January 8, 2015-The #1 ranked Emporia State Lady Hornets had a 16 point lead with 10:48 left in the game and held on for 57-56 win at Missouri Western on Thursday night in St. Joseph, Mo. With the win the Lady Hornets improved to 13-0 on the season and match the ninth longest winning streak in school history.
The teams battled back and forth for much of the first half before Emporia State went on an 8-2 run to take a 29-20 lead with 2:45 left in the half. The Lady Hornets would take a 31-25 lead into the lockerroom.
Emporia State had a 16 point lead with 11:21 left on a Kathryn Flott lay up. The Lady Hornets would hold Missouri Western without a field goal for the first 13:28 of the second half. The Griffons converted 13 of 15 free throws to start the second half and only trailed 52-40 when Chelsea Dewey hit a layup with 6:32 left in the game.
The Lady Hornets had 56-42 lead on Jacee Kramer's jumper with 4:08 left, but it would be the last field goal for Emporia State. The Griffons would finish the game on a 14-1 run. Merissa Quick getting the only point on the second free throw of a two shot foul with 2:10 left to give the Lady Hornets a 57-51 lead. Tiara Hall's layup with 1:13 left pulled Missouri Western within 57-54.
Both teams traded misses before Sarafina Handy hit a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left. Emporia State inbounded to Addie Lackey to run out the clock and preserve the Lady Hornets unbeaten streak.
Kelly Moten led Emporia State with 17 points and eight rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Lackey with ten points.
The Lady Hornets are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Central Missouri. The rematch of last year's MIAA Tournament championship game is set to tip at 1:30 p.m. from the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.
