TAHLEQUAH - The Northeastern State women's basketball team will be seeking its tenth win of the season on Sunday afternoon, where they will briefly reopen MIAA play with Missouri Southern at 2 p.m. in Tahlequah.   The contest will be themed toward the holidays with giveaways for children and photo opportunities with Rowdy.

Northeastern State sits at 9-1 on the year and is one of 34 remaining teams with one loss or fewer.  McKenzie Smith leads the RiverHawks with 13.9 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game.  As a team, they are ranked fifth nationally at the free-throw line, shooting 81.6 percent. Tahlequah native Kori Rainwater is anticipated to be available to play for the first time.  Rainwater is a transfer from the Air Force but missed the previous season due to injury.  She averaged 15.7 PPG as a senior at Tahlequah with 214 rebounds (7.9 RPG).

A Quick Look Back
Northeastern State continued its strong stretch of play, never trailing for the third consecutive game in an 88-53 victory over Bethany (Kan.) on Monday afternoon at the NSU Event Center.

The RiverHawks set a season high in points, jumping out to a 32-14 lead after the first quarter and maintaining control the rest of the way. Northeastern State led 49-21 at halftime and pushed the margin to as many as 45 points in the second half.

About Missouri Southern
The Lions enter Sunday at 8-3 overall with a pair of MIAA wins against Rogers State (84-67) and Central Oklahoma (75-57) at home. This weekend will mark the first road game on MSSU's MIAA schedule.

Three different players average at least 14.4 points per game. Grace Frazier leads the team in scoring (15.5 PPG) and has reached double figures in four straight. She recorded a season high of 26 points against Southern Nazarene on Nov. 29. 

Ashlyn Alloway averages 14.5 PPG and is in the top ten in rebounding across the conference with 7.7 boards per game. Alloway previously played at Lincoln (Mo.), where she was an All-MIAA Third Team pick in the 2023-24 season. Nariah Clay (14.4 PPG) is second on the team in made field goals with 57 entering the weekend.

Series History: Northeastern State trails the series 21-13 and snapped an eight-game skid to the Lions this past February here in Tahlequah.  

Up Next
The RiverHawks will travel south of the Red River to close out 2025 and will play the University of Texas-Dallas for the first time on New Year's Eve.