January 12, 2017-In a battle of top 20 teams, the #2 Lady Hornets allowed #16 Central Oklahoma to shoot 11 of 15 in the third quarter in a 70-64 Broncho victory in Edmond, Okla. on Thursday night.
Shelby Baker scored eight points in three minutes off the bench in the first quarter to give Emporia State a 16-15 lead at the end of the period. The Bronchos scored the first nine points of the second quarter to take a 24-16 lead with 7:36 left in the half. UCO still led 28-20 with 3:08 left in the half when the Lady Hornets closed the half on an 11-3 run to force a 31-31 tie at the break. Kelly Moten had six of the 11 points and ended the first half with 12 points.
The Lady Hornets opened the second half on a 6-2 run to take a 37-33 lead with 8:06 remaining. The Bronchos then went on a 16-3 run to take a 49-40 lead with 1:37 left in the third quarter. UCO was eight of ten from the field during the run. Kyrstie Miller and Kathryn Flott combined on a 4-0 mini run to cut the lead to five but Olivia Mason scored the final five points of the period to give the Bronchos a ten point lead going to the final quarter.
Mason opened the fourth quarter with another three-pointer to give UCO a 57-44 lead. The Broncho lead would reach 14 points on two occassions before the Lady Hornets made a final push. Morgan Laudan hit a three pointer with 2:02 left and Jacee Kramer followed with a three-pointer at the 1:19 mark to pull Emporia State to within 67-59. The Bronchos would hit three of six free throws in the final 52 seconds to counter a layup from Moten and a three-pointer from Jacee Kramer that madde the final score 70-64.
Kathryn Flott had a double double of ten points and 13 rebounds while Kelly Moten scored 19 points with five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Shelby Baker added eight points and five rebounds in ten minutes of action for the Lady Hornets.
The #2 Lady Hornets will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Northeastern State. Tip-off from the NSU Event Center in Tahlequah, Okla. is set for 1:30 p.m.
