TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State weathered a poor shooting second half and held off Newman 58-51 on Thursday evening to punch itself a ticket to the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
The RiverHawks made just five buckets in the final 20 minutes and needed all 19 free throws to move to 13-12 overall. Holding a 9-11 mark in the MIAA, NSU is tied with Emporia State for eighth place in the association standings but holds the tiebreaker due to a RiverHawks' win over first-place Missouri Western.
Grace Abercrombie turned in a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Courtney Lee had ten boards and eight points.
Tor'e Alford had ten points and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
Northeastern State never trailed the Jets and led as many as 15 points with just under three minutes left in the third quarter. The team grabbed a season-best 52 rebounds, besting their previous mark by eight.
Amiya Josey paced Newman (2-23, 1-18 MIAA) with 13 points and dropped their 12th connective game.
The RiverHawks close out their home slate on Saturday with Central Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m., the program will honor its senior group following the contest.
