TAHLEQUAH – Career nights for Shae Sanchez and Morgan Hellyer lifted the RiverHawks past Newman 66-60 on Thursday evening in both team's MIAA opener inside the NSU Event Center. 

The win snapped a modest three-game skid for the RiverHawks and moved them to 3-5 overall and 1-0 in MIAA play.

"I'm really proud of the team," Head Coach Fala Bullock said. "They really hung in there and showed some true grit and character in those last minutes. It was a great win."

Sanchez dropped down six three-pointers and 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting, Hellyer had 12 points and four assists. Cenia Hayes and Morgan Lee both added eight with Hayes grabbing a team-high eight boards.

The RiverHawks held Newman scoreless nearly seven minutes out of the gates with the score 9-7 after the first quarter.  Hellyer highlighted a cool-shooting half for NSU and led the team with ten points into the intermission; the NSU senior was 4-for-5 from the field, with the team shooting 38.5-percent.  Newman's starters only had two points but landed three shots from downtown, matching a season first-half high against the NSU defense.

Northeastern State continued to lead until a Newman timeout with 8:44 left broke the RiverHawks' momentum. The Jets went on a 14-3 run pull ahead 51-47.  With six minutes to go Morgan Lee hit her first trey of the night to get the RiverHawks back within one.    However, the Jets pulled back ahead as many as five with just under three minutes to go.  

The game turned on a dime for NSU, and they finished the game on a 14-3 run behind five points from Sanchez and Morgan Lee to blast past Newman in the final minutes.

The RiverHawks went 23-for-50 from the field and were 9-for-19 from downtown. The Jets (3-5, 0-1 MIAA) held a 31-to-28 rebounding edge on NSU.

Northeastern State returns to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon to host rivals Central Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m.