Women's Basketball | 12/18/2012 1:29:00 PM
CHAMPIONSHIP TIME
Emporia State takes on Abilene Christian in their second game at the West Texas Golf Car Christmas Classic. The Lady Hornets and Wildcats each won their first game in the tournament.
THE COACHES
Jory Collins is 47-21 in his third year as the head coach of the Lady Hornets and has guided them to the MIAA Tournament Championship Game in each of his first two seasons. He has six wins against Top 25 teams. This is his 12th season on the Lady Hornet coaching staff and ESU has advanced to the NCAA tournament in ten of those seasons. This is his first meeting with ACU.
Julie Goodenough is 5-2 in her first year at Abilene Christian and 294-220 in her 19th season as a head coach. This is her first meeting with Emporia State.
SCOUTING THE LADY HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-3 on the year and 0-2 in the MIAA. They opened MIAA play falling in two road games and have played five of their first seven games on the road. The Lady Hornets have four players averaging in double figures led by Laura Patrick's 13.4 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Rachel Hanf hit a three pointer with .5 seconds left to send the game to overtime and finished with 16 points as Emporia State defeated West Texas A&M 69-65 in overtime. Hanf led four Lady Hornets in double figures withe 16 points while Rheanna Egli had 14 points, half of them in the overtime, and a career high five steals. Laura Patrick had 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Abilene Christian is 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference. They came back from 10 points down against Ark.-Ft. Smith to win their first game of the Classic 70-66 on Monday. They have four players averaging in double figures led by Kelsey Smith at 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Sadie Dickinson is ranked 23rd in the nation in three-point field goal percentage.
THE SERIES
This is the fifth meeting between Emporia State and Abilene Christian and the first one since 1998. The Lady Hornets lead the series 3-1 and the only win for the Wildcats was a 74-64 decision during the 1987-88 season. The two teams met for the NCAA South Central Regional Title in 1998.
LAST TIME VS. ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Emporia State advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history with a 95-64 victory over Abilene Christian on March 7, 1998 in front of 3,827 fans in White Auditorium. The Lady Hornets outscored the Wildcats 53-23 in the second half after taking a 42-41 lead to the locker rooms. Jurgita Kausaite scored 30 points with 11 rebounds to lead four Lady Hornets in double figures. She was joined in double figures by Aneta Kausaite with 16 points, Amanda Flick and Tara Holloway with 11 points each.
UP NEXT
The Lady Hornets will play host to Central Christian on Sunday, December 30 in White Auditorium. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.
