Eighth-seeded Washburn women’s basketball (16-12) put up a fight to the end Tuesday night, March 3 in the first round of the MIAA tournament, facing off against the ninth-seeded Northeastern State University Riverhawks (12-15). But in the end, the Ichabods could not withstand an onslaught of 3-pointers from NSU.

After winning the tip and scoring within seconds with a layup from Honor Duvall, Washburn increased its lead with two more points from sophomore guard Erika Lane.

Down 4-0, the Riverhawks responded by hitting the first of many 3-pointers.

The game was tied up 9-9 at the 14-minute mark, with all of NSU’s points coming from beyond the arc, before the visitors went on a 6-2 run in the following two minutes to secure a 15-11 lead at the 12-minute media timeout.

Over the course of the next 10 minutes, the Riverhawks went on a crushing 18-7 run.

The Bods scored seven of the last 10 points of the first half, but despite that burst still trailed 25-35 going into the locker room.

The Ichabods were led at half in scoring by Honor Duvall and Erika Lane, each with eight points. But as a team, Washburn shot 30 percent from the field and 15 percent from 3-point range.

Northeastern State shot 39 percent from the field in the first half, but their real damage came from deep shots. The Riverhawks hit 67 percent of their 3-point attempts, going 8-12.

The second half was a back-and-forth battle, starting with a field goal from Duvall. But NSU came right back doing what they did best: shooting 3-pointers.

Eight minutes into the second half, only 12 points had been scored between both teams, but the Riverhawks still led, 40-32.

As far as putting points on the board, Washburn only received help in the second half from Duvall, Allyssa Nikkel and Janelle Travis. Together, the three scored all of Washburn’s 21 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Northeastern State only hit three 3-pointers in the second half compared to their eight in the first half, but they managed to maintain the lead the rest of the game, never letting their advantage drop below six points. The final numbers put the Riverhawks on top, 59-46, advancing them to the next round of the MIAA tournament where they will face No. 1 seed Fort Hays State on Friday.

Washburn shot 24 percent from the field in the second half and 8 percent from 3-point range, landing only one of 12 attempts.

With the loss, the Ichabods’ season came to a close with a final record of 16-12.