HAYS, Kan. – Shooting woes plagued Northeastern State on Thursday evening as they fell 73-45 at Fort Hays State.  The RiverHawks (9-14, 5-11 MIAA) shot a season low 30.4 percent from the field and their 45 points was also the lowest this year.
 
Joi Bertrand was NSU's lone player in double-figures with ten points as the Tigers (20-5, 11-5 MIAA) won their fifth in a row at home.

Turnovers stifled the RiverHawks in the first half and with 12 in the opening 20 minutes and they would see Fort Hays State quickly pull away to a 43-23 advantage at the half.
 
In the second half, Northeastern State's defense put on a strong effort, but offensively they couldn't gain any ground on the Tigers.
 
Defensively, the RiverHawks held Fort Hays State to their second poorest shooting night of the season at 36.9 percent (24-65), with seven of their 11 three-pointers coming in the opening quarter.  On the glass, NSU only trailed 43-to-42 with Lauryn Blevins pacing the RiverHawks with seven; she would also have eight points along with Cailyn Long.

Despite dropping their sixth game in a row, the RiverHawks are a near lock for the MIAA Tournament holding a three game lead over Northwest Missouri who is in 13th place in the league standings.  The top-12 teams following next Saturday's games will advance to the tournament with the top-4 teams getting a first round bye to Kansas City.  
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3 - Joi Bertrand had her third straight game with at-least ten points.
5 – Cenia Hayes made her return to the starting lineup for the first time in the last five contests.
7 – Northeastern State's 32 defensive rebounds limited Fort Hays State to only seven second chance points.
 
COMING UP
Northeastern State will head to Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday for their final regular season road trip.  Tip-off will be at 2 p.m.