CLAREMORE, Okla.- The Rogers State women's basketball team suffered a 64-56 loss to Northeastern State at the Claremore Expo on Saturday afternoon.
 
Trailing by 18 points with one minute to play, the Hillcats used a 12-0 push to cut the deficit to six points with 20 seconds remaining.  The Hillcats were unable to cut the shortfall any further as they ran out of time and were forced to foul. The Riverhawks connected on two of their four free throws in the final 12 seconds to hold on for the victory.
 
The Hillcats took their first lead of the contest in the second frame as Kami Bunch converted the backside of her free throw attempts to give RSU the 22-21 advantage with 17 minutes to play. 
 
The Riverhawks converted seven second half 3-pointers. With the game tied, NSU hit consecutive treys to push the lead to six points with 14 minutes remaining. The Riverhawks held on to that single digit lead, expanding it to double digits in the final five minutes of play.
 
The teams traded buckets to start the first half before NSU used a spurt to take a 10-4 lead. NSU's 6-0 run was silenced with a defensive stop by the Hillcats followed by Breanna Burford trey.  The Riverhawks hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 15-9 advantage. RSU outscored NSU 11-6 to round out the stanza, trailing 21-20 at intermission.  
 
RSU was led in scoring by Kami Bunch with 11 points.  Amari Jones finished with 13 boards and eight points. The Hillcats won the battle on the boards, 41-33. Chelsey Beathard led the Riverhawks with 17 points, converting 6-7 from the field.  
 
Rogers State (1-6) returns to action on Tuesday as the Hillcats host Southern Nazarene at the Claremore Expo.  Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and can be viewed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.