March 7, 2015-In a top 15 battle in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament the #10 Lady Hornets shot 56% from the field in the second half on the way to a 67-53 win over #13 Pittsburg State.
The Gorillas jumped out to a 7-2 lead with 15:50 left in the first half. The Lady Hornets responded with a 6-0 run to take an 8-7 lead with 13:45 left. There would be seven lead changes the rest of the half until Merissa Quick scored on back to back possessions to give the Lady Hornets the lead for good at 23-20 with 3:28 left in the opening period.Â
Emporia State had a three point lead with 16:54 left in the game when Addie Lackey hit a three-pointer to ignite a 6-0 run and give the Lady Hornets a 35-26 lead with 17:22 remaining. Emporia State used a 9-2 run to give them their biggest lead of the night at 54-37 with 7:25 left.Â
The Gorillas closed to within nine points with 2:04 left but the Lady Hornets hit five of six free throws in the last 1:07 to ice the victory.
Quick had 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks while Kelly Moten matched her with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists. They were joined in double figures by Jacee Kramer with ten points, all in the second half.
The Lady Hornets will play #4 Ft. Hays State on Sunday in the MIAA Tournament Championship game. It will be the fifth straight trip to the championship game for Emporia State and 12
th title game over all. It will be the first championship game for the Tigers. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
NOTES
Merissa Quick had 11 points to move into third on the MIAA career tournament scoring list with 161 points. Her eight rebounds give her 67 in MIAA tournament games in her career to move into sixth on the conference tourney career list.
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