January 13, 2018-The Lady Hornets used a 30 point third quarter to take control on the way to an 88-66 win over Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon. The win was Emporia State's 27
th straight in White Auditorium.
For the second straight game the Lady Hornets got off to a slow start, hitting just two of 12 shots in the opening period. They were able to stay close thanks to a seven of ten effort from the free throw line as the RiverHawks led 15-11 after the first.
Northeastern State scored the first two points of the second before Emporia State went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-17 lead with 7:49 left in the half. The teams went back and forth the rest of the period with the Lady Hornets taking a 32-29 lead into the half thanks to a Morgan Laudan layup with 15 seconds left.
Emporia State took control of the game in the third quarter. Leading 33-31 with 9:28 left, the Lady Hornets used a 10-2 run to take a double digit lead with 7:24 left in the quarter. A Cailyn Long three pointer pulled the RiverHawks within nine before Emporia State went on a 12-2 run to go up 62-43 with 1:26 left in the third.
Two buckets by Jessica Wayne around by a three-pointer from Marissa Preston extended the run to 19-4 and gave the Lady Hornets a 69-45 lead with 8:27 left in the game. Emily Miller hit a three-pointer with 4:01 left to give Emporia State its biggest lead of the day at 79-53 with 4:01 left.
Emily Miller led four Lady Hornets in double figures with 17 points on six of nine shooting. Tyra Jones scored 15 points, Jessica Wayne had 13 and Marissa Preston added 11 points for Emporia State. After going just two for 12 in the first period, the Lady Hornets shot 28 of 43 (.651) from the field in the final three quarters to finish at 54.5%, their best team field goal percentage of the season.
The Lady Hornets are back in action on Wednesday, January 17 when they travel to Pittsburg State. Tip-off from John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan. is set for 5:30 p.m.
