by MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas hit a game-tying trey to force overtime and beat Northeastern State 73-65 to spoil an 18-point effort by Kylie Looney (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) on Monday afternoon.
Looney hit a career high six three-pointers, breaking her previous mark by one which was set on Dec. 13 inside the NSU Event Center against Bacone.
Northeastern State trailed as-many-as 13 points early in the third quarter and pulled within two by the end of the period. The key momentum change happened midway through the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run by the RiverHawks take a 57-54 lead with 3:33 left in regulation. Neither team could make a bucket until SAU hit a trey with 45 seconds left and NSU would not get off a go-ahead shot to force the contest to overtime.
In overtime, the RiverHawks picked up a 60-59 lead on Looney’s sixth trey but the Lady Muleriders would drop seven straight which would be too much for NSU to overcome.
For the second game in a row Northeastern State had four in double-figures, Mary Jane Buschmann put up 14, Cailyn Long had 11, and Rylie Torrey added ten. Northeastern State led in rebounding for the third time this year 38-to-32 with Long having seven as a team high.
In shooting, NSU was 40-percent (22-55) from the field with Southern Arkansas going 45-percent (27-60) on their side of the floor. Turnovers were a difference maker on Saturday with the RiverHawks having 19, which was six more than the Lady Muleriders. In points off of turnovers, SAU led 26-to-14 over the RiverHawks.
Miranda Griffin paced NSU with four assists and three steals as they will fall to 4-7 overall this season; Southern Arkansas is now 3-5 with the win.
Northeastern State will close out its non-conference slate on New Year’s Eve at Oklahoma Baptist.
