Women's Basketball | 3/10/2012 10:54:00 PM
March 10, 2012-Jocelyn Cummings scored a career high 27 points to propel Emporia State to a 71-65 victory over Washburn in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional in Lee Arena. With the win the Lady Hornets will head to their ninth ninth regional championship game and will play Pittsburg State on Monday night.
ESU fell behind 15-5 with 12:22 left before going on a 13-4 run to pull within a point on a Rheanna Egli jumper with 7:25 remaining in the half. A pair of Stevi Schultz free throws gave the Lady Blues a 27-23 advantage at the 4:51 mark. Egli then hit a jumper to start a 10-0 run that put the Lady Hornets ahead for good. A Sarah Wood free throw gave ESU a six point lead at 33-27 with 1:18 left in the half. Ebonie Williams scored an old fashioned three point play for WU as the teams went to the locker rooms with ESU leading 35-32.
The Lady Hornets shot .545 from the field in the first half and would shoot a blistering .619 from the field in the second half as they built a 13 point lead midway through the second half. Back to back three pointers from Rachel Hanf and Cummings made it 55-42 ESU with 9:49 remaining.
ESU led 66-56 with 3:06 left when WU made their final push. A 7-1 run, capped by a three pointer from Schultz, cut the Lady Hornet lead to two at 67-65 with 24.5 seconds left. Kelsey Balcom then hit two free throws with 12.3 seconds left and Heather Robben converted two with 3.5 seconds left to seal the 71-65 victory.
Cummings was the only Lady Hornet in double figures, but Balcom, Robben and Kathry Flott all had eight points. Balcom led ESU with nine rebounds while Egli dished four assists. Against the 11th ranked field goal percentage defense in the nation, the Lady Hornets shot a season high .581 from the field. ESU limited WU to just .355 shooting from the field after they entered the game ranked sixth nationally in that category.
The Lady Hornets, who have now won eight straight NCAA Tournament games, will take on Pittsburg State on Monday in the Regional Championship game. Tip-off in Lee Arena is set for 7 p.m. The ESU Associated Student Government and E-Zone have purchased 100 student tickets for the game. They will be available for free from the ESU Athletic Ticket Office in the Memorial Union beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday morning.
NOTES:
The Lady Hornets are now 28-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have won eight straight games dating back to their national championship run in 2010.
The Lady Hornets have eliminated the host team in the NCAA Regional four times in the last eight years.
Cummings went 10 of 14 (.714) from the field to rank tenth in NCAA Tourney play for the Lady Hornets and her four made three-pointers ranks fifth in NCAA Tourney play for ESU.
The Lady Hornets .581 shooting percentage ranks second to a .582 performance against Shippensburg in the 1998 Elite Eight.
