Women's Basketball | 2/7/2012 11:51:00 PM
STRETCH RUN
The #21 Lady Hornets begin the final stretch run of the season against Southwest Baptist. This is Take a Kid to the Game Night in White Auditorium. Kids under 12 will be admitted free with a paid adult admission.
LAST TIME OUT
In a battle of top 25 teams, #22 Emporia State defeated #10 Northeastern State 52-42 on Saturday in White Auditorium. In a physical game ESU trailed 12-2 with 11:53 left in the half. The Lady Hornets used a 15-0 run and took the lead on Kelsey Balcom's layup with 3:05 left in the half. Balcom then hit a three-pointer with 15 seconds left to send ESU to the locker room with a 25-17 lead. ESU went up by nine at 36-27 on a layup by Robben with 11:00 left. NSU tied the score at 38 with 6:10 remaining. Balcom gave the Lady Hornets the lead for good with 5:40 left. Rachel Hanf hit a three-pointer with 2:42 left to give ESU a 43-38 lead. The Lady Hornets connected on nine of 13 free throws in the final 1:19 to secure the win. Robben led all scorers with 16 points while Balcom added ten points and a career high 12 rebounds. As a team ESU outrebounded NSU 51-26 on the night.
THE COACHES
Jory Collins is 35-14 in his second year as the head coach of the Lady Hornets and is 5-4 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 2-1 against Southwest Baptist.
Todd Voss is 8-12 in his first year at SBU and is 116-44 in his fifth year as a head coach. He is 0-1 against ESU.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Southwest Baptist is 8-12 on the season, 4-11 in the MIAA. SBU is 4-5 away from home this season. Brittney Dukes is the leading scorer for the Bearcats at 13.9 points per game to rank eighth in the MIAA. LaKendra Smith averages 12.4 points and 8.6 boards per game to rank second in the MIAA in rebounding, but has missed four games this season.
THE SERIES
The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series 30-12 and has won 19 of the last 22 match-ups. The Bearcats snapped ESU's 16 game home court winning streak in 2009 and broke ESU’s 62 game home-court winning streak with a 65-62 win on January 17, 2001.
LAST TIME VS. SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Merissa Quick scored a career high 27 points with ten rebounds as the #23 Emporia State Lady Hornets defeated Southwest Baptist 70-67 in double overtime on New Year’s Eve. Quick scored on back to back possessions to give ESU a 67-63 lead with 3:20 left in the second overtime. Chasity Price hit a three pointer to pull the Bearcats to within 67-66 with 2:27 left. Quick answered again with 1:32 left on another lay-up to give ESU a 69-66 lead and hit one of two free throws with 6.6 remaining for the final margin. Kelsey Balcom added 15 points and nine rebounds for ESU while Heather Robben added seven points and six assists.
UP NEXT
The #21 Lady Hornets will play their annual Pink Game to raise cancer awareness on Saturday against Missouri Southern. Tip-off from White Auditorium on Feb. 11 is set for 5:30 p.m.
