TAHLEQUAH -- Courtney Lee set career highs in points (26) and made field goals (ten), but Northeastern State fell to Kansas Wesleyan in non-conference action on Tuesday afternoon at the NSU Event Center.

Lee's offensive showcase marks her third performance in the month of December with at least 19 points, while it is the second time that she set a new single-game career high in scoring on the month.

The RiverHawks (5-7) fell behind early. The Coyotes emerged with a 20-6 run across the first 7:59, while NSU limped to just 3-of-12 (25.0%) shooting across the opening quarter. The second half saw similar shooting woes, as the hosts struggled to a 27.8% (5-of-18) clip to take a 17-point deficit to half (45-28).

The third quarter did little to spark a comeback, with the visiting side taking a +2 result over the stanza and a 19-point lead (62-43) to the final quarter. The fourth, however, saw plenty of fireworks from the NSU offense, which landed on 12-of-21 (57.1%) shots, while KWU was held to just five made field goals on the opposite side. NSU managed to cut the lead to as few as three points with 17 seconds remaining, but ran out of time to complete the comeback bid.

The Coyotes, assisted by 23 made free throws and ten in the fourth, out-rebounded the RiverHawks (41-to-31) and controlled the paint with a +10 on scoring underneath the basket (42-to-32). Lee's stellar performance for Northeastern State saw her help the RiverHawks to a +1 margin in assists (14-to-13) as one of three different NSU players with three assists. The senior also led the team in rebounds (five) and blocks (two), while matching with Brennan Kirchhoff for the team lead in steals (four).

Alex Hill reached double figures with 19 points, while Deyanna Douglas joined her with 11. Douglas was NSU's most productive contributor at the charity stripe, knocking down seven free throws on eight attempts. 

Northeastern State begins 2025 on the road at Pittsburg State on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 1:30 p.m.