by AHLEQUAH – The RiverHawks didn’t set any scoring records in this year’s go around with Bacone, but they found their swagger in a 96-49 win Wednesday evening inside the NSU Event Center.
Cenia Hayes (Cherokee Nation) recorded her sixth 20-point game and a career night with 25 points. The junior’s previous high was 24, which she set twice. Hayes also set a personal mark with seven steals.
Cielo McClain scored 16 and had a team-high eight rebounds, Shae Sanchez had 14 points and five steals. Britney Ho was NSU’s fourth player in double-digits with ten points.
Northeastern State out-rebounded the Warriors 35-to-23, and they shot 51.4-percent (37-72) from the field.
“It’s great for the girls to get their first win,” Bullock said. “We knew we wanted to play up the line a little bit and create some pressure and create some offense with our pressure defense. I think in the second half, it really paid dividends as far as being able to finish baskets.”
“That was the game plan, and that’s what we were talking about. We just wanted to turn them over as many times as we could,” Hayes said. “We wanted to make them play fast, play at our speed, and create those opportunities. They started coming in the second half.”
The Warriors took advantage of a slow NSU start opened the game with 5-0 lead. After going scoreless through the first 2:30 minutes, the RiverHawks hammered Bacone with 24 unanswered points. During the stretch, NSU shot 10-for-13 from the field and banked four three-pointers. After one quarter, they led Bacone 28-12.
Play was more balanced in the second quarter with the Warriors shooting 63.6 percent from the field. Into the half, the RiverHawks led 47-32 with Hayes and McClain, both with ten points.
Out of the locker room, NSU closed the book on Bacone with a run of 13 straight points to open the third quarter. The RiverHawks led as many as 28 in the period.
In the fourth, Northeastern State blasted the Warriors with a run of 18 straight points and Hayes dominating the floor going 6-for-7 during that span.
