TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State held tight against No. 13 Fort Hays State, but a cold stretch in the third quarter gave the Tigers a 77-66 win inside the NSU Event Center on Thursday night.
 
Shae Sanchez led the RiverHawks with 14 points and three rebounds. Cenia Hayes had 13 points, shooting 50% from the field. As a team, the RiverHawks shot 49% from the field, hitting six three-pointers.
 
"We switched up the lineup and we brought some power off the bench and I think that showed up," head coach Fala Bullock said. "Shae coming off the bench helped us, Maegan got to the basket a couple times and drew some fouls and that helped us out. We adjusted our lineup and it allowed our bench to be more productive and I thought they all showed up today and everybody was trying to do their job as best they could."  
 
The Tigers and RiverHawks were even through the first few minutes, with both teams exchanging baskets. NSU cut the lead to three on a three-pointer from Maegan Lee, but Fort Hays hit a layup at the other end to stretch it to a five-point lead.
 
Fort Hays State started the second quarter on an 11-4 run taking advantage of three NSU turnovers to go up 32-20 on NSU. Things turned around for the RiverHawks when Cielo McClain hit a layup at the 5:55 mark, which kicked off a 13-4 run for NSU that would span the remainder of the half, sending them into the locker room down 36-33.
 
NSU tied the game early in the third quarter when Britney Ho found Tree Brooks, who drilled the three to make it a 38-38 game. They would take the lead one minute later when McClain hit a short jumper to put NSU in front 41-40. Jaden Hobbs would hit two free throws a short time later to put Fort Hays back in the lead, which they would not relinquish. 
 
FHSU would begin to pull away when Taylor Rolfs hit a three-pointer with 6:07 left in the quarter, which sparked a 13-2 run and give the Tigers a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The RiverHawks  tried to rally in the fourth, including a late span where they scored five unanswered points to end the game, highlighted by back-to-back jumpers by  Hayes and Sanchez, but the Tigers were able to respond and hold the lead.
 
Thursday's loss drops the RiverHawks to 4-9 overall and 2-4 in the MIAA.  Fort Hays State improves to 12-2 and 3-2 in league play.
 
Northeastern State will be back at the Event Center on Saturday to host Nebraska-Kearney at 1:30