November 26, 2016-Tournament MVP Kelly Moten had 21 points, ten rebounds and five assists as the #2 Lady Hornets led from start to finish in a 74-59 win at #18 Drury in the championship game of the Drury Thanksgiving Classic in Springfield, Mo. on Saturday.
The Lady Hornets jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first 4:55 of the game and would lead 21-4 with 3:27 left in the quarter. Emporia State led 26-10 at the quarter break and Drury would score the firs six points of the second quarter to pull within ten points with 7:57 left in the half. The teams would play even until Moten hit three pointer at the buzzer to send the Lady Hornets to the locker room with a 35-22 lead.
Addie Lackey scored the first five points of the second half to give the Lady Hornets a 40-22 lead with 9:03 left in the third. Emporia State took the biggest lead of the night when Lackey scored on a fast break following a Moten rebound to give the Lady Hornets a 48-28 lead with 4:20 left and force a Drury timeout. The Panthers outscored the Lady Hornets 10-6 the rest of the period to close within 54-38 to start the fourth quarter.
An old fashioned three-point play by Megan Holloway gave Emporia State a 62-46 lead with 6:09 remaining. The Panthers then went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to seven with 1:54 left. Shelby Baker got bucket and foul with 1:29 left to push the lead back to double digits and then got a defensive rebound on the Drury possession that led to Kyrstie Miller fast break layup and a 67-55 lead with 1:08 left. Emporia State then hit seven of ten free throws in the final 54 seconds to seal the win.
Moten's 21 points led three Lady Hornets in double figures. Lackey had 19 points while Miller had 16 points and nine rebounds. Moten was joined on the All-Tournament team by Miller.
The Lady Hornets will return to Slaymaker Court at White Auditorium on Wednesday night to take on Ark.-Ft. Smith. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
