February 24, 2018-The Lady Hornets outscored Central Oklahoma 54-35 in the second half but could not overcome a 20 point halftime deficit as they fell 87-86 to the Bronchos on Saturday. With the loss Emporia State secures the sixth seed in the MIAA Tournament and will play host to Northeastern State on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. in White Auditorium.
Emporia State led 9-8 when Morgan Laudan hit one of two free throws with 5:49 left in the opening period. Central Oklahoma then went on a 9-0 run to take a 17-9 lead with 3:14 left. The teams played even the rest of the quarter and the Bronchos took a 22-14 lead into the second quarter.
The Bronchos used a 12-2 run near the end of the second quarter to turn a 15 point deficit into a 25 point deficit with 1:27 left in the half. The Lady Hornets closed the half on a 7-2 run to pull within 52-32 at the break.
The third quarter saw the Lady Hornets start a bit of a comeback as they outscored the Bronchos 23-19 in the third. A Marissa Preston three-pointer with 3:55 left in the period cut the lead to 59-48 before the Bronchos went on an 8-1 run to go back up by 18 with 2:02 left in the quarter. Emily Miller hit a three pointer with 1:10 left to make it 68-55 but Central Oklahoma hit three free throws over the final 58.8 seconds as the Bronchos took a 71-55 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bronchos went up by 22 points to start the fourth quarter and led 84-63 with 4:07 left when Melinda Murillo scored as the shot clock was expiring. It would be the last field goal for UCO as Emporia State went on an 18-1 run and cut the lead to 85-81 with 34.4 seconds left on a Jacee Kramer layup. Madison Lee hit two free throws with :22.4 left to give the Bronchos an 87-81 lead.
The Lady Hornets turned the ball over with ten seconds left and Jesheon Cooper went to the line with 9.5 seconds left for two free throws. She missed both free throws and Morgan Laudan grabbed the rebound for Emporia State. Miller was fouled with 4.9 seconds left and hit both free throws to 87-83. Emporia State fouled on the inbounds and sent Cooper to the line again. She again missed both charities and Laudan grabbed the rebound. She got the ball to Miller who hit a three-pointer at the buzzer for the final score of 87-86.
Tyra Jones led Emporia State with 20 points and seven rebounds while Emily Miller added 19 points and Jacee Kramer 18.
With the loss the Lady Hornets will be the sixth seed in the MIAA Tournament and will take on 11
th seeded Northeastern State on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. in White Auditorium.
NOTES
This was just the third time in 290 games since 1997-98 that Emporia State has scored at least 80 points and lost and the first time it has happened in a regular season game. The first loss was to North Dakota, 87-81 in the 1999 Final Four and the second came at West Texas A&M, 86-83 in the 2009 NCAA South Central Regional Semifinals.
Tickets for Monday night's first round MIAA Tournament game are on sale now through tickets.emporia.edu.
