TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State goes to Edmond for a Wednesday contest against Central Oklahoma (5:30 p.m.) and rounds out the brief two-game road trip in Wichita to face Newman on Saturday (1:30 p.m.).

The RiverHawks enter the week after splitting last week's pair of conference meetings at the NSU Event Center against Northwest Missouri (L, 71-69) and Missouri Western (W, 74-58).

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 marks the first time the team has traveled in 2024. They return to the road later in January with away games against Missouri Southern (Jan. 24) and Pittsburg State (Jan. 27). 

Storylines
- Saturday's win over Missouri Western was the team's sixth in the 2023-24 season, matching their total from the previous campaign. All six wins have been at home, marking the first time the team has surpassed five home victories since the 2017-18 season. 
- The RiverHawks will look to put their struggles away from campus behind them in 2024, as they enter the week on a six-game road losing streak and have taken losses in 15 of their last 16 away from Tahlequah. Their last away victory came on Feb. 4, 2023 against Rogers State. 
- The three-point offense was on point throughout their three-game homestand, as the team shot at least 40.9% from long distance in every game. Notably, their 17 converted treys on Dec. 30 against Ecclesia (Ark.) set a program record. 
- Halie Jones put together another stellar pair of performances in Northeastern State's return to conference play last week. The fifth year entered double figures against Northwest Missouri with ten points before firing up 21 on the box score last Saturday against Missouri Western, with 12 of her points in the matchup with the Griffons coming in the fourth quarter. Jones currently leads all NSU players with 14.6 points per game, a total that ranks ninth in the conference, while she's logged at least 21 points in two of her last three.
- After missing the team's 2023 finale against Ecclesia, Tor'e Alford returned to the lineup last week and was the team's leading scorer across the first week of the calendar year, scoring 14 against Northwest Missouri and striking for an 18-point afternoon against Missouri Western. 
- Courtney Lee highlighted the efforts of the RiverHawks on the glass last week, grabbing eight misses against the Bearcats before becoming the first NSU player to get at least ten rebounds in one game this season with 11 against the Griffons. 
- Thursday featured the NSU debut of Emily Weathers. The senior from Scott City, Kan. comes to the program after spending time previously at Emporia State and Bethany (Kan.). Weathers was a key contributor on Ferguson's last team at Bethany, finishing the 2022-23 season with 12.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG and a 53.5% field goal percentage, the best mark in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), while receiving an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention nod.
- NSU will look for strong performances on the road this week on both ends of the floor against the MIAA's two lowest-scoring offenses and two highest-scoring defensive units in Central Oklahoma (64.2 PPG, 73.8 PAPG) and Newman (58.9 PPG, 75.2 PAPG). 

Northeastern State at Central Oklahoma // January 10 at 5:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Central Oklahoma (2-12, 1-7 MIAA)
- UCO enters losers of six straight, with five being decided by at least ten points. The team's lone conference victory came on Dec. 2 against Lincoln in a 71-64 decision. 
- Emma Andrews is in her second season leading women's basketball at UCO. She came to Edmond in May 2022 after six seasons as the head coach at Cameron, featuring five Lone Star Conference tournament appearances and a berth in the 2020-21 NCAA Division II national tournament with the Aggies.
- Reagan Fox leads the Bronchos in scoring (9.9 PPG) and has been particularly solid of late, reaching double figures in her last four. 
- Alena Wilson is the team's top rebounding threat (5.4 RPG) and also holds the team crown in blocks (ten) on the season. 

Last Time They Met
Central Oklahoma 72, Northeastern State 57 | Feb. 18, 2023 | Edmond, Okla.

- After a slow start to the game, featuring an eight-point first quarter on 20.0% shooting (3-of-15), the RiverHawks fell behind by double digits in the opening stanza. They brought the game back to five and were down by seven by the conclusion of the half. A 12-4 scoring run favoring the hosts to open the following frame brought the game back to double digits, where it remained the rest of the way.
- Both sides were plagued by less-than-stellar shooting days, with the RiverHawks limping to a 32.3% (21-of-65) result, while UCO shot just 37.7% (26-of-69) from the field. 
- Ashton Hackler (17 points) and Courtney Lee (11) entered double figures, with Lee recording a double-double with 11 rebounds. 

Series Notes
- The series enters this week tied at 32.
- The Bronchos have won 13 of the last 14. 
- The RiverHawks have lost the last seven Hamilton Field House, with their last win being a 67-61 OT thriller on Feb. 6, 2016. 

Northeastern State at Newman // January 13 at 1:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Newman (2-12, 1-7 MIAA)
- Newman hosts Rogers State on Wednesday before entertaining the RiverHawks on Saturday. The Jets will look to rebound after an 84-58 loss to Washburn in Topeka last Saturday. 
- Amy Briggs is in her first season as the head women's basketball coach at NU. Most recently, she spent three seasons as an assistant on the Truman State staff, where she was the team's associate head coach for the 2022-23 season. 
- Carissa Beck leads the team in scoring (9.1 PPG) and has shown solid distance shooting ability with a 36.4% (24-of-66) clip from outside this season. 
- The Jets have had a particularly difficult time finding offense against MIAA foes, averaging 52.5 PPG in conference play, with Beck being the only player that averages more than 7.5 against conference opponents. 

Last Time They Met
Newman 74, Northeastern State 66 | Feb. 15, 2023 | Wichita, Kan.

- The Jets opened the matchup with ten unanswered and would never surrender the lead, though NSU fought back to bring it back to a two-possession game in the final minute. 
- A big day at the free throw line kept the RiverHawks in the game despite an ice cold 28.8% (17-of-59) shooting performance, going 25-of-30 (83.3%) at the charity stripe.
- Courtney Lee had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead NSU with a double-double in defeat.

Series Notes
- Northeastern State holds a 6-3 lead in the all-time series.
- Newman enters the week winners of the last two meetings. 
- The last four have been decided by ten points or less. 

Coming Up
Northeastern State returns to the NSU Event Center the next week for a brief two-game homestand featuring dates with Central Missouri (Jan. 18, 5:30 p.m.) and Lincoln (Jan. 20, 1:30 p.m.).