ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (Jan. 2, 2023) – Northeastern State opened the 2023 calendar year with a 74-53 loss to Missouri Western on Monday afternoon at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Courtney Lee led Northeastern State (4-7, 1-6 MIAA) with 11 points and six rebounds. The Riverhawks have lost six straight games while Missouri Western (12-4, 6-2) extended its winning streak to five games.

The Griffons opened the game on a 10-2 run and NSU never caught up. Missouri Western led 45-26 at halftime and was up by as many as 33 points before the RiverHawks rallied in the fourth quarter. NSU cut the gap to 21 points by the end of the game.

Mika Scott added 10 points for NSU, while Aubrey Brown and Tess Talo Tomokino each scored nine points. The RiverHawks shot 36.8 percent (21 of 57) from the field.
 
Connie Clark paced Missouri Western with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Brionna Budgetts had 15 points and Trinity Knapp added 13 points. The Griffons shot 48.1 percent (26 of 54) from the field.

NSU will return home to play its next two games, on Thursday against Central Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. and on Saturday against Newman (Kan.) at 1:30 p.m.