TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State (2-1) rose to their second consecutive victory by taking a 71-58 decision over Haskell (2-5) Wednesday night in the NSU Event Center.
On Nike N7 Indigenous Peoples' Night, the RiverHawks faced an initially tough battle with the opposing Fightin' Indians, as the RiverHawks had a narrow one-point lead after the opening period (12-11). Haskell struggled to take a lead of their own but did not let NSU pull away for much of the night, as the home side carried a six-point advantage to the half (33-27) and the contest stayed at single digits until there was 9:17 left in the night (50-39).
The Fightin' Indians didn't completely go away, as they scored seven unanswered to get within two scores (50-46) with 6:32 left. NSU rode a big offensive stretch to finish out the night, with a 21-12 run to close the matchup.
NSU treated the crowd to a solid performance from the floor, shooting 28-of-62 (45.2%) on the night. Meanwhile, the defense limited the opposing Fightin' Indians to under 40% shooting overall (23-of-60, 38.3%) and just four-of-15 from downtown (26.7%).
Halie Jones led the way for the RiverHawks offensively, providing 15 points on six-of-ten shooting with four rebounds and three assists.
Tess Talo Tomokino (11 points) and
Tor'e Alford (ten) hit double figures, as well.
Northeastern State rounds out a season-opening four-game homestand when they host Arkansas-Fort Smith at 1 p.m. at the NSU Event Center on Saturday, Nov. 18.
