The headline: The next two weeks will be déjà vu for Northeastern State who will face Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney in a home-and-home series.  This go-around NSU will be the road team and next week in the final two regular season contests at the Event Center the RiverHawks will play host.  Northeastern State is chasing the Lopers for a ticket into the MIAA Tournament with UNK along with Northwest Missouri both sitting one-game ahead of the RiverHawks with 3-10 conference records.  

NSU saw some added help to their depth on Saturday with Cailyn Long returning to the court after a two game absence.  Long had six points off the bench in 14 minutes of action against the Jennies.

Rylie Torrey continues to pace the RiverHawks in scoring with 17 points a game which is fourth highest in the MIAA.  The NSU sophomore has scoring 10 points in all 21 games this season.

At the line: Northeastern State leads the MIAA in free-throw percentage and entering this Thursday's contest are 79.0-percent at the line with Rylie Torrey pacing the league at 89.8-percent.  At the national level, the RiverHawks are sixth best as a team, with Torrey seventh overall.  NSU's best season at the line was in 1990-91 season were they went 75.7-percent during the NAIA era.

Last time out for NSU: Northeastern State cooled off after a hot start and fell 77-54 to #14 Central Missouri on Saturday at the NSU Event Center. 

Mary Jane Buschmann led the RiverHawks with 15 points and she added four boards, Rylie Torrey had her 21st straight game in double-figures with 15 points.

The RiverHawks went head-to-head with the Jennies out of the gates and shot 58.3-percent from the field with four treys.  A 9-2 run by NSU with 3:03 left in the first quarter pulled the RiverHawks ahead 20-16 on Central Missouri.   However, the Jennies were on fire on their side of the floor and matched Northeastern State with 76.9-percent shooting and used an 11-3 run to pull ahead 25-23 after the first period. 

Central Missouri's hot shooting continued in the second period and they made 9-of-14 shots while the RiverHawks cooled with only eight points to trail 50-31 into the locker room.  The Jennies went 70.4-percent from the field in the first half, NSU was led by Torrey who had eight points.

NSU continued to trail by double figures in the second half and the closest they get was on a seven point run between the third and fourth period to cut the gap to 13 (60-47).  The Jennies responded back minutes later with back-to-back treys and a free throw to put NSU back by 20 again. 

Despite the fast start, the RiverHawks shot 35.3-percent (18-51) from the field while Central Missouri went 51.9-percent (27-52) on the other side of the floor.

Central Missouri had a 33-to-27 rebounding edge on the RiverHawks with Buschmann and Destiny Strange both having four boards.  

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Northeastern State (6-15, 2-11 MIAA) at Fort Hays State (16-6, 7-6 MIAA)
Feb. 9, 2017 | 5:30 p.m. | Hays, Kan.
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Game Notes

The series with Fort Hays State: Northeastern State trails the overall series to the Tigers 7-3 and the RiverHawks have dropped their last five meetings with FHSU.  In three trips to Hays, Kan., Northeastern State is winless.

Last time out for Fort Hays State: With Saturday's game (Feb. 4) broadcast live across the country as a part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase, the Fort Hays State women's basketball team made sure the national audience would get a good show. The Tigers stormed back from a 19-point third quarter deficit and held on late to complete the season sweep of Washburn, 61-60. Fort Hays State ended a two-game losing skid, improving to 16-6 this season and 7-6 in the MIAA. 

Nikola Kacperska led the Tigers with 13 points and three assists, dropping in 10 of her points in the third quarter. Jill Faxon added nine points, all in the second half. Emma Stroyan grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, adding eight points and two rebounds.

Fort Hays State finished the game shooting 39.2 percent from the floor (20-of-51) with Washburn hitting 41.4 percent from the floor (24-of-58). Washburn outrebounded the Tigers, 37-29. The teams combined for 45 turnovers on the night (20 FHSU, 25 WU).

Scouting Fort Hays State:  The Tigers have dropped four of their last six but hold onto a 10-1 record at home heading into their match-up with the RiverHawks.  Fort Hays limits their turnovers with 12.5 per game which is ninth lowest in the nation and they block the ball with 5.3 a game they are tenth nationally; Emma Stroyan is 26th nationally with 2.2 blocks a game.   On offense, the Tigers divide their points evenly with six players averaging over seven points an outing.  Jill Faxton is the long FHSU player in double-figures with 11.8 per game.  In MIAA play, Nikola Kacperska is leading the Tigers in scoring picking up just over ten points an outing.  Rebounding the ball is a highlight for FHSU, with the Tigers grabbing 43.3 boards per game, on the offensive glass they are picking up over 15 a game, which is second highest in the MIAA.

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Northeastern State at Neb.-Kearney (7-14, 3-10 MIAA)
Feb. 11, 2017 | 1:30 p.m. | Kearney, Neb.
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Game Notes

The series with Neb.-Kearney: This will be the eighth meeting between the Lopers and RiverHawks with NSU trailing the series 5-2.  Northeastern State won the first two meetings in the series with the next five going toward UNK.  In Kearney, Neb., the RiverHawks are winless in three trips.
 
Last time out for Neb.-Kearney:  Senior guard Kelly Moten had 32 points, four assists, three blocks and three steals to help 12th-ranked Emporia State defeat Nebraska-Kearney, 81-67, Saturday afternoon in Kansas.

A 2016 All-American, Moten finished the day 10 of 12 from the field (2 of 2 threes) and 10 of 10 at the line. She had 25 first half points as ESU outscored UNK 26-10 in the second quarter and used a late first quarter run to take control.

UNK did outscore ESU 43-31 in the second half and tallied 22 of its points off of 19 Hornet turnovers. The Lopers also grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, three coming from Alabama junior reserve Imani Kyser.

Four players reached double figures, led by Grand Island junior McKenzie Brown (15) and Battle Creek junior Michaela Barry (13). Hogberg added 11 with Lincoln freshman Grace Barry (10) having another strong effort off the bench. She also had six of the team's eight assists.

Scouting Neb.-Kearney: Six of the seven wins this season for the Lopers have come at home where they are .500 as a squad.  The Lopers are another team that limits their turnovers and with 13.2 a game they are 19th lowest in the nation.  On defense, teams are shooting 42.2-percent from the field which is 61st highest nationally, and in rebounds UNK is in the bottom-5 averaging 36 a game.  Michaela Barry is leading UNK in scoring with 14.9 points a game and she takes the majority of their shots with 287 field-goal attempts this season.  The Lopers will host Central Oklahoma prior to the RiverHawks.