue Tigers with one game remaining, and are eliminated from postseason play for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
 
Emporia State (23-4, 14-4 MIAA) had five in double figures with Addie Lackey and Kathryn Flott both having a game high 18 points.
 
Northeastern State is now 6-20 and 2-16 MIAA heading into the final game of the season on Saturday at Washburn.