TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State is back home for the week to host Central Missouri on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before squaring off with Lincoln on Saturday at 1:30.

NSU enters winners of three straight, most recently claiming two wins on the road the previous week at Central Oklahoma (67-59) and Newman (68-62) to get to over .500 on the campaign and only a game back from an even win-loss record in league action.

The Setup
- Keith Ferguson is in his first season leading the program after spending the previous seven at the NAIA level with Bethany College (Kan.).
- The RiverHawks are in their 12th season as members of the MIAA and 27th season as an NCAA Division II program.  
- This week rounds out the home schedule for NSU this month. They return to play in the NSU Event Center for their longest homestand in conference play to begin the month of February, with games against Emporia State (Feb. 1), Washburn (Feb. 3) and Rogers State (Feb. 10). 

Storylines
- Saturday's win over Newman was Northeastern State's third straight, marking their longest winning streak in conference play since the 2013-14 season. 
- Last week's win over Central Oklahoma was the first road victory of the Ferguson era, while the team surpassed last year's road win total with another winning performance on Saturday against the Jets. 
- NSU's defense of the three-point shot proved to be strong again during last week's pair of games, as the RiverHawks held the Bronchos and Jets to a combined 8-of-39 (20.5%) from beyond the arc. NSU has held opponents to at or under 31.6% shooting from downtown in four of their last five. 
- The RiverHawks finished last weekend's contest at Newman with 14 steals, their best in an MIAA matchup across NSU's time in the conference. Halie Jones (six steals) and Tess Talo Tomokino (five) made trespassing particularly difficult for the Jets, becoming the first NSU players to record five or more steals in a single game since Courtney Lee did so over a year back with five on Nov. 16, 2022 against Kansas Christian. 
- Halie Jones enters the week as one of the top three-point weapons in the land, ranking second in NCAA Division II women's basketball with a 52.2% (35-of-67) shooting clip from outside the circle. 
- Courtney Lee reached double figures in both of last week's contests by scoring 11 points against the Bronchos and 14 against the Jets. Lee has scored at least ten in five of her last six. 
- Madina Camara made her first pair of starts as a RiverHawk in last week's road trip, becoming the tenth different NSU player to receive a starting nod during the season. 
- With Lincoln set to exit the MIAA following the conclusion of the season for the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), Saturday will mark the final conference meeting in Tahlequah between the two teams. 

Northeastern State vs. Central Missouri // January 18 at 5:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Central Missouri (12-3, 6-3 MIAA)
- UCM has won two straight after claiming last week's home matchups with Washburn (84-71) and Emporia State (81-55). The Jennies have been dealt three losses this season, but two took overtime to ultimately reach an outcome.
- Dave Slifer is in his 20th season leading the Jennies and has won more than 400 games as the head women's basketball coach at UCM. He's led the Jennies to 12 NCAA postseason appearances, highlighted by a national championship in the 2017-18 season. Slifer has won nearly 800 games in his head coaching career, which also includes head coaching stints at Missouri Western (1995-2004) and Mount Mercy (1989-1995). 
- The UCM offense is led by two of the conference's best scoring threats in Brooke Littrell (19.3 PPG) and Olivia Nelson (15.8 PPG). Littrell has also been a strong force on the glass this season, averaging 9.1 rebounds per game, while Nelson holds the team lead in assists (65, 4.3 assists per game). 
- The Jennies have been solid at securing second chances this season, as they average 11.3 offensive rebounds per game, led by Ashley Tull (2.8 ORPG) and Graycen Holden (2.2 ORPG).

Last Time They Met
Central Missouri 86, Northeastern State 48 | Feb. 25, 2023 | Tahlequah, Okla.

- The RiverHawks took a one-sided defeat amid poor closing periods across both halves, with the Jennies enjoying a +13 second quarter and a +20 finishing frame to secure the road triumph. 
- UCM shot nearly 50% from the floor (32-of-65, 48.5%) while NSU was off on over two-thirds of their shots (16-of-50, 32.0%). 
- Ashton Hackler led all NSU players with 16 points in the loss.

Series Notes
- UCM has won all 13 meetings in the all-time series. 
- Only two matchups have been decided by single digits, while the last four have seen the Jennies win by at least 15 points. 
- The RiverHawks have only exceeded 65 points a single time, scoring 73 in their second game against the Jennies on Dec. 21, 2013. 

Northeastern State vs. Lincoln // January 20 at 1:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Lincoln (6-9, 2-7 MIAA)
- Lincoln enters the week after a 77-64 win at Jason Gym against Washburn last Saturday. It is the team's second conference win and their first since their Nov. 30 opener at Newman (70-67). 
- The Blue Tigers travel to Claremore for a Thursday clash against Rogers State before going to Tahlequah during the weekend. 
- Andrea Mize is in her fourth season as the head women's basketball coach at Lincoln. LU was led to their best conference record of the Mize era in 2022-23, in addition to their best home record under the former Indiana Hoosier. Before leading the Blue Tigers, Mize spent two seasons as the head coach at Central Florida College (2018-20) and also served on the staff at Martin Methodist (2015-18). 
- Top scorer Ashlyn Alloway averages 16.6 PPG and is joined by Steph Torres (12.3 PPG) as the lone LU players to average double figures. Alloway is also a threat in rebounding with 7.8 RPG and is coming off a 33-point performance last week against Emporia State. 

Last Time They Met
Lincoln 76, Northeastern State 58 | Feb. 23, 2023 | Tahlequah, Okla.

- The RiverHawks took a one-point contest in their favor to intermission (29-28), but a second half collapse where the Blue Tigers went 48-29 the rest of the way brought the victory to the visiting side. 
- The Blue Tigers were efficient from the floor (28-of-56, 50.0%) and at the line (15-of-18, 83.3%), while the RiverHawks struggled in their shooting both overall (19-of-57, 33.3%) and at the free throw line (13-of-23, 56.5%). 
- Ashton Hackler scored 17 points while Courtney Lee also entered double figures with a 14-point effort in the defeat. 

Series Notes
- The series is all tied up at seven games each.
- Lincoln has won the last two. 
- Last season's LU sweep of NSU ended a multi-year run of success from the RiverHawks when battling the Blue Tigers, as Northeastern won five straight meetings from 2018-22. 

Coming Up
Northeastern State goes back on the road to face Missouri Southern (Jan. 24, 5:30 p.m.) and Pittsburg State (Jan. 27, 1:30 p.m.).