RiverHawks Host Kingsville

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State women will be looking to rebound from a Lone Star Conference loss to Tarleton State when the RiverHawks play host to another South Division opponent Texas A&M-Kingsville Thursday night at Jack Dobbins Field House. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

The Javelinas enter the clash with the RiverHawks sporting a 7-1 record and were among the others receiving votes in the ESPN Women’s Top 25 poll this week. The Javelinas defeated Texas Woman’s 71-64 in a LSC South Division contest in their last outing.

Northeastern State is currently 6-3 on the season and will be playing the Javelinas in the first of a two-game home stand. The RiverHawks will play Drury University of Spingfield, Mo., Saturday at 2 p.m.
“We get to come back home and play (8 of first 9 games on road),” said Northeastern State head coach Randy Gipson. “ And, that’s something we have been looking forward to do.

“But, we are playing a real good team and we are facing a big challenge. They are a real senior laden team that is very good offensively. We will be pressed to guard the three-point shot, something we haven’t had to do all year.

“ This is a big week for us. We are playing two teams we lost to on the road last year and our players know how important these games are.

”From my standpoint it will be good to see how this team responds to this challenge (following loss to Tarleton). We’d like to bounce back and get this win,” said Gipson.

The RiverHawks are averaging 62.3 points a game with junior post Jasmine Webb leading the NSU scoring attack with an 11.8 scoring average. She is followed by last season’s Freshman Player of the Year Alix Perkins. Perkins is scoring at a 9.3 clip.

Texas a&M-Kingsville enters the Northeastern State game averaging 87.3 points a game. Felicia Soza, 5-8 senior guard is the top point scorer, averaging 17.3 points. She is shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 44.2 percent on treys.

Kayla Naylor, 5-5 senior guard, follows in the scoring with a 12.5 scoring average and she is the Javelinas top field goal percentage shooter at 55.5 percent. Naylor is also shooting 82.1 percent at the free throw line.

Dyana Bullinger, the third member of the Javalinas guard trio, is a 5-10 senior, averaging 12.3 points a game. Bullinger is hitting 3-point shots at a 51 percent clip, sinking 25-of-49 attempts.

Angela Franklin, a 5-10 senior forward, is averaging 9.4 points and Rochelle Ikeni, 5-10 post, is scoring at an 8.0 clip and is the Javelinas’ leading rebounder pulling down 7.5 boards a contest.