TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State finishes a three-game homestand with a rematch against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m.

A live broadcast feed will be available for both games on The MIAA Network (PPV). The games can also be listened to live on Lakes Country 102.1 with Orry Phillips on the call. 

A quick look back 

The RiverHawks (7-8, 3-3 MIAA) returned to .500 in league play with two wins last week against in-state rivals. Behind a season-high 25 points from Alex Hill and an additional 18 each from Deyanna Douglas (also a season-high) and Courtney Lee, Northeastern dominated against Central Oklahoma in an 80-59 result from the NSU Event Center Thursday night. On Saturday afternoon, Hill and Lee returned to double figures with 13 and ten, respectively, while Annaston Brown added 11 against Rogers State in a 68-57 decision.

Both opposing offenses struggled to find life, shooting a combined 40-of-110 (36.4%) from the field and only 10-of-40 (25.0%) from three-point distance. With the pair of victories, the RiverHawks advance to 18-5 at home across the Ferguson era and 6-1 in home matchups this season.

About Arkansas-Fort Smith (10-5, 4-2 MIAA)

The Lions enter the week with two straight wins over conference opponents in Rogers State (68-53) and Central Oklahoma (85-74). The victories, occurring inside Fort Smith's Stubblefield Center, moved UAFS to 7-0 on the season at home. The team sits at 3-5 in away and neutral games.

UAFS owns the MIAA's sixth-ranked scoring offense (71.9 PPG), but are 13th in field goal percentage (39.2%) and tenth in three-point percentage (30.7%). Defensively, the unit allows the third-most points per contest (70.7) and are in the bottom half of the association in opposing field goal percentage (39.8%, ninth) and opposing three-point percentage (29.7%, tenth). The Lions are the top shot-blocking team in the league, averaging 4.7 per game.

A standout freshman season from Anna Trusty (13.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG) highlights the individual efforts from the sixth team of the McAdams era, with Morgan Browning (13.0 PPG) joining Trusty in averaging double figures. Sinetra Jones is third on the team in scoring (9.5 PPG) and is just outside the MIAA's top ten in rebounding (6.5 RPG). 

The Series

NSU is 6-5 all-time against UAFS, winning the most recent meeting in Tahlequah on Nov. 18, 2023 (74-57) but falling in Fort Smith earlier this season (72-64).

The series dates back to 2012. Northeastern State claimed the first four chapters in series history, but have dropped five of seven since then.

Up Next

The RiverHawks spend the last full week of January on the road, facing Emporia State on Jan. 23 before traveling to Wichita, Kan. to battle Newman on Jan. 25.