DENTON, Texas (Dec. 19, 2017) - Alexis Nezianya and Whitney Apari each registered double-doubles for Texas Woman's University, but the Pioneers fell 66-58 to Northeastern State Tuesday night in nonconference action inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
Nezianya recorded her fifth double-double of the season with game-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Apari notched her first with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The 20 points posted by the Pioneers in the first half set a season-low before the team nearly doubled their output with 38 points in the last two quarters, boosted by 15 from Nezianya and nine by Apari.
 
In the fourth quarter, a three-pointer by Apari at the top of the key handed TWU (5-5, 2-2 LSC) a 49-47 lead before an NSU (6-4, 2-2 MIAA) layup tied the score with six minutes remaining. A layup by Nezianya kept the Pioneers up 54-52 midway through the period, but a RiverHawk three handed the lead over on the next possession. TWU was unable to convert again from the field and was forced to foul, eventually leading to the 66-58 final.
 
The TWU offense took a bit to get started as Whitney Apari scored the first Pioneer points of the evening at the free throw line nearly four minutes into the game with the RiverHawks leading 5-2. Cienna Rodriguez banked in a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to pull TWU to within 7-5 a minute later, and a jumper by Grace Mitchell during the last minute of the period tied things at 9-9.
 
The Pioneers took their first lead of the night at 11-9 on a layup by Bri'anna Gray a minute into the second quarter, and a baseline drive by Gray then increased the margin to 17-14. NSU pulled ahead 18-17 at the three-minute mark, but Desiree Phipps drilled a three from the left wing for a 20-18 TWU advantage with a minute-and-a-half until halftime. The RiverHawks hit a jumper and converted a three-point play to take a 23-20 lead in the final minute.
 
A pair of three-point plays underneath from Nezianya helped erase a five-point deficit in the third quarter to make the game 36-all with three minutes on the clock. Nezianya scored again in the paint, but two buckets by NSU completed the quarter for a four-point RiverHawk edge.
 
The Pioneers return from the holiday break by traveling to Eastern New Mexico Jan. 4 for a 7 p.m. contest.