Exhibition Game #1
#14 Emporia State Lady Hornets (30-4, 16-3 MIAA)
at Kansas State Wildcats (11-19, 5-13 Big 12)
Series Record: KSU leads 5-0 (RS)/3-1 (Exhib) Last Meeting: at KSU 89, ESU 57 (Nov. 7, 2008)
Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 • 7:00 p.m. • Manhattan, Kan. • Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM (6:40 p.m.) Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Television: COX Kansas 22 Internet Video: None
Up Next: vs. Evangel (Exhibition) • Nov. 6, 2014 • 6:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • Slaymaker Court at White Auditorium
PLAYING THE BIG DOGS
The #14 Lady Hornets open the season with an exhibition game at Kansas State. It is the tenth exhibition game against a Division I team since 2004 and 11th game overall against D-I teams in that time. Emporia State is 2-9 against Division I teams in that time with a 64-59 exhibition win against Kansas State in 2006 and a 68-64 win over Tulsa to open the 2010-11 season.
SUSTAINED EXXCELLENCE
Emporia State won their first national championship in 2010, 12 years after making their first appearance in the national title game. The Lady Hornets were ranked 5th in last year's preseason USA Today Sports/WBCA Coaches Poll, the 17th straight year the Lady Hornets received votes in the preseason poll. The Lady Hornets have 18 straight winning seasons, the longest active streak in the MIAA. They have made the NCAA Tournament 16 times in the last 18 years and their 32-15 record in the tourney is ranked fourth among active Division II schools in total wins.
THE COACHES
Jory Collins is 96-31 in his fifth year as the head coach of the Lady Hornets. He has 18 career wins against Top 25 teams with 11 wins in the last 13 match-ups. This is his 14th season on the Lady Hornet coaching staff and Emporia State has advanced to the NCAA tournament in 12 of those seasons. He is 10-2 in MIAA Tournament games, and the first person to make it to the championship game in each of his first four years. This is his first meeting with Kansas State.
Jeff Mittie is in his first season at Kansas State and is 454-234 in his 23rd year as a head coach. He was 7-0 against Emporia State while at Missouri Western from 1992-95.
ABOUT THE LADY HORNETS
Emporia State went 30-4 last season, 16-3 in the MIAA. The Lady Hornets return two starters from last year and five players with starting experience. Merissa Quick earned second-team All-MIAA and All-Defensive Team honors and is a two-time Most Outstanding Player of the MIAA Tournament. Kelly Moten was named to the All-Tournament team. Emporia State is ranked #14 in the Women's D2Bulletin Preseason Top 25.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Kansas State went 11-19 last year and 5-13 in the Big 12. The return ten letterwinners from last season led by Aisha Woods at 10.1 points and 2.4 assists per game. Breanna Lewis is the leading returning rebounder for the Wildcats at 4.6 rebounds per game.
THE SERIES
Emporia State trails the all-time series 5-0 in regular season games from the 1974-75 through 1985-86 seasons. The Lady Hornets are 1-3 in exhibition action against the Wildcats with a 64-59 win on Nov. 5, 2006.
LAST TIME VS. KANSAS STATE
Ida Edwards had 19 points but Kansas State scored 26 points off Lady Hornet turnovers in an 89-57 victory for the Wildcats in Manhattan on Nov. 7, 2008. K-State hit eight of 15 three pointers after converting just four of 21 in their first exhibition game. Edwards was joined in double figures by Cassondra Boston with 12 points and five assists.
UP NEXT
Emporia State plays Evangel in their exhibition home opener on Thursday. Tip-off from Slaymaker Court in White Auditorium is at 6:00 pm.
BRING IT ON
The Lady Hornets are 63-42 (.600) against Top 25 teams since 1997-98. Emporia State is 25-9 (.735) at home against Top 25 teams since 1997. The Lady Hornets have 23 wins against Top 10 teams, including four against #1 teams in the last six seasons. Emporia State is 23-14 (.622) in neutral site games with top 25 foes since 1997.
SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE
Emporia State won their first national championship in 2010, 12 years after making their first appearance in the national title game. The Lady Hornets were ranked 5th in last year's preseason USA Today Sports/WBCA Coaches Poll, the 17th straight year the Lady Hornets received votes in the preseason poll and the highest preseason ranking since opening #3 in the 2006-07 poll. The Lady Hornets have opened the season in the top 15 nationally in 12 of the last 17 years. The Lady Hornets have 18 straight winning seasons, the longest active streak in the MIAA. They have been in 18 straight MIAA tournaments, the second longest active streak in the MIAA. The Lady Hornets have won seven MIAA regular season championships in the last 16 years. They have made the NCAA Tournament 16 times in the last 18 years and their 32-15 record in the tourney is ranked fourth among active Division II schools in total wins. Emporia State has made five Elite Eight trips, tied with Delta State, Northern Kentucky and North Dakota for the most since 1997.
LET'S HANG SOME MORE
Aneta Kausaite, Jurgita Kausaite, Tara Holloway-Churchill, Emily Bloss-Carpenter, Michelle Stueve-Corpening, Cassondra Boston and Alli Volkens have had their jerseys retired in White Auditorium for earning All-American honors at Emporia State, graduating and playing at least two years for the Lady Hornets.
ALL-TIME ALL-MIAA TOURNAMENT TEAM
Lady Hornets Emily Bloss, Tara Holloway and Jurgita Kausaite were named to the ten person All-Time All-MIAA Tournament Team by a panel of past and current sports information directors and media members prior to the 2007 Tournament. Bloss averaged 17 points in her twelve tournament games, including a tournament record 76 points as a senior. Holloway scored 151 points in her career. Kausaite scored 120 points in six tournament games. Emporia State's is 26-12 all-time in MIAA Tournament play and the Lady Hornets are the last team to win four straight MIAA titles.
MIAA TOURNEY EXCELLENCE
Emporia State has won the last two MIAA Tournament Championships and are the first team to have two different streaks of at least four straight championship games. The Lady Hornets won four straight championships from 1998-2001 and have been in the last four title games.
NEWBIES
Kelly Moten became just the fourth freshman to earn All-Tournament honors at the MIAA Tournament. All four freshmen were Lady Hornets and Moten is the first to earn the honors coming off the bench.
LADY HORNETS NCAA HISTORY
The Lady Hornets have made the NCAA Tournament for 16 times in the last 18 years and their 32-15 record in the tourney is ranked fourth all-time among active Division II schools in total tourney wins. Emporia State won the 2010 National Championship, were national runners-up in 1998, advanced to the Final Four in 1999 and were also in the Elite Eight in 2000 and 2006.
HOME COOKIN'
The Lady Hornets have won 16 straight and 230 of the last 251 games at home. They have only lost 11 games to unranked NCAA teams in White Auditorium since 1997. The Lady Hornets are 380-89 (.810) overall since 1979 at home and hold the MIAA record for consecutive home wins with 62 set from 1997-2001. Emporia State is 10-4 against top ten teams in White Auditorium.
NOT SUCH A HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Concordia-St. Paul's victory over Harding means the host team for the NCAA Regional the Lady Hornets compete in has won the tournament only once in the last ten years. The first eight years of the streak were in the South Central Region. In that same time, the host team has advanced to the regional final only twice with Emporia State defeating Washburn in 2006 in Lee Arena and West Texas A&M defeating Central Oklahoma in 2009 in Canyon, Texas.
HERE THEY COME
Emporia State has played in front of at least 1,000 fans in White Auditorium in every home game since January 2, 1999 - a span of 223 games. Last season, the Lady Hornets averaged 1,942 per game to rank fourth nationally. The Lady Hornets national championship game drew a standing room only crowd of 3,405 to the St. Joseph Civic Arena in 2010. The Lady Hornets averaged a school record 2,684 fans over 13 home dates in 2005-06 to finish third in the nation and led the nation with an average attendance of 2,348 fans for their 15 home dates in 2004-05. Emporia State has been in the top six of the nation in attendance in each of the last 16 years.
ON THE AIR
The Lady Hornets have been seen on national television four times in the last 14 years and are 3-1 in those games following their 65-53 national championship win over Ft. Lewis on ESPN2 in 2010. ESU's 97-94 overtime victory over then #1 Gannon was shown on ESPNU. The Lady Hornets 74-67 victory over Washburn in 2007 was televised nation wide on CSTV. It was the first time a basketball game was televised nationally from White Auditorium and the first time an MIAA regular season basketball game, men or women, had been telecast nationwide. The Lady Hornets national championship game against North Dakota in 1998 was seen on ESPN. The Turnpike Tussle game against Washburn in White Auditorium on Jan. 15, 2011 was available across Mid-America on the MIAA Broadcasting Network while the Lady Hornets appearances in the last four MIAA Tournament Championship Games have all been televised by the MIAA Network.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Lady Hornets have topped the 100-point barrier 66 times and have eclipsed the 110 point mark 27 times in their history. Since 1997-98, the Lady Hornets are 244-2 (.992) when scoring at least 80 points. The first loss was to North Dakota, 87-81 in the 1999 Final Four and the second came at West Texas A&M, 86-83 in the 2009 NCAA South Central Regional Semifinals. Emporia State was 167-22 (.884) in the previous 23 seasons when scoring at least 80 points. Conversely Emporia State is 132-2 (.985) all-time when holding opponents to 50 points or less.
LOCK DOWN
Emporia State led the nation in scoring defense during the 2000-01 season, allowing just 50.6 points per game to rank 20th all-time in single season defense in NCAA Division II. The Lady Hornets have not allowed a team to score 100 points against them since a 106-75 loss to West Texas A&M on Nov. 29, 1991 a streak of 701 games.
LADY HORNET SUCCESS ON THE COURT...
The Lady Hornets have the best record in MIAA play in the 21st century. ESU is 216-63 (.774) in MIAA play since the 2000 season and 373-100 (.789) overall in that time. The Lady Hornets are even better in the MIAA if you add two more years to the equation. Since the 1997-98 season, Emporia State is 247-64 (.794) in MIAA play and 436-104 (.807) overall. The Lady Hornets have been ranked in the top ten of the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll 157 times, the most of any current NCAA Division II school. Emporia State has been to 16 NCAA Tournaments, made the Regional Championship or "Sweet 16" ten times, has made five trips to the Elite Eight, three to the Final Four, two national title game appearances and won the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championship. The Lady Hornets have won eight MIAA Championships and are the only team to win four straight undisputed (untied regular season and tournament) MIAA Championships pulling the trick from 1998-2001. They have been in four straight MIAA Tournament Championships games, been to 11 of the last 17 MIAA Tournament Title Games and won six tourney titles.
...AND IN THE CLASSROOM
Lady Hornets have been honored as Academic All-Americans three times since joining the NCAA. Michelle Stueve was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second-team in 2007-08 and was a three-time Academic All-District VII performer. Emily Bloss was a three-time Academic All-American and was named the Academic All-American of the Year in 2001.
END GAME
The Lady Hornets are 244-5 (.980) when leading at the 5:00 mark since the start of the 2004-05 season and are 411-11 (.974) since 1997 with a lead at the 5:00 mark.
STREAKS AND SUCH
•The Lady Hornets have hit a three pointer in 264 straight games dating back to a zero for 14 effort at Washburn on Feb. 15, 2006.
•The Lady Hornets have held their last 701 opponents to under 100 points dating back to a 106-75 loss to West Texas A&M in Hays, Kan. on Nov. 29, 1991.
•The Lady Hornets have won 20 straight non-conference games in White Auditorium dating back to a 58-51 loss to Harris-Stowe on December 8, 2007.
•The Lady Hornets have won 16 straight games in White Auditorium dating back to a 66-56 loss to Northeastern State on February 23, 2013.
•The Lady Hornets have won at least ten home games in 18 straight seasons.
•The Lady Hornets ended the longest winning streak in NCAA Division II history (51 games) with their 61-59 overtime victory over Washburn on March 13, 2006 in the South Central Regional final and the longest single season winning streak (37 games) with their 97-94 overtime victory over Gannon on March 24, 2010 in the national semifinals.
•The Lady Hornets have defeated the host team in three of the last four regional tournaments they have played in (at Washburn 65-58 in 2013; at Washburn 71-65 in 2012; at West Texas A&M 76-69 in 2010).
•The Lady Hornets won six straight games against nationally ranked teams prior to falling in the 2013 regional championship game, the longest streak since winning seven straight over the 1999-2000 through 2000-01 seasons and the longest single season streak since winning seven straight on the way to the 1998 national championship game.
TIP-INS
• The Lady Hornets have won 20 games in 12 straight seasons, 17 times in the last 18 years and 22 times in the program's 38 year history.
• The Lady Hornets have won 25 games ten times in school history.
• The Lady Hornets have won 30 games four times in school history.
• The Lady Hornets are 798-365 (.686) overall in 38 years of action.
• The Lady Hornets are the only team to appear in the NCAA top twenty season records for scoring offense (17th - 90.0 in 1998; 8th - 91.3 in 1999; 18th - 89.9 in 2000) and scoring defense (18th - 50.6 in 2001).
• The Lady Hornets have had nine of the last 16 MIAA MVPs, five of the last 12 Freshmen of the Year and won the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2011-12.
