November 29, 2017-The Lady Hornets overcame a nine point first quarter deficit to post a 107-88 win over Oklahoma Christian on Wednesday night in White Auditorium. It is the 72nd time in school history that Emporia State has eclipsed the century mark.
The Eagles, specifically guard Addy Clift, were on fire early as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead four minutes into the action. Clift scored all ten points in the opening run and accounted for the first 14 points of the game for Oklahoma Christian on her way to a career high 42 points. The Eagles took their biggest lead of the night at 16-7 on a pair of Delyssa Miller free throws with 3:34 left in the period. Emporia State answered with a 12-6 run to end the quarter with Morgan Laudan scoring seven of the points. Clift had 14 first quarter points for OC while Laudan had 11 for ESU as the Eagles enjoyed a 22-19 lead at the end of one.
The Lady Hornets took their first lead of the game at 34-33 on a put back by Tyra Jones with 5:25 left in the second quarter. The Eagles led 38-36 on a three-pointer from Hannah Bentsen with 4:43 left when Emporia State went on a 12-0 run to take the lead for good. Four different Lady Hornets scored during the run that started with a fast break layup by Jones with 4:38 left and ended on Madison Ralston's jumper in the lane just 1:02 later. OC would close to within two points on an Audrey Hayes layup with 1:19 left but Jones and Emily Miller combined for the final four points of the half to give Emporia State a 52-46 lead at the break.
The lead stayed between eight and 14 for most of the third quarter as Emporia State took a 78-69 lead into the final period. Jacee Kramer sparked an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter, scoring the middle seven points of the run as the Lady Hornets took a 93-72 lead with 6:44 left. The lead would reach 26 points on a Brittany Kramer three-pointer with 3:50 left that gave Emporia State a 103-77 advantage before settling in for the 107-88 final.
Tyra Jones led Emporia State with 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks while Morgan Laudan had 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. They were joined in double figures by Emily Miller with 19 points and Jacee Kramer with 18 points.
The next action for the Lady Hornets will be the start of MIAA play on December 7 against Neb.-Kearney. Tip-off in White Auditorium is set for 5:30 p.m.
NOTES
Clift's 42 points match UCM's Shelby Winkelman for the most points scored against the Lady Hornets by an individual and are the most ever scored against Emporia State in White Auditorium. Winkelmann scored 42 against ESU on Dec. 8, 2012.
It was the 22nd straight home win for the Lady Hornets, the third longest active streak in the nation and third longest in school history.
