December 5, 2015 - The #1 Lady Hornets fell in a rematch of last year's MIAA Tourney and Regional Championship to #5 Fort Hays by one point Saturday afternoon in Hays, Kan. Emporia State battled back from a ten point deficit they faced before halftime to eventually lose by one.
TIGHT FIRST QUARTER
The end of the first quarter resulted in a 16-16 tie with five tied scores and three lead changes. Emporia State took an early 2-0 advantage with a jumper from Sandra Ngoie with 9:46 left in in the first quarter. The Lady Hornets and Tigers battled back and forth until Emporia State would take its final lead of the quarter at 6-5 from two made free throws from Kathryn Flott witih 6:44 in the quarter. The quarter would end on a jumper from Kyrstie Miller with one second left to tie the game 16-16.
TIGERS TAKE THE LEAD
Fort Hays began the second quarter on a 12-4 run to lead the Lady Hornets 28-20 with 5:17 left in the half. Emporia State would get within six at 30-24 with 4:13 left in the half from a made free throw from Tatum Graves. The first half ended on a Tiger advantage at 37-30.
LADY HORNETS BACK TO BATTLE
Emporia State used a 25-17 third quarter to stay with the Tigers, ending the quarter leading 55-54. Fort Hays started the quarter on an 11-8 run to lead by ten, 48-38, with 6:44 left in the third. The Lady Hornets fought back to finally take the lead 53-52 with 1:28 left in the third from two made Kelly Moten free throws. Emporia State ended the quarter on a Kyrstie Miller jumper with 16 seconds left.
HEARTBREAKING END
Jacee Kramer gave the Lady Hornets their last lead of the game at 58-56 off a traditional three point play with 8:03 left to play. With 46 seconds left to play, Emporia State was trailing 71-67 when a Sandra Ngoie three pointer woud decide the final score at 71-70 with 46 seconds left.
EVEN NUMBERS
The match-up was nearly even across the board, Emporia State earning a 40.4% field goal percentage compared to Fort Hays' 40.0% field goal percentage. The Lady Hornets shot 23.5% from deep, the Tigers shooting 22.2% from the arc. Emporia State grabbed 40 rebounds versus Fort Hays' 36 rebounds.
LADY HORNET NUMBERS
Emporia State made 20 of 23 free throws (87%), a critical advantage they earned over the Tigers. Four Lady Hornets earned double digit points against Fort Hays. Sandra Ngoie led Emporia State with 15 points, shooting 50% from the field and four for four from the stripe. Jacee Kramer and Kelly Moten each had 12 points on  the day, shooting for a combined seven for nine from the free throw line. Kramer led the Lady Hornets with eight rebounds, Moten adding another seven rebounds and four assists. Addie Lackey had ten points against the Tigers.
UP NEXT
The Lady Hornets will continue MIAA play on Saturday, Dec. 12 at home against Central Missouri at 3:30 p.m.
