January 31, 2018-The Lady Hornets had a 15 point lead midway through the second quarter but then gave up a 19-0 run to Fort Hays State on the way to a 90-63 loss to the Tigers on Wednesday night in Hays, Kan. It is the worst margin of defeat for Emporia State since an 86-57 loss at Central Missouri in 1994-95.
The game was tight through the first five minutes as the Tigers led 12-11 with 5:15 left in the first quarter. The Lady Hornets then went on an 8-0 run to take a 19-12 lead with 2:48 left and would lead 22-18 at the end of the quarter.
Emporia State used a 9-0 run early in the second quarter to go up 35-21 on a fast break layup by Jessica Wayne. Jacee Kramer's third three-pointer of the half would give the Lady Hornets a 38-23 lead and Emporia State would still have a 15 point lead with 4:25 left when Wayne scored inside. That would be the last score of the half for the Lady Hornets as the Tigers went on a 17-0 run to close the half. Emporia State would turn the ball over four times and miss five shots in the final four minutes while Ft. Hays hit their final six shots of the half. Whitney Clampitt gave the Tigers a 42-40 lead at the break when she nailed a deep three-pointer as the clock expired.
The run reached 19-0 to start the second half before Emily Miller hit a jumper with 8:54 left. That not only broke the 19-0 run but also broke a 5:31 scoring drought for Emporia State. The Lady Hornets tied the game at 46 on a pair of free throws from Wayne with 7:55 remaining. The Tigers then went on a 10-0 run to take their first double-digit lead with 5:12 left. Miller hit a free throw with 4:49 left to break the run but it would be another three minutes before the Lady Hornets got a field goal to fall as the Tigers lead had grown to 63-47 before Tyra Jones scored inside with 1:51 left in the quarter.
Emporia State would only hit two field goals through the first six minutes of the fourth quarter as the Ft. Hays State lead grew to as many as 29 points at 86-57 with 4:03 left. The Lady Hornets would cut the lead to 24 on a Morgan Laudan layup with 1:12 left but Clampitt hit another three-pointer with 42 seconds left for the final margin.
Jacee Kramer led Emporia State with 15 points on six of 11 shooting and was joined in double figures by Jessica Wayne with 11 points while Morgan Laudan and Tyra Jones had ten points each. Tiana Moala had nine rebounds and three blocks for the Lady Hornets.
Emporia State is back in action on Saturday when they travel to Neb.-Kearney. Tip-off from the Health and Sports Center in Kearney, Neb. Is set for 3:30 p.m.
