RiverHawks Battle Tarleton State in LSC Semifinals
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -- Northeastern State will attempt to return to the Lone Star Conference championship game for the first time since 2003 when the RiverHawks won the title.
The roadblock in front of the 25-5 RiverHawks is Tarleton State (23-5) a club NSU fell to in December at Stephenville, Texas, 56-42. The RiverHawks and Texans will tip-off at noon Saturday at Bartlesville High School's Bruin Field House.
The RiverHawks have been on a roll, winning 14 of the last 15 games heading into Saturday's semifinal clash with the TexAnns.
Northeastern State the LSC North Division champions and the No. 1 seed from the North is currently ranked No. 4 in the South Central Regional rankings and is expect to receive no less than an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament on Sunday night.
However, Northeastern State head coach Randy Gipson and his RiverHawks want that LSC crown and with it the automatic bid to the tournament. The River Hawks advanced to the semifinals rolling over Texas A&M-Kingsville 85-76 on Thursday whileTarleton State stopped Texas Woman's University 71-65.
"Tarleton is just a solid ball club that is well coach," said Gipson. "They are sound on both ends of the court. I think them and us are very close in scoring defense (Tarleton No. 1, Northeastern State No. 2) all year.
"They also put a lot of points on the board with a balanced offensive attack. Itsthe same thing that we can say about our own team.
"They got us the first time down there in December, but I don't think that really matters right now. I just think you have a couple teams that are playing well. It will be a great match up," said Gipson.
Against TWU JoAnne Jones, the lone senior for Tarleton State, scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four blocks in the quarterfinal game on Thursday night. It was the first time in four years that the TexAnns advanced past the first round in the tournament.
The TexAnns, the No. 2 seed from the LSC South, used a 17-3 run to start the second half to regain control of a game they trailed at halftime 30-28. But in the second half, Tarleton turned up the defensive pressure and sophomore forward Morgan Stehling scored all seven of her points in the first five minutes of the second half. Stehling also added eight rebounds and four assists.
Sonya Sundberg scored 14 points, while Shelby Adamson had nine points and six assists.
In the RiverHawks win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Jasmine Wright, who averaged just 3.9 points per game, came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points. Kendra Dean also scored 15 points from a reserve role, giving the RiverHawks 43 bench points in the victory.
"It was nice to see Jasmine have a break out game," said Gipson. "She has really been working hard. I thought some thing really came together for her last night (Thursday). She ran the offense well when she got the opportunity and got some good shots," said Gipson.
The other semifinal game involves the No. 2 seed from the North Division University of Central Oklahoma and the No. 1 seed from the South Division West Texas A&M.
The championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Bruin Field House.
