CLAREMORE, Okla. - Grace Abercrombie scored 16 points but Northeastern State faded in the second half as they dropped their season opener 64-55 to Southwestern Oklahoma.  Newcomers Alex Hill and Gracy Shieldnight added ten points apiece as the RiverHawks shot 8-for-27 in the final 20 minutes. 

Northeastern State (0-1) led as many as seven points with 5:53 left in the second quarter but Southwestern Oklahoma went on a 9-2 run to close the stanza and had the game locked up at 31-31.  

The contest continued to be back-and-forth but following a three-pointer from Abercrombie at the 4:26 mark in the third quarter to tie the game at 39-39, NSU went scoreless for over six minutes while the Bulldogs scored 12 unanswered.  Northeastern State never could recover from the SWOSU scoring run despite out-rebounding them 42-for-23.  On the offensive glass, the RiverHawks had a 13-to-4 advantage and +7 on second-chance points. 

Southwestern Oklahoma (1-0) had three players in double-figures with Averi Zinn leading them with 13 points.   The Bulldogs shot 24-for-61 on the floor and were 7-for-24 from long range. 

Northeastern State was 20-for-54 from the field and committed 21 turnovers.  The RiverHawks will return to the floor of the Claremore Expo Center on Saturday to face Oklahoma Baptist at 2 p.m.