TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State women's basketball opens MIAA play Monday evening, with Washburn visiting the NSU Event Center.  The RiverHawks are seeking their first 4-0 home start in a decade and their second consecutive home win over the Ichabods. 

Monday's contest is one of two MIAA women's games that will kick off a 22-game conference schedule.  

Both the RiverHawks and Washburn's previous foe were Haskell Indian Nations.  The Ichabods handed the Fighting Indians a 64-51 exhibition loss.  Northeastern State's contest was more one-sided, 81-58.  

Northeastern State (3-1) was picked to finish in 12th place by the MIAA coaches and is third overall, averaging nearly 80 points per game.  Ashton Hackler is second in the MIAA, scoring 20 points per game, and Courtney Lee is sixth, averaging 18.  Lee is also sixth overall in rebounding (8.3) and has a pair of double-doubles this season. 

Washburn (3-2) will see its first regular season contest outside of Topeka Monday and is last in the MIAA, averaging 57.4 points per game.  Despite this, they are leading MIAA teams on the defensive side, allowing a league-low 52.8 points per game.  The Ichabods were picked to finish in tenth place under first-year head coach Lora Westling.

The Ichabods lead the overall series history over NSU, 13-6, and 6-3 in Tahlequah.  In MIAA openers, the RiverHawks are 6-4.

Tip-off Wednesday is slated for 5:30 p.m. fans can watch the game online on The MIAA Network at TheMIAANetwork.com/nsugoriverhawks; tickets are available at GoRiverHawksGo.com/tickets.