by TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women’s basketball team fell to Southeastern Oklahoma State 59-54 Saturday evening inside the NSU Event Center.
The RiverHawks (1-1) dropped their second game of the season on the final day of the 2014 Stuteville Automotive Group MIAA GAC Basketball Challenge. The Savage Storm completed the opening two days of the campaign with a perfect 2-0 mark.
NSU was led by senior guard Chelsey Beathard. She finished with her first-career double-double after tallying 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Fellow senior guard Fontana Tate (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) also registered double figures with 14 points.
NSU shot 31.7 percent (19-for-60) from the field, 21.7 percent (5-for-23) from behind the three-point line and 64.7 percent (11-for-17) at the free-throw line. SEOSU was 20-for-57 (35.1 percent) from the field, 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) from distance and 13-for-16 (81.3 percent) at the charity stripe.
The Savage Storm was led by Emily Williams, who finished with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. Teammate Kaylie Baxter had five points and 10 boards.
Southeastern Oklahoma State led the entire first half, jumping to a 10-point lead midway through the frame. NSU cut the deficit down to one just before half, and the RiverHawks entered the locker room down 30-29.
Northeastern State gained the lead early in the second stanza, but a 14-2 run pushed SEOSU’s advantage to 10 with 13:12 to play. NSU fought back into contention and found itself ahead 51-48 with five minutes to play, but the visitors ended the game on an 11-3 run to remain unbeaten this season.
The RiverHawks will now head on the road for the first time this season when they travel to Fort Smith, Arkansas, for a 5 p.m. tilt Nov. 25 against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH RANDY GIPSON
Opening Statement…
“Obviously we’re really disappointed. I didn’t feel like we started the game with the kind of effort that we needed to. We tried to reach down and find it at different times, and we had a few decent stretches, but we couldn’t sustain it. I feel like (Southeastern Oklahoma State was) a veteran team that was well-prepared. They came in and played really hard. We were a little bit on our heels and I’m not really sure why. I don’t think we were emotionally ready to play this game. That turns into a lot of mistakes: missed shots, turnovers, defensive missed assignments, lack of rebounding on the defensive end. All of those are byproducts of not being focused and emotionally up to play.”
On turnovers and missed layups…
“We have to improve on those things. It’s a cornerstone of the way that we play. We have to take care of the ball and we didn’t tonight. We just weren’t very efficient on offense. We made turnovers and we missed shots. We’re not particularly good at the free-throw line. We didn’t really play very well in any phase of the game on offense. Southeastern played with a lot of energy and I think their defense had something to do with it.”
