EDMOND, Okla. — Northeastern State picked up a postseason victory for a second consecutive season, taking down the MIAA Women's Tennis Tournament's #3 seed in Northwest Missouri amid a close Friday evening clash.

The RiverHawks (10-7), who entered as the bracket's sixth seed, earned an early triumph over the nation's 20th-ranked team, claiming the doubles point over the Bearcats (21-4). The duos of Sofia Kotliarova and Alisha Moldakhmetova and Tegan Heaton and Sandra Mari Marti claimed 6-3 results over the opposition.

NSU took defeats in their first two singles bouts, though they were able to even the postseason meeting at two apiece with a victory at court six, as Heaton picked up her second win of the night. With the team's postseason fate hanging in the balance as singles competition surpassed the two hour mark, Moldakhmetova picked up a three-set triumph in #1 singles. Sofia Pignataro fell for a second time in the spring to Mari Marti, who earned the clincher on court three by winning a tight third set (7-5) over her matchup.

"What a match from these ladies today," head coach Tim McLane said. "It came down to just wanting it a little more than our opponents and we were able to make it happen. Northwest is one of those programs that is really solid every year, so to pick up that win in that close of a match just shows how hard we worked and competed today."

The RiverHawks march into the tournament semifinals, facing Missouri Western at 10 a.m. Saturday.