Game 16: Northeastern State (8-7, 4-4 MIAA) at #19 Central Oklahoma (15-2, 6-2 MIAA) at 1:30 p.m. | January 20, 2018
Edmond, Okla. | Hamilton Field House
 

Live Stats	sidearmstats.com/uco/wbball/
Live Stats for Media	sidearmstats.com/uco/wbball/media
Live Audio	GoRiverHawksGo.com
Live Streaming Audio	portal.stretchinternet.com/nsu/
Play-by-Play	Scott Pettus
Live Streaming Video	TheMIAANetwork.com ($)
	Northeastern State Game Notes

The Series 
Saturday's meeting will be the 63rd between Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State and dates back to the 1978 AIAW Tournament.  NSU leads the overall series over UCO, 37-24.  In the NCAA Division II era, the RiverHawks lead the away series in Edmond, 13-9, but have lost three of their last four contests in Hamilton Field House.  Since MIAA membership, NSU holds a slight 6-5 advantage over the Bronchos.

The Coaches
Fala Bullock is in her first season as head coach and was named to lead her alma mater on April 1, 2017 to replace Randy Gipson who retired after 18 years.  With six years of head coaching experience, Bullock is 106-81 overall and within conference play she is 65-56.  She has spent the last four seasons (2013-17) as head coach at NCAA Division II Armstrong State University, where she recorded a career mark of 60-52.  In her first season at Armstrong State, she led the Pirates to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, and reached the Sweet 16. 

Bullock played for Gipson for two seasons, and was a graduate assistant under Gipson from 2004 to 2006.  As student-athlete, Bullock played in 57 games and NSU went 36-19, winning the 2003 Lone Star Conference Tournament, and made the program's first NCAA Tournament berth.   As a member of Gipson's coaching staff, NSU reached the Sweet 16 in 2004, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and 2006.

Guy Hardaker (223-122) is in his 12th season at Central Oklahoma and has led UCO to five Division II national tournament appearances. Hardaker was a three-year baseball star at UCO from 1982-84 and taken in the 10th round by the Phillies in 1983 and spent two years playing in the minor leagues, reaching as high as the Triple A level.

Last Time Out for NSU 
Northeastern State could not keep up with a hot-shooting Emporia State team in the third quarter to fall 88-66 on Saturday afternoon.  NSU had three players in double-figures with Lauryn Blevins having a team high 13, Cailyn Long added 12, and Cenia Hayes scored 10.  Emporia State with the win over the RiverHawks pushed their home winning streak at White Auditorium to 27.  Despite the final score, the RiverHawks led for most of the first half and only trailed 32-29 at the intermission.

Last Time Out for UCO 
The Bronchos have been off since last Saturday and edged out Washburn, 62-60 in Topeka, Kan. Melinda Murillo led UCO with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Johnson, Blessington, and Shatoya Bryson each scored 11, and Jesheon Cooper had four points, 11 rebounds, and one blocked shot.

100
Alexis Hill's next appearance will be her 100th in a Northeastern State uniform.  The NSU senior point guard from Garland, Texas has started in 76 contests and averaged 27.1 minutes during her 3+ seasons.

Rising Forces
NSU freshman Cenia Hayes and Lauryn Blevins are both averaging just over ten points a game this season for the RiverHawks.  Blevins in four MIAA contests is second in scoring with 12.3 points a game, and was inactive the last time NSU played Central Oklahoma.

A NSU win would…

• Split the season series with the Bronchos.
• Move the RiverHawks to 4-4 on the road this season.
• Would be NSU's first road win on a Saturday, presently they are 0-3.

A UCO win would…

• Go to 8-0 at home this season.
• 18 straight wins over Oklahoma Institutions. 
• Be their fourth straight over the RiverHawks.

Coming Up
Northeastern State will be at home next to host Missouri Southern on Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m.