Women's Basketball | 2/24/2012 12:24:00 PM
SEASON FINALE
The #22 Lady Hornets travel to western Kansas for showdown with Ft. Hays State. The winner will get to wear white jerseys next week in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. ESU can finish as high as third in the seedings with a win while FHSU will move to fourth with a win.
LAST TIME OUT
Ebonie Williams hit a jumper with :04.4 left to give #12 Washburn a 53-52 win over #22 Emporia State in White Auditorium. Playing in front of a season high 3,735 the Lady Hornets jumped out to a 6-2 lead before WU took a 32-29 lead into the half. WU pushed the lead to 13 at 47-34 with 11:44 left in the game after a 10-0 run. The Lady Hornets trailed by ten with 6:07 left and then held WU scoreless for the next 6:03 of the game. The Lady Hornets went on a 12-0 run to take a 52-51 lead on two free throws by Kelsey Balcom with 1:04 left. After a WU timeout with 16 seconds left, Williams brought the ball down and hit the go ahead bucket. ESU inbounded the ball to Robben, who drove the court and had her layup roll out as time expired. Merissa Quick led ESU with 16 points.
THE COACHES
Jory Collins is 38-16 in his second year as the head coach of the Lady Hornets and is 5-6 vs. Top 25 teams. This is his 11th season on the Lady Hornet coaching staff and ESU has advanced to the NCAA tournament in eight of his ten previous seasons. He is 3-0 against Ft. Hays State.
Tony Hobson is 59-50 in his fourth year at FHSU and 270-90 overall in his 11th year as a head coach. He is 0-8 against ESU.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Ft. Hays State is 20-7 overall and 12-7 in the MIAA. The Tigers have reached the 20 win mark for the first time since joining the MIAA. Katelyn Edwards is the leading scorer and rebounder for FHSU at 14.9 points and 8.1 boards per game.
THE SERIES
The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series 41-26 and have won a series best 14 straight from the Tigers. ESU has won five straight against FHSU in Gross Coliseum, with the last loss coming in 2002-03. The Tigers have not defeated the Lady Hornets with both teams as members of the MIAA.
LAST TIME VS. FT. HAYS STATE
Merissa Quick scored 20 points with seven rebounds and a career high seven blocked shots as #20 Emporia State defeated Ft. Hays State 81-70 in White Auditorium. The Lady Hornets trailed early, twice going down by nine points in the first half. Trailing 27-19, ESU went on a 15-2 run to take the lead and led 34-32 at the half. ESU scored the first four points of the second half and never trailed the rest of the night. The Lady Hornets hit ten straight free throws over the last 2:53 to ice the win. Quick was joined in double figures by Heather Robben with 18 points, Rachel Hanf with 15 points, Jocelyn Cummings with 12 points and Kelsey Balcom with 10 points and a team high 12 rebounds.
UP NEXT
The #22 Lady Hornets will open the MIAA Tournament on Thursday, March 1 in Kansas City at yet to be determined time.
