TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The eighth-ranked Fort Hays State women's basketball team picked up its 20th win of the season on Thursday (Feb. 5), defeating Northeastern State, 68-63. The Tigers (20-2, 11-2 MIAA) have now won 20 or more games in 15-straight seasons, the longest active streak in Division II and fifth-longest across all NCAA divisions.
 
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with the lead changing hands four times alongside five ties. The RiverHawks (16-5, 8-4 MIAA) led by as many as four late in the frame thanks to a 12-6 run, but FHSU scored six points in the final 41 seconds to take the lead for good.
 
Avery Lowe opened the run with a stick-back layup before Brooke Loewe made a steal in the backcourt and converted it into a layup to tie the game. Another NSU turnover gave the Tigers the final possession where Loewe hit a pair of free throws to give FHSU a 19-17 advantage.
 
After upper classmen got things going for the Tigers in the first quarter, scoring all 19 points, it was freshmen who helped build the lead to double figures in the second stanza. Mikayla Pilley and Olivia Mortensen scored seven points each in the frame, combining for 14 of FHSU's 15 points.
 
Pilley's final basket of the half, a layup after an offensive rebound, pushed FHSU's lead to 11 before the RiverHawks scored the final two points of the half to pull within 34-25 at halftime. The Tiger defense clamped down in the second quarter, holding NSU to just 3-of-17 shooting in the stanza (17.6 percent).
 
Northeastern State pulled within four after opening the second half on a 7-2 run, but the Tigers responded with a 13-2 run over a five-minute span to push the lead to 15. Five different players scored during the run while the defense forced four turnovers over that span.
 
The RiverHawks scored the final five points of the third quarter to pull within 10 before extending the run to 9-0 and later 14-1 to start the final frame, clawing within two, 50-48.
 
After failing to hit a field goal for the first four minutes of the fourth, the Tigers responded to the run by scoring on three-straight possessions to push the lead back to eight.
 
Northeastern State slowly bounced back, pulling within one possession with 2:05 to go before a huge left wing 3-pointer from Brittan Zeka doubled FHSU's lead to 63-57 with less than 100 seconds to play. Loewe hit 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to lock down the win.
 
Loewe led the way with 14 points and 14 assists, posting double-doubles in consecutive games for the first time in her career. It was the sixth time this season she reached at least 14 assists in a game. Playing limited minutes due to foul trouble, Talexa Weeter scored a season-low 13 points despite shooting 5-of-9 from the floor. Mortensen scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while fellow freshmen Pilley and Zeka scored seven points each.
 
The Tigers hit 48.1 percent from the floor (26-of-54) while limiting the RiverHawks to just 31.8 percent shooting (21-of-66), their second-worst shooting performance of the season.
 
Now a half-game up on second place in the league standings, MIAA-leading Fort Hays State will wrap up the road trip at Arkansas-Fort Smith Saturday (Feb. 7) beginning at 1 p.m.