MARYVILLE, Mo. (Dec. 31, 2022) – Northwest Missouri State seized control with a 17-6 run in the third quarter and pulled away for a 67-55 win over Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

Courtney Lee led NSU (4-6, 1-5 MIAA) with 19 points. The RiverHawks have lost five straight basketball games since beating Washburn (Kan.) to open MIAA play. Molly Hartnett scored a season-high 24 points for Northwest Missouri State (6-6, 1-5 MIAA), which beat NSU for only the fourth time in 11 meetings between the teams since March 2014.

A buzzer-beating put-back by Mika Scott gave the RiverHawks a 25-24 halftime lead and Ashton Hackler's jumper with 8:28 left in the third quarter extended NSU's advantage to 29-26.

But the Bearcats scored the next eight points and when Ella Moody scored with 1:07 left in the quarter, Northwest Missouri State led 43-35. After Hackler's basket, NSU's next field goal didn't come until :01 remained in the quarter.

Lee's 3-pointer with 5:18 left pulled NSU within 49-44 before Northwest Missouri State scored seven straight points to push its lead to double digits. The Bearcats eventually led by as many as 15 points.

Hackler finished with 12 points for NSU, which shot 42.5 percent (20 of 44) from the field. Northwest Missouri State shot 44.6 percent (25 of 56). Kelsey Fields had 13 points and 15 rebounds for her third double-double of the season for the Bearcats.

NSU will continue its road swing on Monday with a 4 p.m. game at Missouri Western (11-4, 5-2).